Troop 281 Cincinnati, OH

All the activities that we had were good.   Survivor was great on the survivor part.   The first night was wilderness survival and we had to camp using only what was in our daypacks.   We walked around the city for a long time.   We had food at a restaurant, but couldn’t spend more than three dollars.   Some people were ten cents over and had extra money to pay for it but still had to put the food back.   The second night, we built shelters near a bridge beside the road.   In the middle of the night, the cops came and woke everybody up because the police thought they were trespassing.   However, our scoutmaster had a letter from the owner of the property that said the scouts could be there.   At the ten scout essentials meeting we learned about the ten scout essentials.   They are, in no particular order, knife, first aid kit, extra clothing, map and compass, sunscreen and bug spray, flashlight, rain gear, water bottle, fire starter, ...

This meeting was about shelter building.   There were a few different types of shelters.   They were all a lot like each other.   There was a lean to, a one man shelter, and an expedient shelter.   Then we played ultimate football.

This meeting was about survival priorities.   The first and most important is to have a positive attitude.   After that comes first aid, shelter, fire, water, a way to signal people, and lastly food.   After the skill session we played dodge ball.   At the end of the meeting Adam O. received his Eagle badge and wallet card.

The ski trip was really fun and it was interesting at the meeting to learn about the homeless.   We had to drive about two and a half hours to get to the place where we were staying, because the drive was so long electronics were allowed and we stopped at a gas station.   The skiing was really fun, some people snowboarded.   A few people went back and night skied. Most everyone that went snowboarding at night went skiing during the day. At the meeting a worker at the drop in center, a homeless shelter came and talked to us. He said that they had three different types of shelters.   There is a winter shelter where people might go if they get very cold in the winter, a shelter for people who are not able to work, and a shelter for people who are able to work.

This meeting was the Order of the Arrow tap out.   We had a skill session on skiing and snowboarding.   Most of it was on how to dress properly.    In the Order of the Arrow tap out everybody stood in a big circle. Then someone from the Order of the Arrow went around and tapped you on your shoulder if you were an ordeal candidate.   Before you are in the Order of the Arrow you have to go through an ordeal.