Update 5

Update 5

Friday Morning

It’s clear that we are nearing the end of our Many Point experience 2013. A few more scouts have taken the initiative to sleep a little later than usual, and conclude that 8:05 is “close enough” to 8:00.

Thursday was a day of preparation—for “the fire”. All the first week scouts know what I’m talking about! On Thursday, the troop builds a massive bonfire. Wyatt led the lumberjack crew in constructing a two story behemoth. How they continue to find dead trees and dry deadfall is beyond me.  A few staff members came down to the site to watch the inferno and entertain us.  Ted and Brody manned the fire pumps to prevent the burning embers from torching the site (they were over 100 feet in the air). We sang songs, celebrated birthdays for Jack “Westy”, Jack P, and Noah. We had a never ending version of the  “…don’t wear no socks” song. Oh…and I told the TRUE story of the Many Point Yeti. It was a memorable event!

Thursday was also a day of preparation for the future of Troop 346. When I left for camp last Friday, I had no way of knowing that I was going to encounter a very personal and profound sign that has pointed me back towards Scouting. I shared my story with the Scouts and adults in camp as the fire turned to embers during the Scoutmaster’s minute. I would like to share that story with all the remaining parents of Many Point campers at the Many Point follow up meeting on Monday at Spasso (back room) from 7-8:00pm. It’s a cool story and will have a long term effect on our Troop. Plus, it’s important that ALL many point scout parents attend this meeting.

As Friday dawned, our final preparations for departure are starting to take place. Our goal is to leave camp about 10:00. Cars are estimated to return to the church sometime between 2:30 and 3:30. All Scouts that attended Many Point (including week 1) should plan on showing up at the church to unload the trailer, and take equipment home for a good cleaning). Remember…there are bikes that will need to be picked up.

If you are planning on picking your son up at camp, please understand that nobody can leave until we have been given clearance from Peter, our commissioner.

This is the last blog posting from Many Point 2013. It’s been a special week.  I’m already looking forward to Many Point 2014. Thank you for putting your trust in the adult leaders, and for allowing your son to experience Many Point and Scouting at its finest.

Yours in Scouting,

Greg Sanderson

Update 4

Sorry that I have not been able to keep up the blog with the regularity of Mr. Bassett.

We are down to 18 scouts and 6 adult leaders spread out over two large campsites.  I presume that week 2 is a little quieter than week 1. All Scouts and leaders eat in one patrol—which has made for some challenging cooking and cleaning issues. We’re working it out. SPL Drew, and his ASPL’s have done a terrific job of making sure that we eat on time, and are (kind of) cleaned up on time.

Monday Morning: In my nearly 40 years of scouting, and countless numbers of morning wake up calls involving bugles, banging pots and pans, and an occasional tent being dropped on the scout(s) who has taken it upon himself to grab a few extra minutes of sleep, I was awakened to a far cooler, and profoundly more pleasant wake up call; Cal plays his acoustic guitar in front of each tent. So far, we’ve been awakened to “Vertigo” and “In the Name of Love” by U2, and by Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. It’s a great wake up, with my kind of music, and the results are better. The result is a VERY happy Scoutmaster, and far less of the shockingly un-Scout like language that can spew from a tent when metal spoon meets metal pot inches from a sleeping Boy Scout. BEST. WAKE-UP. EVER.

Another great addition to Many Point for week 2 is BIKES! We don’t have to leave 10 minutes early for everything.  Biking around camp has been great. On Tuesday, we took an 8 mile Bike Trek up to Administration on the “old road”, that goes directly through Flintlock, Yeti Swamp, and Ten Chiefs beach (the program camp immediately to the north of Flintlock). Scoutmaster Greg took the trekkers to see Gaylord’s lodge, built in the 20’s as a hunting lodge. Robert Gaylord was a lumber baron who donated the land to Scouts that is now Many Point. After a short time at Gaylords, we started back towards Voyager after a short stop at the Tents In The Trees outpost to look at the Robinson Caruso style treehouses. Scouts can sign up to spend a night in the trees. VERY COOL.

On Tuesday all members of Troop 346 participated in at least one leg of the Iron Man competition. The Iron Man is Many Points version of a triathalon: It’s a ¼ mile canoe, 100 yards swim, and approximately a 2 mile run. I’m still waiting on official results, but Troop 346 was well represented at the finish line.

Also on Tuesday night was the special party that we host for the staff every year. We made dutch oven desserts and funnel cakes for the Voyager staff. As a former staff member, I can tell you that the staff loves to get Troop invites like this. They entertained us with songs, and we entertained them with massive volumes of sugar and fried doughy goodness.

Wednesday greeted us with a stringer of Walleye from Mr. Oas, Mr. Westerlund, and David Beck (of course, the scout caught the most and biggest fish).  Delicious!

Thursday we have 3 Birthdays (what are the odds?) Jack Westerlund, Jack Peters, Noah Goset. HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Here is a list of things that the adult leaders apologies to parents in advance

• ·         Texas Hold’em.
• ·         Uncontrollable urge to sharpen your knives
• ·         BEGGING you for another pocket knife
• ·         Perfect square knots in all your mini-blind pulls
• ·         Moldy socks at the bottom of their dirty clothes
• ·         Using the large tree in your backyard as a bathroom
• ·         Little curls of wood (from whittling) on your front porch
• ·         That smell
• ·         Those shoes

Until next time.

Greg Sanderson

Many Point 2013 - Update 3

Here we are Thursday afternoon in the Many Point timezone.  Not long after we updated you all yesterday, we had storm blow through.  It was very short, maybe fifteen minutes, but packed some hail and pretty big gusts.   The younger scouts were all out on their five-mile hike when it came through. They were all fine but some thought about the "be prepared" and "put a poncho in the top of your day-sack" advice.   The campsite took a beating.  The two sites along the shore were hit hardest.  We lost one tent and a dining tarp in Two Harbors where the 2nd and 3rd year scouts were camping.  The Llama patrol (all were gone) also had lots of water come into their tents.  The wind blew them open and in came the rain.  You could hear the Leadership scouts shouting, "Help the new scouts!" and off they ran like an Emergency Response team.  Here are some photos from the aftermath...

Once upon a time, there was a dining fly...

...and Joe's lakefront tent.

That rain did not stop Jimmy Bohn from his Scoutmaster Conference and Board of Review Tenderfoot and Second Class, both in one night!  Congratulations, Jimmy!!

Mr. Vorlund presents Jimmy with Second Class pin.

Nor did the rain stop our Leadership scouts from hosting the Voyageur staff for a CrackerBarrel (scout talk for a late snack, or feast, in this case).  The scouts worked very hard for several hours getting all kinds of desserts cooked so that the staff could have some downtime after a hard days work.

Cracker Barrel Prep.

Brownies, Blueberry cake, Dutch Oven Yellow Cake, Spiced Carrots, Funnel Cake - All the food groups were there; but where was the Many Point staff?

The scouts waited with anticipation.  Every light coming down the path invoked a, "here they come!" only to be followed by a melancholy, "Never mind... it's just Alex.".  But fashionably late, the staff came, and came, and a good time was had by all.

Today...

Today we have had more scattered showers but nothing as bad as yesterday. Tonight is the big bonfire.  The scouts have been preparing all day.  There is a base of notched logs built into a square that is probably 7ft x 7ft at the base and is maybe six feet high. In that square base they will put more timber and brush.  This bonfire should be most impressive.  This file will be used to retire several flags from the Minnetonka area.  Troop 346 takes in flags that have gone past their useful life and retires them in a respectful, Flag Ceremony. You can find the link for the script in the Download Forms section of the troop's website.

Need to sign off... I am running late.

YIS from Many Point!
.

Many Point 2013 - Update 2

Another sunny day at Many Point.  The weather has been pretty nice.  Last night was a bit cooler but nothing a zipped up sleeping bag couldn't handle.  We adults found ourselves questioning if it would be too cool for the boys; particularly those that might be on the verge of homesickness.  I polled the other adults this morning and heard no complaints.  Homesickness usually sets in mid-week for younger scouts.  There was a tinge of homesickness yesterday evening, before bedtime, but Mrs. Schwamm and Mr. Fischer were very attentive.  The Leadership scouts know to look for signs of homesickness and the Many Point counselors are also trained to help with homesickness if needed.   This morning all seemed to be going very well.

Congratulations to Jack Westerlund for attaining second class!  Sorry... no photo yet.

I have not received any substantial feedback from Huck Finn or the Ironman competition.  Our Huck Finn guys came back this morning and jumped right into breakfast before starting their days.  I heard we did well where we had scouts that competed in all three events of the Ironman.  Not much of an update but I can say that there was plenty of leisure yesterday.  Here are a couple of shots from the hammock-cams.

Dean B - Checking eyelids for leakage.

Charlie D - Demonstrates Hammock-acrobatics.

You would think that with a cooler night the mosquitoes would have been less prevalent.  Not so.  They were vicious last night.  I had one try to carry me out of my tent.  Another was sitting at the picnic table drinking forty-proof DEET heckling the one I was fighting!   Off course I am kidding but they were quiet aggressive.

For those of you that enjoy the food updates (and you know who you are)...  Breakfast was pancakes and sausage.  Hunter was all over cooking the pancakes.  Despite our encouragement to stick to the recipe, he would have none of it.  He created his own mix and we were just noise.  Some of you may know that Hunter became infamous for his "Magic Middles" pancakes from the Ripley camp out a couple years back.  Magic middles are pancakes that are cooked on the outside but runny in the middle - yes... Blech!!  He can even use special magic where he burns the outside and still keeps the middle runny.  Needless to say, he was getting an earful as he stood over the grill and pumped out over thirty pancakes.  .How did it turn out?  Excellent!  Hunter redeemed himself as a pancake chef.   Many Point sent Grilled Cheese sandwich makin's  for lunch.  We called an audible and pulled out leftovers from the past couple of days and ended up with "Butt Rub" chicken, hamburgers and salad.  Okay, that's it for the food channel.

This afternoon's activities include Outdoor Skills - GPS and Geocaching, Rifle Shooting, Tie-Dye (T-shirts), DELTA - Team-building and ethics, Climbing Tower and kayaking.  At 5pm, scouts not taking First Class Adventure will head to the beach for a Beach Bash.   Those taking First Class Adventure, mostly newer scouts, will be taking a five-mile hike to fulfill one of their rank requirements.  Most of our adults will head to an Adult Leader dinner then get an update on how our scouts are progressing with their merit badges. Our Leadership scouts will come back from the Beach Bash and host the camp counselors for some late night dessert and conversation.  This is kind of a tradition for 346 at Many Point.

One last note before I go... For those of you that know the area, the old Tamarack Resort is gone.  There is a new partially constructed building there now.  I am not sure if they will re-open or what but the new building does not look like it will accommodate a greasy spoon restaurant.  Also, I have the Ice Cracking wireless password.... Oh, I guess you know where I am now.  Well, I needed to stop wearing ruts into the road to the Admin building.

Cheers!

Signing off from Many Point.

Many Point 2013 - Update 1

Yesterday (Monday) continued to be a great day at  Many Point.  Josh and his leadership scouts did a great job of teaching the younger scouts how to camp.  While the rest of the troop was away from the site, the leadership scouts cleaned up certain areas and used them as training stations.  They took each patrol through the stations explaining and training.  The scouts learned how to maintain the meal area so that food is properly prepared and cleanup is much easier.   Scouts also learned how to use the troop trailer for storage of dry goods and "smellables" so that we don't inadvertently attract and feed the wildlife.  Drew showed the scouts how to set up a tent so that it is comfortable and clean; he even demonstrated the "floating tent."   In the photo, you can see how well ventilated a scout's tent can be and how the mosquito netting can be used in the left tent.

Floating Tents.

Dinner was pork chops, mashed potatoes and corn.  The guys really liked the "Butt Rub" spice that was used to flavor the chops.  After dinner, Josh called an assembly and awarded the Tomahawk patrol for their campsite; specifically for floating all their tents as they had been shown earlier.

Honorable mentions to the Llama patrol.  They made a great leap forward in terms of working together effectively.  Last night started off a bit chaotic from time-to-time as they learned the importance of following a duty roster and being organized during meal planning and cleanup.  The patrol was trying to clean up from dinner and set up a dining fly (tarp) at the same time.  They also wanted to go to free time but needed to get their site in order before inspection.  There came a point when, all at once, they seemed to click into a single machine.  It was a great night and that was very evident today as well.  Jack S. is doing a fantastic job as Patrol Leader for the Llamas; several adults commented on his leadership style and skill.

After the assembly.... We had a big cake for Wyatt during cracker barrel (an extra evening snack/meal) and all the scouts wished him a happy birthday (as scouts do).  Drew and a few other scouts went star gazing for their astronomy Merit Badge.  Jack W. made Second Class and is just about ready for First Class.  Mr. Fischer reports there are several other scouts making ready for advancement as well.

Today (Tuesday)

Today was pretty much the same morning routine for the scouts - Merit badge classes.  This afternoon they headed over to the waterfront for the "Greasy Watermelon" event.  Greasy watermelon.  They split into two teams and try to push the watermelon across the goal.

Josh has it.... Get him!!

They also shot rifles, played water polo and volley ball.  Some of our scouts will participate in the Many Point Ironman competition; we will let you know how that goes.

Later tonight, ten of our scouts are going over to Huck Finn.  There, they will spend the evening swimming, jumping, fishing, cooking, competing in contests, playing capture the flag by canoe and more all from 40ft by 40ft rafts in Flintlock Bay.  For those staying back at camp, it is Tie-Dye Tuesday.  Scouts can tie-die T-shirts...  Later we will have a vesper service then back to camp for free time and lights out.

We are continuing to have a great time and the scouts are doing well in their scouting endeavors.  New pictures have been uploaded to the Many Point 2013 section of our Picassa site.

New scouts More to come...

Signing off from Many Point!

Many Point 2013

Hello Parents, Scouts and Friends of Troop 346.  We arrived at Many Point around 1pm yesterday after a lunch stop in Park Rapids. All went according to plan.  Thanks to all the parents that helped get us here!!  The scouts are staying in the Two Harbors and Ft. William (a.k.a Ft. Bill) camping areas of the Voyager sub-camp.

We were greeted by deer flies and, later, an onslaught of mosquitoes; but that's to be expected up here this time of year.   A little bug spray and a periodic shower (for the scouts not the mosquitoes) keeps them tolerable (the mosquitoes and the scouts).   Our guys did a fantastic job of getting organized and prepared for the week's activities.  A great deal of credit goes to both the older scouts for their leadership and the younger scouts for their appetite to learn and work together.

Leadership Scouts writing the (funny fifty-two) rules.

We had dinner (sub sandwiches) and after a bit of cleanup we headed to the Campfire gathering at 7pm with all the other scouts staying in the Voyageur camping area.

First Night Campfire at Voyageur.

 Here the troops were introduced to one another and indoctrinated with what to expect for the week by the Voyager staff.  Then a few (optional) showers later and it was off to our tents.  We had checked the weather and were prepared for the rain that came around 2am. Most of us slept through it.

Today the scouts started off the day with Sausage and Waffles (generally); some were probably creative with the condiments and we have special meals for those that require them.  Then the scouts were on the way to First Class Adventure or Merit Badge classes. Lunch was in camp for everyone - Burgers and chips, not a vegetable in sight... oh, wait, the chips  ...we're good.

Now we are all out at afternoon activities.... Some are at the beach and some are at the Super Troop activity and one adult is at the administration building blogging to the folks back home .  The beach has swimming, an aqua trampoline, kayaking and more.  Super Troop is an activity where the scouts, as a troop, can earn distinction by demonstrating the practices of a model troop.

One more thing...  Happy Birthday to Wyatt K.  He turned 16 today.

Second Post Many Point Newsletter

I said I would be sending out a series of newsletters about topics primarily aimed at New Scouts and their parents, but hopefully there is information here that will benefit everyone. I may go ahead and post this on the Many Point Blog also. In this newsletter, I would like to talk about advancement and uniforms. However, another appeal: PLEASE SEND PICTURES! ANYONE who took pictures at Many Point, contact me and I'll give you some options for getting me the pictures.

 

During the first week of Many Point we held 15 Boards of Review for rank and easily just as many Scout Master conferences. We had 121 merit badges completed!

I have entered most of them into the national database known as ScoutNet. There will be even more when the Scouts that stayed two weeks get home. For you new Scouts that did not finish their Leatherwork or Basketry projects, get them finished off and we will be arranging a time for you to come and get your final requirement signed off. Remember: It is very IMPORTANT to hang on to the partial "blue card" (bright PINK this year to aid in visibility) so we know what you have finished and what need to be completed.

 

Scouts: In your Scout Handbooks (pages 432-437?) are the requirement sign-off sheets for Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class. You can work on all three ranks at the same time; we call these the skill ranks. Some of you have all ready finished Tenderfoot. When all of the requirements except "Demonstrate Scout Spirit...", "Participate in a Scoutmaster conference..." and "Complete your Board of Review..." are complete, you are ready for your Scoutmaster conference. Scoutmaster conferences for all ranks except Life and Eagle can be done with the Scoutmaster or an Assistant Scoutmaster. You will complete the "Demonstrate..." and "Participate..." requirements at the Scoutmaster conference. When you have successfully completed your Scoutmaster conference, you can call Mr. McGrath to schedule a Board of Review. Boards of Review are held with at least three non-Scoutmaster adults, so they take a little bit more scheduling. When you successfully complete your Board of Review, you have EARNED your new rank. The Advancement night scheduled for August 29th will be a great opportunity as are most campouts and meetings. In Boy Scouts, it is up to each individual Scout to be responsible for his advancement.

 

The Scouts will receive their rank patches and merit badges at the fall Court of Honor on October 3rd. PLEASE put this date on your calendar, it is very important that ALL Scouts from the troop try to attend. We hold three troop wide Courts of Honor a year; fall in September or early October, Winter in February or early March, and Spring in May or early June. There are also SPECIAL Eagle Courts of Honor held by the family of new Eagle Scouts. Typically EVERYONE in the troop is invited to these important events. The next Eagle Court of Honor is for Ryan Hayes on August 14th. I would encourage ALL Scouts to attend, especially new Scouts. These are typically very inspirational ceremonies. New Scouts should note that Troop Courts of Honor and Eagle Courts of Honor count as troop activities for the Second Class and First Class rank requirements, as do Eagle Projects (Reed Fischer has one coming up, check the calendar!)

 

Once you get more than a few merit badges, you will want to go to the Scout Shop and get a merit badge shop. The merit badge sash is worn on special occasions like Courts of Honor, Scout Master Conferences, and Boards of Review. The sash is worn on the right shoulder and extends to the left hips. Badges are sewn three across starting at the top right. Troop tradition is to sew non-Eagle required merit badges (see the Scout Handbook or www.meritbadge.org for a list, non-Eagle merit badges have a green border) in the outside rows, and Eagle required Merit Badges (silver border) down the center.

 

In addition to the rank and merit badge patches, we will also be handing out a 2011 Many Point patch and activity segments to all Scouts who attended Many Point. Tradition in Troop 346 is that a Scout sews the patch from his first year attending Many Point onto the right pocket of his uniform, with all the appropriate segments. Go to http://www.troop346.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/ManyPointPatchSystem.pdf to see how these are arranged. The segments represent different things that a Scout does during his (many) stays at Many Point; all the new Scouts will receive one for Voyageur, climbing, Super Troop, etc. Everyone that attends each year will receive a Many Point patch for that year. Many Scouts will sew the patch for subsequent years onto the back of their merit badge sash.

 

Another important patch we plan on handing out is the patrol patches for the Polar Bears and Piranhas! I need to order these soon, so be sure to let me know the latest roster for both patrols so I order the right number!

 

During the Boards of Review, we talked to several Scouts about their uniforms. Several were missing shoulder loops, several were still wearing Cub Scout patches, and several were not wearing their Scout Rank patch on the left pocket. If you are wondering where patches should be sewn, look at this Uniform Inspection guide: http://www.scoutstuff.org/media/content/docs/pdfs/34283.pdf.

ATTACHING PATCHES:

• Patches can be sewn on, either by machine or by hand, I have done both. It can be time consuming, but looks very sharp. There is no rule that says that Moms have to do the sewing. I've always thought there should be a sewing merit badge; there isn't, but that doesn't mean you can't teach your Scout. Some sewing places will sew patches on, but at a fairly high price. The sewing does not have to be perfect.
• Badge Magic (http://www.badgemagic.com) is a double-faced tape product for attaching patches. It available at the Scout Shop as a large sheet or a pre-cut shapes for badges. It works well for large badges and is very easy. However, despite what the makers say, I have never been able to remove all of the residue when removing badges and it does not work well for small patches like Many Point segments. The residue is not usually a problem if you are changing badges (I.e. rank), but if you are using to attach a position patch (I.e. Patrol Leader on left sleeve) the residue could be a problem after the term is over (6 months). Badge Magic works pretty well for Merit Badges.
• Some badges are attached and are not changed often; I.e. patrol patches, merit badges, Many Point patch, OA patch, etc. Some badges need to be changed more often; I.e. rank, position, quality unit awards. For awards that don't change often, I prefer sewing. For various reasons, I have to change or remove some of my patches occasionally, and here's a trick I use. First get some tan velcro, it almost the same color as the uniform shirts. I put badge magic on the back of the patch and attach the hook part of the velcro to the back of the badge. Sometimes you have to use several strips, and trim it to the shape of the patch. Then I attach the same shape of the fuzzy part of the velcro to my uniform using badge magic. Then I can attach the patch to my uniform with velcro. If you use this method for rank, you can attach the Scout patch to the right pocket without sewing, then when your Scout gets his Tenderfoot patch, you can attach it with some velcro and swap them out. If you use this method for attaching position patches, then when the Scout's term is up, they can remove the patch and there is just a fuzzy part, the same color of the uniform, instead of sticky residue. The only downside is you need to be careful when ironing and it doesn't lay quite a flat. Stop and look at my uniform next time we're at a meeting, I have several patches attached this way.

That's about it for this newsletter. If you have any questions or topics you would like me to cover, just email me at troop346@troop346.org.

 

Yours in Scouting (YIS)

Jon Yearous

Adult Webmaster