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Hey fellow campers:
I was finally able to get in my first campout of 2015 this last weekend. I joined my son on his first campout as a Boy Scout. This was a "new scout skills" campout so he had an opportunity to begin learning some valuable camping skills. There were over 50 kids and about 7 adult leaders and a couple of parents also camping.
In Indiana, our 8" snowfall from the prior week melted completely just before our trip. On top of that we received over 1 inch of rain the day before our campout. The result? Very soft ground! Made for easy push-in on tent stakes, also made for thick mud in certain spots.
Temps ranged from the upper 50's during the day to just below 32 at night/early morning.
Mud, cold...and scouting. Perfect conditions! We both had a blast. What fun!
The troop had just purchased new tents for the boys. Alps Mountaineering Taurus 4P with aluminum poles. 7'6 x 8'6" footprint, dual doors and vestibules. With only 2 boys per tent...plenty of space. Nice tents. Proud of my son and his friend, they listened to my advice on tent care and kept their tent pretty free of mud, which made the job of clean up easy.
I used my new UCO Mini Candle Lantern at night to help with condensation and provide a little heat in my tent.
Scout camping area (hard to get all the tents into one picture-there were over 25 tents set up in this area).
Closer shot of the Alp Mountaineering Tents. My son's is in the back corner (with the open vesty door). He selected a fairly dry spot on elevated ground, in the corner, overlooking a nice stream down below. He must have been paying attention to me all these years of camping together as a family.
The adults had a separate camping area across the road in the woods (far enough away from the Scouts, but close enough to be within range). I hiked back a little further and found a nice relatively dry spot to pitch my CloudPeak 4P that also had nice privacy. Heavy to lug very far, but it was worth it.
Just after wake up on the last morning and just before breaking camp. I should have told my son to leave his hat on for the picture like his Dad...hides the bedhead. lol
All in all, it was a nice time and I was happy to finally get out this year. Looking forward to more camp trips...the troop goes camping once a month. Next month, the campout will be held at the Subaru Manufacturing Factory in Lafayette, IN. In addition to camping out on the grounds of the plant, the boys will be taking a guided tour of the plant. Neat!
Thanks for taking a look! Hope your first camp trip 2015 is successful and fun.
Brian - a65hoosier
I was finally able to get in my first campout of 2015 this last weekend. I joined my son on his first campout as a Boy Scout. This was a "new scout skills" campout so he had an opportunity to begin learning some valuable camping skills. There were over 50 kids and about 7 adult leaders and a couple of parents also camping.
In Indiana, our 8" snowfall from the prior week melted completely just before our trip. On top of that we received over 1 inch of rain the day before our campout. The result? Very soft ground! Made for easy push-in on tent stakes, also made for thick mud in certain spots.
Temps ranged from the upper 50's during the day to just below 32 at night/early morning.
Mud, cold...and scouting. Perfect conditions! We both had a blast. What fun!
The troop had just purchased new tents for the boys. Alps Mountaineering Taurus 4P with aluminum poles. 7'6 x 8'6" footprint, dual doors and vestibules. With only 2 boys per tent...plenty of space. Nice tents. Proud of my son and his friend, they listened to my advice on tent care and kept their tent pretty free of mud, which made the job of clean up easy.
I used my new UCO Mini Candle Lantern at night to help with condensation and provide a little heat in my tent.
Scout camping area (hard to get all the tents into one picture-there were over 25 tents set up in this area).
Closer shot of the Alp Mountaineering Tents. My son's is in the back corner (with the open vesty door). He selected a fairly dry spot on elevated ground, in the corner, overlooking a nice stream down below. He must have been paying attention to me all these years of camping together as a family.
The adults had a separate camping area across the road in the woods (far enough away from the Scouts, but close enough to be within range). I hiked back a little further and found a nice relatively dry spot to pitch my CloudPeak 4P that also had nice privacy. Heavy to lug very far, but it was worth it.
Just after wake up on the last morning and just before breaking camp. I should have told my son to leave his hat on for the picture like his Dad...hides the bedhead. lol
All in all, it was a nice time and I was happy to finally get out this year. Looking forward to more camp trips...the troop goes camping once a month. Next month, the campout will be held at the Subaru Manufacturing Factory in Lafayette, IN. In addition to camping out on the grounds of the plant, the boys will be taking a guided tour of the plant. Neat!
Thanks for taking a look! Hope your first camp trip 2015 is successful and fun.
Brian - a65hoosier
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