Seems that
Camp Chawanakee was a resounding good time once again. The scouts returned to the Scout Shack at about 2pm following a drive that started some time before 9am and included a 45-minute stop for lunch along the way. It was difficult to tell if the scouts had gotten slightly tanned (the camp is at about one mile in elevation on the shores of Shaver Lake with day time temperatures this time of the year in the 80s) or if it was just a layer of what is affectionately called Chawanadust.
A main way in which the troops at camp get recognized for their overall performance at camp is at evening flags where what is called the "thumbstick" is awarded to the best troops in camp. The troops are recognized for a long list of accomplishments such as: how the camp site is arranged, neatness of the tents, cleanliness of the camp site, presentation of important information on the camp site bulletin board, the gadgets that have been added to improve the camp site (such improvements have included a four-hole golf course, archway into the site, a compass rose, an equipment rack, a wash basin, a medic station, a towel rack, and a weather rock to name a few items), and overall scout spirit (behavior of the scouts, quietness after taps, cooperation, etc.). Each day of camp, one troop from each the groups of troops is awarded the thumbstick for that group and is required to do something to improve the thumbstick. One the last day of camp, an overall winner is announced for each group and that troop is able to retain permanent possession of the thumbstick and take it home with them. Last year, we were one of the thumbstick winners. You can see last year's thumbstick below.
I don't have a picture of this year's thumbstick just yet, but they were winners again this year. It's a little bit larger and pink - covered in pink duct tape!
This year, not only are they thumbstick winners, but they won the Spirit Arrow given to the top overall troop for the entire camp. This is camp that has as many as 20 or more boy scout troops from all over California, some as far away as San Diego. So winning the Spirit Arrow is a significant achievement. Below is a photo of the score sheet from the middle of the week.
In the score sheet, you can see that a perfect score each day would be 100, but the commissioner responsible for inspecting the camp site and monitoring the behavior of the troops has the ability to award extra points to troops that go beyond the usual level. In the above sheet, you can see where Ethan's troop got scores significantly above 100 for three of the days. Ethan says that on Friday they got a score of 165. I guess this is like acing your AP classes and having a GPA higher than 4.0.
The other significant aspect of this achievement is that they did this with a larger troop size than what our troop usually has at Chawanakee. There are pluses and minuses with the larger troop size. A larger troop size means that the troop can accomplish more things but a larger troop size also means that there are more items that need to be kept in order. Two years ago there were something like 8 scouts that attended camp, last year there were 12 scouts and this year the count was up to 22. See below for photo of the group that attended this year.
So although the scouts have many fun activities, the camp also emphasizes the development of character, teamwork, good citizenship, and other sought after traits. The fun activities include sailboating, canoeing, row boating, swimming, polar bear plunge (6am plunge into the lake - okay, not nearly as bad as water on the Bering Sea), mile swim (one of our scouts broke the all-time record for the mile swim this year by swimming it using the butterfly stroke and then broke his own camp record swimming it free style), five-mile hike, archery range, rifle range where you can shoot 22s and shot guns (and on the last full day, adults are able try black powder shooting), horseback riding, and many different classes for boy scout merit badges. There are also evening campfires attended by all troops at camp.
The last day of camp they have this competition called Chawanadayze which is a campwide competition of leadership. This year there were seven stations with a variety of competitions. The scouts break into their patrols for this competition. Each troop could have several patrols of six to eight boys. Ethan's troop had three patrols this year with Ethan being the patrol leader for a patrol named the Forks. The Forks managed to win third place at two of the seven stations (first aid/stretcher relay and tomahawk throwing).
Ethan is ready to go back next year for his third year at Chawanakee. The year after that will be Ryan's first opportunity.
