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Geronimo Summer Camp
June 2000
by John Gaylord
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| Troop 697 had another successful Camp Geronimo on this the millennium year. Once again the Big “G” Gold award was achieved for their outstanding performance during the week. All scouts attained merit badges and advancement skills. |
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| The week began bright and early on Saturday morning June 17th with an uneventful trip to Payson where lunch was picked up and the excitement grew as we continued to the camp parking lot. All the scouts and leaders were prepared for the hike into camp and the start of the activities. |
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| The troop began by doing the Totem-to-Totem hike. The nice part is that in the middle of the hike the patrols get to drop their packs off at the usual Camp Site 8. Each scout got settled in and the leaders went to their usual meetings. The new scouts set up tents so they could sleep in a tent they set up. Just to make sure we knew what it was like to sleep outdoors it rained most of the first night. That set the tone for the week. |
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| The rules of the camp were a little different this year due to the fire danger. There were no campfires allowed nor was charcoal allowed for cooking. All the trails were closed except those within the boundaries of the camp but that did not deter the group from finding a way to accomplish the goal of the Big “G” Gold. Of course to add to the excitement and challenge it continues to rain most afternoons. This made planning and scheduling of the activities even more difficult. |
| Austin Gaylord was the Senior Patrol Leader for the week. He planned and scheduled the activities. There were three (3) patrols at the camp. Two new patrols let by experienced scouts, Neal Wright and Matt Buechler who were assisted by Greg Howell and Carlos Romero. The third patrol was the Dragons led by Matt Glass. The patrols did a great job of working together as a team and completing all the requirements as a troop. The scouts were complimented for being the best KP group the kitchen staff had seen that week. They were all cheerful and very scout-like in the performance of their duties. |
| At the Wednesday night inter-troop campfire each of the patrols put on a skit, even the adult leadership group did a skit. The talent in the group prevailed as the Coyote patrol, led by Neal Wright made the Friday night campfire with their skit. Ask them sometime how it went. |
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| The highlight was the number of scouts that completed the “I did it all” and the number that did the “Tenderfoot Run” on Friday morning. To get the “I did it all” the scouts had to complete the “Polar Bear”. 5:00 AM came early and the water got colder each day due to the rain but the scouts held up and made the swim every morning. As an editorial, even the old adult leader completed the “I did it all”. |
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