By Kevin S.
This outing was a fantastic experience. It was the new scout’s first outing, and they had tons of fun. The weather was exceptionally nice compared to last year, as it was sunny all day and there was no rain.
We left the church in the morning and arrived at Dolly Sods a few hours later. We waited an hour for the last car of our patrol to show up, and went on the hike. Throughout our trip, we saw many pine forests, valleys, and streams. We also met many nice hikers, two of which told us where a perfect camping spot was and how to get to a beautiful sightseeing area. On the trail we sung songs and told stories to keep ourselves entertained and in high spirits. The new scouts did extremely well, leading the way and making the rest of us pick up our pace to catch up. They also worked on their navigation skills. Thankfully, we ended up in the right place.
At the campsite, we were greeted by a nice, cool area in a pine forest to set up camp. There was a fire pit with stone seats surrounding it, and a convenient stream gave us a supply of water. After dropping our bags off, Mr. Lion told us that we were going to hike another half hour to look at a huge valley. And so, we set off again.
The hike up was much easier, as we had no heavy packs to weigh us down. Once we reached the top, we looked around for the best place to see the view. The thirty minute hike was definitely worth it. A huge, vast valley could be seen. Houses appeared as small dots, and you could see everything from the top. We took some pictures, and sat down on the rocks and relaxed.
After hiking back, we began to set up camp. We pitched our tents and began to set up dinner. Our efficiency proved to help. Several scouts taught the new scouts how to operate the backpacking stove, while two others were pumping water, providing us an infinite amount of fresh water for cooking. Within minutes, we were done cooking, and everyone was left with a full stomach of beef stroganoff. We spent the rest of the night sitting by the campfire telling stories.
The next day, we woke up at 7 AM and began to get breakfast ready. The air was frigid, and everyone was frozen stiff. We cooked a fast meal of apple cinnamon oatmeal, and we started to pack up. We got out of the camp at around 8:30and began to hike. We took no pack-off breaks, and barged our way through the path.
We arrived the the parking lot at 11:15, finding out that we were sadly one of the last patrols to arrive. However, that did not matter. The trip was a great patrol bonding experience, and we all had lots of fun.
