“Good things come to those who wait” and “Be prepared” are two old adages that came true from Boy Scout Troop 300 recently.
Ever since taking over Troop 300, Scoutmaster Pete Kreckel longed for the day to take his troop canoe camping. A few weekends ago, that dream came true.
According to Kreckel, Boy Scouts of America has rather stringent guidelines that require a good deal of preparation before scouts are permitted to take to the waters in a canoe.
First, if there are non-swimmers in the group, approved life guards must be present. So in June, Kreckel and his son, Phillip, a scout, spent a week at Camp Seph Mack to fulfill the requirements of that certification.
Also, only scouts that possessed a canoe merit badge were permitted to paddle. All equipment and lifejackets had to be in top-notch condition. And parents approval and float plans needed to be filed prior to the excursion.
Finally, everything was in place and the St. Matthew’s sponsored group was ready to head to Lake Raystown in Huntingdon County.
The boys began their journey at Aitich Boat launch on Saturday morning where they were met with a thick blanket of fog.
“The scouts used this delay to learn about the canoes they would be paddling,” said Kreckel. “They were instructed how to tie down the canoe to a trailer, as well as other safety issues.”
With the help of Assistant Scoutmaster Tim Kirkpatrick, life jackets were issued and checked for proper fit. All of the gear was packed in waterproof “dry bags.”
Maps and compasses were issued, the gear was loaded into the canoe and when the fog lifted at 10 a.m., Troop 300 was off to its first canoe-camping trip.
After battling the wakes created by the unlimited horsepower boats, the troop paddled into Nancy’s Boat to Shore Campground, before noon. Camp was set up and the kitchen area was ready to prepare for lunch.
“We were really roughing it out there,” said Kreckel. “It’s not like other camps, where if you run out of propane or something, you could just go to the store and get what you need. We were at a primitive campsite and there weren’t any luxuries.”
According to Kreckel, the group of six scouts did run out of propane. They had to use only one burner on their portable grill for cooking, which was a meal of spaghetti with sauce made on the site from tomato paste and a spice packet.
After lunch, the scouts received individual instruction on canoe paddling techniques. Then the boys worked on “on-shore” rescue skills. The scouts used a variety of devices to “rescue” a victim, utilizing rescue tubes, rescue throw-bags and ropes.
“Great concern is shown with teaching the scouts these techniques of reaching and throwing in light of the drownings that occur when people try, unsuccessfully, to rescue drowning victims,” said Kreckel.
Kreckel told the boys: “The first rule of water rescue is do not add to the body count.”
“Scouts need to learn the limitations of their abilities,” he said.
After a hearty supper, prepared by the scouts over a campfire, they were off to bed before 9 p.m.
The next morning, Sunday, the scouts were greeted with the same thick fog they saw Saturday morning.
The scouts, under the leadership of Senior Patrol Leader Caleb Dillon decided to paddle through the thick fog with only a map and a compass to guide them through the limited visibility. Guided by their map and compass skills, the Troop glided through the still waters back to the Aitch boat launch.
“It was a really great experience for the scouts,” said Kreckel. “Canoe-camping is a pearl for scouting groups because most troops don’t even have the opportunity to do something like this. We got all our eggs in order and had a wonderful time.”
