Joseph D. Grant County Park Outing

By Saachi and Nidhi

Troop 2199's Overnight Outing at Joseph D. Grant County Park

AUGUST 28, 2021

First, we all arrived in the Warm Springs Elementary School parking lot, next to the gym. There was a supply and gear check, in supply and gear lines. While we were moving two water cylinders, one of them cracked open and created a miniature waterfall in one of the cars! After we removed it and removed the tarp in the car, we cleaned up and waited for everyone else to arrive.

When everyone had arrived and we had put the gear and supplies in the cars, we all lined up behind one of the parents driving us and sat in their cars. Once we arrived at the park, we all filed out of the cars and changed into our Class B uniforms from our Class A uniforms. While we waited for Ms. Patel, our scoutmaster, to find out our campsite number, we all took part in the songs, led mainly by our SPL, Divya. When Ms. Patel came back, we all took our day packs (hiking packs for some people) and started on Hotel Trail from Junction #23.

We continued our hike and reached a gate that looked chained shut, but Divya managed to open it. Tired but not burned out, we continued in the sweltering 95 degree conditions carrying roughly 10-15 pounds on our backs. When we reached the first body of water, we all took a break and had some water and snacks. We took a few photographs and continued on our way, slightly confused because there were multiple paths. After we found the right trail, we reached a point where we had to cross the road, though the gate was locked, and most of the fence was barbed wire. Two scouts went ahead to check if it was the right area by climbing over the wooden part of the bench, and when we discovered it was, we all took turns climbing over the fence. It was rather fun!

We continued hiking until we reached another body of water, and we had some confusion on where to go. We went on the wrong path, so we turned around and went on the right one. Soon, we came upon a board and a parking lot. We relaxed for a bit while some people figured out what to do. Soon, we hiked down the road and got to the cars, where we waited for a few minutes and then got into the cars with our stuff. We arrived at the campsite, and found out we had been hiking for three hours!!!

We reached the campsite and divided into two patrols, and we made dinner. Patrol One and Patrol 2 made Cold Cut Sandwiches with Lemonade. After lunch, we all relaxed for a bit. Some people played football, some people just talked, and did other things.

Afterwards, we set up tents (which was quite an endeavor, considering the hard ground) and put our bags inside. There was a bug spray accident in one of the tents (oops!) and we forgot to get propane for dinner. We ate bread pizza for dinner instead of quesadillas, thanks to some people’s innovative ideas.

After dinner, we cleaned the mess kits and formed a short conga line, and had a crack ’n’ barrel, a time where we all got together for skits, songs, desserts, e.t.c. Because the weather was fine and the bug spray accident was torturous, some of us slept outside, beneath the stars, on tarps. Lights out was at 10:00.

Sleeping Under the Stars

AUGUST 29, 2021

We were all mostly awake by 6:30 AM. We ate breakfast, which was garlic bread, regular bread, omelets, and traditional styled tea. We cleaned up, collected our stuff and put it inside our bags, which we put on one of the picnic tables, and we had a race to disassemble and pack our tents. We started putting our bags inside the cars, and had a police check. A police check is a thorough sweep of the campground to pick up trash and objects we left behind. Then we all filed into cars and left the campsite.

On the way to the Warm Springs parking lot, we stopped at an Ice Cream store on the way. The owner was kind, and gave us a $20 discount! We went home, and as it turns out, one of the cars had a living lizard inside! When we arrived, we all split up the objects to take home, wash, and bring back. Overall, we had An AMAZING campout!!!

Icecream on the way