Troop 51’s First Camp in.

Because of COVID-19, and the government asking all of us to shelter in place, Troop 51 has postponed all activities and meetings. This means no camping, no meetings, no advancing. . . or does it? Last month, a few scouts decided to have a Camp-in. Scouts were asked to pick a night and camp in their own backyard. We did just that. We picked a weekend that we already scheduled a camp out.

My experience camping in my backyard while sheltering in place was fun and exciting, knowing that other scouts in my troop were doing the same thing at the same time. We picked a night that it rained on us while we slept. But that didn’t stop us, we were prepared.

We built a fire outside, cooked food, and even made a dutch oven dessert. My dad slept out with us in his new tent that took 3 seconds to setup. I set up and slept in one of my dad’s ultralight backpacking tents. My little sister got in on the fun and slept in her own tent. The wind and rain lasted all night. In the morning, I woke up with a lot of condensation inside. Every time I touched the side of the tent, I got soaked with water. Next time I will make sure there is enough ventilation inside.

I hope we do this again and can get more of the troop to do it with us. I know we can’t physically do things together, but this is a way to do things in spirit and keep scouting alive and fun for us.