On Sunday, we went and got to Goshen at around three or four. We did a pack check, set up our tents, had dinner/ campfire, and went to bed. Monday, we set out to the first outpost and, on the way, got thoroughly lost and wound up in a Webelos (2nd grade ish) portion of the camp. We ate lunch with them and told them about backpacking and pirates. It was awesome. So after lunch, it started to rain, and when it let up slightly, we put on pack covers and ponchos and went off. We got thoroughly lost again and wound up in a different camp in Goshen, where a leader gave us a better map than the one we got at base camp. We set out again, got thoroughly lost AGAIN, and eventually called base camp for directions. By the way, it was still raining, and we were completely soaked to the bone, through the boots, through the socks, and was prunifying our toes. Anyway, we finally made it to our first outpost, Mountain Man. We threw tomohawks, darts, shot 50 caliber guns (or 45, if you wanted), and hung out at the trade-only camp store (for lack of a better term). I got half a handful of seed beads for a gimp that I had done.
The next day, we went off and got to the next outpost, Civil War, in good time (as in, we made it there in less than six hours, with minimal lost time). We arrived at noon, set our stuff down and made sure it was in a place where it would be able to become/ stay dry in case it rained again, and we went on a hike to a mountain called the Knobb. We were trying for the Trailbalzer Award, which requires at least 20 miles of hiking and doing 2 peaks, among other things. While we were hiking The Knob, guess what? IT RAINED AGAIN!! And guess what else? WE GOT LOST AGAIN!! YAY!! We finally made it to the top as it stopped raining, and the view felt like something out of Avatar, because it was all foggy and green and the view was sort of obstructed by a LOT of trees.
We passed through Mountain Man on the way back, who radioed back to Civil War that we were on our way. We were supposed to check in between one and five pm, and it was around six pm. When we arrived, the guy who was running Civil War (one of them, anyway) shot some blanks into the trees to startle us, and we all screamed. Literally. One of us went into the fetal position, one nearly jumped into the trees, and one of the adults yelled, "God bless Abe Lincoln!" It was HILARIOUS!
After that, it rained some more and when it let up, we 'signed up for the army' and did some training, attack formations, and learned how to charge. And I also pulled a tick off the back of my tentmate's neck during the training. We also learned about some artifacts from the civil war and other cool stuff.
The next day, we did some shooting, and I 'earned the Seargent's eternal respect' because I pulled off all of the (paper) tops of the little shot-sized powder bags off with my teeth. I also hit the target twice. After packing up, we set off for the Native American outpost. The hike, again, only lasted about an hour, probably less. There, half of us hiked to Swinging Bridge, and half (me included) built a dam in the stream as our service project (a requirement for trailblazer). Then the half that stayed behind did some shooting at a cookie target and then shot at animal-shaped targets. I hit the most of my half. I also overshot one into the trees. It has yet to be found, but we did find a different one that had been lost at another point in the summer.
After dinner, we went to Mountain Man for their campfire, as part of the Native American program. We also introduced the Boy Scouts to a couple of Girl Scout songs. It was fairly awesome.
Thursday morning, we hiked over to Kayaking, and decided to hike our second peak, Viewing Rock, that day, instead of on Friday. It was a steep hike, but it was also a 'Circle of Life' moment. You just HAD to sing it, because it was that sort of view.
When we returned to Kayaking, we kayaked (surprise!) and capsized on purpose. The boys, after dinner, also challenged us to a game of volleyball. The post leaders couldn't find the volleyball, but we did play a few games of Ninja and Don't Touch the Trash Can, a game that is very hard to explain.
Friday, we woke up early, and made it to another Webelos camp by nine or so. We hung out there and handled the snakes in the nature center (which was really awesome, by the way), and then we headed on our way. We made it back to base camp by eleven, and we all took our first official showers of the week, which felt really nice. We didn't even bother staying for lunch, but did final photos and headed home, eating lunch on the way.
The end!
