2014 Summer Camp

The troop chose Camp Royaneh in nearby Cazadero for this year’s summer camp.  Despite the camp's proximity (only 45 minutes away) it has been about 6 years since we visited.  In fact, the senior scouts that were on the trip pointed out that this was their first ever summer camp and it would end up being their final summer camp as well.  It would be great if every scout could have this coincidence happen, but it would make for a difficult schedule to keep. 

One great thing about the camp being so close is the short travel time.  The troop was able to meet mid morning and still make it to the camp in a leisurely fashion.  Another nice thing, we actually had to turn drivers down this year as we had too many.  That never happens!  It also meant that we could switch leaders out over the course of the week and leaders that couldn’t make a full commitment could still make the trip.

Unlike last year, this year’s meet up was painfully easy with everyone arriving on time and getting on the road in an orderly fashion.  Then it was off for a lovely trip through the redwoods to Cazadero.  The drive there was not a problem, but things were a little choked when we got to the camp.  A bus had just pulled in and was in the process of turning around in the parking lot.  We ended up parking in a lower parking area, loading all of the gear onto two of the pickups to be driven to the site, and then walking to the campsite which was only a short distance away.  The drivers then returned to the cars later on and reparked in the proper lot.

Then it was time for the mandatory tour of the camp and swim checks.  The troop followed our two guides to all of the activity areas in camp and then to the pool (yes a pool) for med checks and swim checks.  Then it was off to the far flung areas of the camp to see the shooting ranges and the Mountain Man area.  The latter lives up to its name!  While all of Camp Royaneh is uphill from the parking lot (some less - some more), Mountain Man is the tallest and steepest climb from the main activity area. 

With check in done the troop settled into camp, tried the dining hall for the first time, and headed off to opening campfire.  Royaneh has a tremendous stage which allows them to be one of the few camps anywhere that offers the Theater merit badge.  Unfortunately we found that while the location was great, it may have given the staff a little too much to work with.   A lot of the staff skits had a beginning, middle but no end,  took forever, and dragged the end of the campfires past Taps!  It is kind of hard for the Scoutmaster to have the troop in bed by Taps if they are still in their seats in the amphitheater. 

The next morning, the troop took off for their merit badge sessions and that’s when chaos ensued!  A couple of boys we knew were going to have to rearrange their schedules, either because they had rethought their choices or because activities they had chosen were unavailable.  This is when we found out about the perils of attending the last week of camp!  As this was the last week that camp was offered, it was less than full and this caused a weird dichotomy in the classes.  Some of the merit badges and activities had too few participants and had to be cancelled while others (perhaps because of the cancellations) were overly full and had to be closed to new additions.  These put some of the scouts (especially senior scouts) in a bind where their activity choices were either full, canceled, or were badges they had already done!  While the vast majority of boys were just fine, the leaders were kept hopping the first day getting everyone settled into their classes.  By Tuesday morning however everything had been smoothed out and everyone had a full schedule.

Then it was off to the daily grind of summer camp – morning flags, breakfast, sessions 1 and 2, lunch, sessions 3 and 4, evening flags, dinner, open time, and evening program.  The evening programs were fun with the traditional opening and closing staff campfires, a troop skit night, a competition night (balloon stomp, ice throw, water cup balancing), a patrol competition night (memory games, team puzzles, tug of war, 1^st aid carries), and a couple of troop campfires back in the troop campsites. 

All too soon the week was over and things were winding down with only the dreaded Friday afternoon and Saturday morning scramble to finish up missing merit badge requirements.  Then all was packed up and it was time to take the hike down the hill to the parking lot and load up for the return journey home after a fun week.

A fun week it was too!  Everything went as smoothly as we could ask (despite the merit badge problems).  Only one boy threw up (and he was better an hour later), and only two boys were home sick (for just an hour) and they were better after we dragged them out to the campfire and they had FUN.    Everyone was busy, fun, and got a ton of advancement done in one week!  Hopefully it won’t be 6 years before we visit Royaneh again.  It’s a wonderful camp. 

The only question that remains is where to go next year?  The troop has a tradition of selecting a different camp each year.  Is it time to go back to one of the camps we’ve visited before or perhaps try one that is new?

Participants: Landon, Bryce, Owen, Sebastian, Carl, James, Matt. Marcus, Adam, Mitch, Andrew P., Joseph, Andrew W., Quinn, Evan, Zack, Josh, Payton, Daniel, Jordan, John, Eric C., Ewan, John-Robert, Brian, Gerrit, Sam, Eric M. 

Leaders:  Mr. Polkinghorn, Mrs. Reese, Mr. Frazee, Mr. Baier, Mr. Brisgel, Mr. Perez, Mr. Morris, Mr. Carver

Lessons Learned:  Royaneh is a great camp, but don't go in the last week.  It is one of the few camps that has a horse program.  It's all uphill from the parking lot.