Boy Scout Troop 95 spends weekend at Redden State Forest

The Boy Scouts of Troop 95 of Georgetown and the Webelos twos from Cub Scout Pack 95 stayed in Redden Lodge the weekend of Feb. 19-21. The scouts go to Redden State Forest this time of year since it is right before the Webelos cross over to the troop.

They arrived Friday evening, unpacked their gear then went inside where The Patrol was directed to their room. After everyone was unpacked the scouts organized a game of Commandos. It is a game when one would try to get to base without getting tackled. When the game ended they enjoyed a snack of cupcakes to celebrate Nathanial Abbott's birthday, and stayed up a bit longer before going to bed.

The next day the scouts started with practice marching and exercises before breakfast. Later, the Boy Scouts gathered with all the Webelo Cub Scouts and started to teach them about fire building including what to do and what not to do around a fire.

A scout leader explained the fire triangle and talked about the three types of fuel, three types of fire lays and fire-building safety rules. The Boy Scouts were each assigned to a Webelo to help with the fire building. Each Webelo had to try to light his fire with just one match. However, some of them took more than two or three matches to light their fire.

The scouts below first class rank were working with adult leaders on an orienteering course, a competitive activity in which participants find their way to checkpoints across rough country with the aid of a map and compass. After lunch they continued on to a more challenging orienteering course. Some other scouts learned about bus maintenance and helped clean the bus.

in the afternoon, scouts passed the time playing football and hiking with adult leaders. Dinner was pizza and soda, and  the day ended with a campfire, singing, doing skits and having dessert, which was a huge cake decorated like an outdoor campsite along a stream. The cake was for John Abbott's 40th birthday.

The scouts started the day off Sunday by marching and exercising. They had donuts and muffins baked by member Braeden Swain for breakfast. They cleaned the lodge, had a chapel service and then loaded the scout van with their backpacks and loaded the bus. They arrived back at church at 11 a.m., unloaded their gear and went home with good memories of the trip.