By Scoutmaster Patrick —
The weather is warming up and with it comes April showers and more adventures with Troop 38 and 638. Over the past month, the scouts have kept busy with scout meetings, community service and, of course, camping.
There is a section of road, State Route 17C in the area West of Owego, that our troops have adopted to keep clean.
In April, the troop divided into three groups, donned helmets, gloves, and reflective vests and set off to clean up both sides of the road. A couple of hours later, the scouts arrived back at the start knowing that their efforts had made our area a more attractive place to live, and kept hundreds of pounds of trash out of the streams and rivers. With work comes fun, and the last weekend in April provided the scouts with just that!
Pictured are Scout Troops 38 and 638. Provided photo.
The month’s theme was water activities. The scouts decided for their camping adventure to travel to Letchworth State Park to kayak and white-water raft on the Genesee River. To prepare for this trip, during the weekly Monday meetings, scouts learned about how to read current, first aid for water-related injuries, how to properly wear a lifejacket, they named the parts and sections of a boat, and practiced throwing rescue ropes.
In the guide to Safe Scouting and Safety Afloat, it indicates that scouts participating in such activities should take a swim test. One evening they found a local (indoor) pool that allowed scouts and leaders to demonstrate their swimming abilities to be prepared for the trip.
Scouts had plenty of water adventures, learning about safety along the way. Provided photos.
The camping trip was all about water. On day one, even though it was lightly raining and temperatures were in the high 40’s, scouts, with guidance from the guides at Adventure Calls Outfitters, set off to learn the necessary skills for the canoeing and kayaking merit badges.
Scouts, all dressed in wetsuits, paddled canoes and kayaks in “Trout Pond”, within the park itself. The Kayaking badge required scouts to tip their kayak over (intentionally) and swim it to shore. For canoeing, scouts had to “jump out” and get back into their canoes without swamping it and they had, with a buddy boat, to act as rescuers and do a “T” rescue on a swamped canoe; a rescue that can be done far from shore.
Scouts had plenty of water adventures, learning about safety along the way. Provided photos.
This was just the “warm up”, or in their case the “cool up” activity because after lunch the scouts took those kayaking skills to the Genesee River. Here, under the supervision of kayaking guides, scouts paddled inflatable kayaks 4-5 miles on class 1-2 rapids. Yes, they got wet, and yes, a couple people found themselves swimming in the rapids. But the prior training paid off and everyone safely made it to the takeout spot. Day one ended with a Dutch oven pizza making competition and planning for the rafting adventure the next day.
On Sunday, day two, the scouts reviewed what they learned the day before and presented their float plan to the guides. Launching inflatable rafts, scouts were now in charge of the trip as they, with the help of the rafting guides, again navigated the rapids through New York’s Grand Canyon in Letchworth. Communication and teamwork was the key to success in piloting the rafts, keeping them off rocks and away from water hazards, all while hitting the biggest rapids possible!
Scouts had plenty of water adventures, learning about safety along the way. Provided photos.
If it were not enough to raft and kayak the river, the guides had additional challenges for the scouts. Providing them with rescue rope bags, one scout jumped into a small rapid and started floating down the river. The other scout, armed with a rescue rope, would attempt to toss the rope to their peer and pull them in. Some scouts were highly successful with this, while other scouts were not so accurate. In that case there was a backup rescuer and a raft ready to pick them up!
The last (optional) challenge before heading home was for the scouts to swim across the rapids to the other side of the river. Swimming in a swimming pool is fun, swimming rapids adds a large degree of difficulty most people never experience. At this point, older and younger scouts, some of whom are only 10-11 years old, did their best; and all who attempted it made it 150’ across the river to the other side.
Scouts had plenty of water adventures, learning about safety along the way. Provided photo.
After everyone who wanted to swim had a chance, we gathered back up in the rafts and rafted to the takeout point for a short bus ride back to the outfitter building. The rafting was done and so was the camping trip. During the two plus hour ride back home to Owego, it was observed that many scouts slept that distance after all the physical effort and fresh air over the past couple days.
Scouts BSA’s program is designed for fun. Twice in one weekend the youth learned and tested their skills, paddling their boats down a river with rapids. Most importantly, they learned not only how to navigate the river safely and learned how to “Be Prepared” in the event of a water related emergency.
The scouts are pictured during their adventure. Provided photo.
About the time you are reading this our youth will be out on another adventure, biking the 63-mile Pine Creek Gorge over a four-day weekend. Finally, visit us during Owego’s Strawberry Fest at our booth where we will be selling strawberry shortcakes and strawberry coolers!
If you or someone you know is interested in Scouts BSA, there are two troops and a Cub Scout Pack in Owego that would welcome all youth. The programs that Troop 38 (for boys) and Troop 638 (for girls) offer are for youth ages 11-17. Cub Scout Pack 37’s programming is designed for youth (boys and girls) under the age of 11.
Contact scouttroop38@gmail.com for more information about any of the above programs.
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