Caving Campout
Caving
Campout
This month,
the troop went to Indiana to go caving. After a quick assembly at the lockup
(we were not taking the trailer or patrol boxes), we hopped into our cars to
head to the Tunnel Mill Scout Reservation. It was about a 2 ½ hour drive, but
we did make a stop along the way. There was a BP station with a convenience
store and Subway, as well as a McDonald’s next door. To carloads of hungry
Scouts this was quite appealing. It was also appealing to the adults, who
needed to get some gas. So for a little while the members of the troop wandered
around, buying snacks for the road, beef jerky to munch on, and food from the
restaurants. Then, once every Scout had filed out of the buildings, arms filled
with junk food galore, we continued on our journey to camp. Soon we found
ourselves in Indiana, the sky dark, and the snacks dwindling. But not to fear, because
we soon made it to Tunnel Mill.
When everyone
hopped out of their cars, stories were told of the food, the rain and snow, the
tarp on the back of Mr. Sloan’s truck (It partially came off and destroyed
itself from flapping wildly in the wind), and the discovery of an electronic
chicken in Mr. Smith’s car stereo. It was later named Sean, after Sean G., who
first noticed it. The troop quickly set to work on unloading gear from various
vehicles. We began settling in to our cabin soon after. It was a simple cabin,
with a fridge in the back, table in the middle, and bunks scattered around the
edges. There were not enough bunks for everyone, so we put a bunch of
mattresses on the floor to take care of that. There was a wood burning stove
and a fireplace, but we did not use them due to lack of wood, so it was quite a
cold night.
The next
morning we got an early start. We got up, packed our things for the day, and
ate breakfast. After a little free time, it was into the cars for another
journey. We were off to Marengo Cave, about an hour away from camp. When we
arrived at Marengo, we ate some lunch, then went over our forms and got
organized. Finally, it was time to go under the surface.
The troop was
divided into two groups. One group was going on the Beyond the Falls tour,
while the other was doing the Young Explorers tour. There were many beautiful
rock formations underground, such as stalagmites and stalactites. Scouts walked
through sometimes waist-deep water in the spring, crawled through mud and
rocks, and even slid through crawlways with almost no room to spare. We went
through Stewart Hall, one of the largest cave passages in the state. To get
there, we had to climb a giant pile of breakdown, huge boulders that had
crumbled from the ceiling of Stewart Hall millions of years ago. The
magnificent caves were full of limestone, quartz-based rocks, red clay, and a
huge amount of mud! It was a beautiful tour, and the mud was fun, too.
The Young
Explorers had their fair share of mud and filth on them when they came up, and
the Beyond the Falls group was covered from head to toe with mud. There was mud
and water in our shoes, our pants, on our faces, everywhere. For everyone,
though, it was a cold surprise when they reached the surface. From the constant
52o F in the cave, the below-freezing temperatures outside were quite
uncomfortable. Especially with all the mud and wetness that we were covered in.
However, we soon cleaned up, and it was definitely good to be dry, clean,
comfortable, and warm again. Before we knew it, we were waving goodbye to
Marengo Cave and on our way back to camp. Mr. Wilson’s car and Mr. Reid’s car
stopped to get pizza and soft drinks for dinner, and met us at camp later. Boy,
were we hungry! Scouts and adults devoured all but a few slices of 15 pizzas, and
about six 2-liters of soda.
The rest of
the evening was rather relaxed, and a campfire was built outside. We had a good
evening of relaxing and playing, and finally went to bed, a good deal more
tired than the night before.
Sunday morning
was the usual: getting up, packing, eating breakfast, police-lining, holding
the chapel service, loading the cars, and leaving. The chaos in the cabin as
Scouts rushed to pack up and eat was plentiful, and the inspecting/police lines
went efficiently as usual, though it was quite an effort. We held chapel at the
camp’s wooden pirate ship. Logan S. served as chaplain’s aide. As for the ship,
it was roomy, with a deck at the very bottom, an observation deck up top, and a
poop deck one level up from that. I cannot help but mention the strange,
demented-looking head/mask that was staring down at us from the crow’s nest, a
small platform that was quite inaccessible from below. The head was angry
looking and creepy, and it would be interesting to find out how it got there…
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