By: Eric Xia (Scorpions)
I woke early on Saturday and got to the church at 6:35, traditionally 5 minutes late. It was a backpacking outing to Dolly Sods, one of the most outdoor-ish places east of the Mississippi River. We left the church and arrived at Dolly Sods (way after the scheduled time). We also stopped at an elementary playground so all scouts could stretch their legs. Since our group (Scorpions & Sharks) took on the trail third, we ate lunch in the parking lot. Finally, we were getting started! My excitement wavered when we had to take a lot of breaks in the first 5 minutes, but it was necessary because it was a first-time experience for some people (including me!).
The hike wasn’t so bad, though. The scenery was breathtaking, although the elevation was sometimes tricky. The path wasn’t monotonous; it wasn’t just a path through the forest. We went through fields, dry areas, mud puddles, and rivers. In total, a one-way hike was around 3 miles.
We eventually made it to the campsite 1.5 hours later than expected. Due to our incredible timeliness, we had to assemble our tents, filter stream water, light the stove, all in minimal time with minimal accidents. Or at least, we tried to.
After we finished our dinner (beef stroganoff), we had a successful campfire and pre-filtered water for breakfast. After a long day, we climbed into our tents to prepare for the hike back on Sunday.
I have to admit we did wake up a bit late. We woke at 6:00 and, thanks to the pre-filtered water, managed to get a head-start. However, boiling the water for oatmeal did take quite a while, as did packing up. We were supposed to arrive at the parking lot at 9:00 a.m., but we were still at the campsite then. On the way back, we beat our previous time by 1 hour. However, due to earlier complications, the Scorpions and Sharks were the last ones back, getting there around 11:00 a.m. We arrived home at 2:00 p.m.
Overall, it was a great outing and a great experience. Backpacking is not like regular outings, but it provides a great time to build Scout Spirit and use scout skills. It was a weekend well spent.
