TL;DR — we HAVE gotten approval from Troop Committee and Chartering Organization, so it's a "go"! If all the restrictions are acceptable, sign up!
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We are two weeks out from (hopefully) our first camp out of the Scouting year.
Our traditional Guns and Arrows camp out will be a one-night campout, September 26-27th, at Sinoquipe Scout Reservation in Fort Littleton PA. Plan on getting there no later than 8AM on Saturday (leaving Arlington around 6AM). We're trying to restart camping with a single night: this gets us back into things slowly, and also avoids the sheer torture that is driving to Sinoquipe on a Friday night.
If this camp out happens, we will have our usual day at the ranges: rifle, shotgun, and archery. We will have the usual safety briefings prior to hitting the ranges, as safety is our utmost concern at this event. And, like last year, there will be prizes, as well as a special reward for cleanup (obscure hint: “a quantity having direction as well as magnitude, especially as determining the position of one point in space relative to another.”)
Campout price is $45. As always we will need a signed (by both parent and Scout) permission slip prior to arrival at Sinoquipe. Send a scan to Mr. Vargas once signed.
“An actual camp out, Mr Vargas?” you say? Possibly. Here are the things in our favor:
- Sinoquipe, last I checked, is ok with us coming (and we’ve already paid)
- Virginia is no longer on Pennsylvania’s quarantine list
- Our certified instructors (Mr Terry, Mr Stewart, Mr Kellenberger, and Mr McLaughlin) and range safety officers are all ready to attend
However, if we do go, many rules will have to be in effect that will likely limit attendance. Rules including, but not limited to:
- No carpooling. Each parent would have to drive their own Scout (or Scouts in case of siblings). Depending on how long we stay, that would mean parents would need to camp too (unless you don’t mind the 4 hr round trip, or you find a nice B&B in the area).
- Solo tents. No doubling up. That means we will run out of tents quickly since we barely have enough when we double up. Ideally bring your own tent.
- Backpacking meals. Cooking for a whole patrol is risky enough as it is. You should prepare your own meals as if you were backpacking (i.e. dehydrated camping meals), and ideally bring your own lightweight stove (we can boil water for people if not). You will pack in and out all mess gear and trash, just like backpacking.
- All the other usual stuff: social distancing and masks when out of your tent, lots of hand sanitizer (provided), gloves, etc.
Now, for all I know, these restrictions will result in our getting zero takers for the camp out and I wouldn’t blame you. These restrictions may not be sufficient for parents who are concerned about infections, and I wouldn’t blame you for that either.
I will say that, even if we don’t have a real camp out that weekend, we will have a virtual camp out so that people can get camping nights in for requirements. You are also encouraged to do a "shadow" camp out on your own if you don't want to attend but need the camping nights for advancement.
For future campouts (assuming they are allowed to happen), we are trying to find closer-in camping spots, so you won't have to drive two hours. This one was already set up, though, so we're going to try to continue with it.
OK, that's all. Given all that, here are the usual links: