GimletBlog

Editor’s Note: Earlier this month Thing One sealed his membership in the Order by going through the Brotherhood Ceremony at the April Ordeal held at Camp Brinkley.  Congratulations, Thing One!

A conclave is an annual regional meeting of neighboring Order of the Arrow lodges.  About 300 Arrowmen attended this conclave from three lodges in Western Washington and two in Alaska.  Over the conclave weekend, Arrowmen trade buttons and patches and take classes.  After the long drive to Camp Hahobas on Hood Canal, we checked in to the Section W1N Conclave of the Order of the Arrow.  I drove Thing One and two other Arrowmen.

After the long walk to the campsite in the rain, we were called to come quickly to the opening ceremonies, so we stashed our packs and walked back.  After the opening and a “cracker barrel”, we walked back to our campsite and set up the tent.  Fortunately the rain had let up some and it was just setting up a tent in the dark rather than the rain and dark.

The next morning we awoke to a fantastic view, but also a day of rain, then sun, then wind, then rain and repeat the cycle.  The cycle lasted about 30 minutes each time. Breakfast was a scrambled egg and bacon burrito.  The eggs looked unappetizing but with enough cheese and salsa breakfast was fine.

After breakfast it was time for classes.  There was a set of introductory classes to welcome the new Arrowmen, and advanced courses in three categories:   outdoor adventure, induction & ceremonies, and chapter & lodge leadership.  Thing One is on the Hyiu Chuck ceremonies team and took classes on that topic.  I took outdoor adventure track classes.  We had a hamburger lunch (about the worst burger I remember).   We spent the afternoon with Thing One at a ceremonies evaluation.  The team is excited and ready to continue on after a successful run.

After the ceremonies evaluation we packed up our gear along with one of the two Arrowmen who was leaving with us on Saturday.  We packed out our gear to the car and then returned for the feast: barbequed beef ribs and chicken.  They were stingy with the potatoes and generous with the meat.  The way a BBQ should be!

Thing One had a great time, and I had a pretty good time too.  Next year’s conclave is in Palmer, Alaska.  We will have to see if we can plan ahead and go!

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Thing One has been busy with scouting activities over the past two months, between helping out with Order of the Arrow unit elections around the city, attending his first campout with his Jamboree troop, and other activities.

This has been a very mild winter so there was some question how the troop’s traditional snow camp would work out, but there was enough snow at Mount Rainier’s Paradise to keep everybody pretty happy.  No snow caves this year, but the sledding was as exciting as ever.

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Editor’s Note: Many, many thanks are due to the wonderful, hard-working volunteers and donors who made Thing One’s Eagle project possible.  He couldn’t have done it without you.  Thanks to Gary Ard, Eric and Linda Carlson, and Ralph Richards for their donations, and our friends from BSA Cub Pack 144, BSA Troops 125, 175, 180, and 186 for spending a wet, cold November Saturday restoring part of the Duwamish riverbank for native plants and salmon.  Together you logged in 174 hours of service.  Way to go!

See a photo album for Thing One’s project in the Gimlet Gallery.

November 21 was my Eagle project. It was removing white poplar from a site at the Duwamish River in West Seattle, and then laying down cardboard and mulch to keep it from growing back. We started at 9:00 am and ended at 2:30 pm. About forty volunteers came from several different groups:  the Sound Stewards of the People for Puget Sound (the community organization that approved my project);  former Cub Scouts from my pack who are now in other Boy Scout troops in the neighborhood; my scout troop; and other members of my church, friends, and family.  Some people had to leave early and some came late, but those who came late replaced those who left early so it worked out well.

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Editor’s Note: After finding a Seattle Historical Hike report on kitsapscouts.com, The Gimlet thought it would be fun for our scout troop and cub scout pack to do the hike as well:  after all, this is our city!  The older scouts would like to earn their Hiking and Backpacking merit badges this year and get in shape for longer summer backpacking trips; to that end, they planned to extend the historic hike beyond its end at the Center for Wooden Boats to a ten mile hike, ending at Woodland Park in North Seattle.

• Download the Seattle Historical Hike map and worksheet from the Chief Seattle Council (PDF)

At 8:15 Saturday morning we got on the express bus to downtown Seattle.  About half the troop rode the one bus.  We arrived about 8:40 which was 10 minutes late and met with the rest of our troop.  Our guests were an Eagle Scout father, his Scout son, and Cub son.   In total we were eight Scouts, two Cubs, and three adults.   We were all eager to get started.  The Scouts who were working on their 2nd Class rank advancement showed me how to orient the map and then we were off.

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Editor’s Note: Every afternoon after the programs ended for the day, Team Gimlet would go to the Trading Post for ice cream.  While there, we watched Boy Scout troops from all over the nation arriving for their two weeks of hiking, or arriving from the backcountry, having successfully completed their trek.  It was easy to tell the two groups apart:  incoming groups were a little nervous and overwhelmed by the immensity that is Philmont.  On the other hand, if we were downwind of a returning group, it was an olfactory experience not soon forgotten; but it was also apparent in their feeling of accomplishment and newfound unity as a group.

The accumulated layers of dirt were not necessarily something the young men would want to bring home with them (especially not in an enclosed vehicle for hundreds of miles) and a shower and change of clothes would take care of that.  But the lessons of teamwork, brotherhood, and an expanded sense of what they were capable can be brought out of the backcountry and remembered for a lifetime.

• Learn more about Philmont Mountain Treks.
• Short descriptions of the Philmont camps.

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Editor’s Note: See all the Spring Clampout photos in the Gimlet Gallery. Anybody want to come over for some clam chowder?

The Gimlet’s note: This weekend we took the scouts to Copalis Beach and dug for razor clams.  Thing Two got to go!  The excited three year old along with the three excited 11 year olds made for an enjoyable trip.  Everybody was able to get their limit of 15  razor clams.  Afterward, the 11 year old scouts cooked breakfast of sausage (pre-cooked, we want to be safe) and eggs.   Then we cleaned the clams.

Thing Two loved everything except the rising tide.  A wave got water in his boots and he cried every time the water got too close, which was most of the time.  At the time it was annoying but now it is a happy memory.  We walked back to the campsite and Thing Two insisted on carrying his clams.   He particularly liked sleeping in the tent with Daddy on one side and Thing One on the other.

Thing One’s report: Last Friday my dad, brother and some of the scout troop went on a campout catching clams, which I called a ‘Clampout’. After school, we went on a 3-hour drive to a little town called Aberdeen where we had dinner at Pizza Hut and waited for other people to show up. By this time it was night.  When we got to the beach we set up tents, made a fire and roasted marshmallows. An adult showed us a green laser pointer, which made a line unlike red laser pointers because of green’s higher frequency. I knew this because in science at school, I have been learning about light and the color spectrum. Then at about 11:00, everybody went to bed.

The next day, at 7:00 am when the tide was low, Thing Two, the Gimlet and I flew a kite for a little while. After that, everybody took some clam guns and went to the beach. Clam guns are tubes that have one open end and another closed end with a small hole and handle on it.  If you see a hole in the ground and water comes up when you step near it, that is a razor clam. Then you put the open end of the tube directly and straight on the hole. You then make it go down until you either hit something or can’t go further. Then you put your finger on the small hole and pull the tube up. Razor clams have a head, the shell and a foot and can stay alive out of the water for a while, so they’re alive until they’re boiled. We came to the beach when the tide was starting to come in, and Thing Two was standing by the shore. The tide came in over his knees and some water got inside his boots, so he started to cry, and since that, whenever the tide came in again, he would start crying again.

When we got back, we cleaned the sand off the clams. When water was squirted on them, they would move their foot because they thought they were in the ocean again. We put them in water to boil, and one person found a crab less than a centimeter around by a clam. When boiled, the clam’s shells popped off, so the clam was cleaned. Then, we put the clam meat in bags. The 11 year olds who went made the late breakfast. After the tents and things were put away, we of course washed the truck bed where the clams were gutted, and we went on the 3 hour drive back, which was not as slow because traffic was OK. Then, after getting all the stuff home, I wrote this article.

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The scouts are going clamming this weekend, and to say that Thing Two is thrilled to be included is putting it mildly.  The troop will camp overnight, then wake up early the next morning to dig for razor clams at Copalis Beach.  Expect a clamtastic report when they return!  The Gimlet also owes the blog a report of last week’s Woodbadge training.

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At 6:00 am on Friday I met up with the other scouts (The Gimlet did not go), and we drove to Paradise, Mount Rainier. The snow is 6-10 feet high now, and after a while, we got there. We hiked a quarter mile up to the place we were going to, and we started on our snow caves.

There were many different kinds of snow caves. My group built a Quincy, where you pile up snow while digging a hole, dig it out on the inside, and put that snow on top. Another group built a double snow cave. There was one door, and there were two  snow caves coming off of that. There also were other groups and their snow caves. Under the top snow, there was a layer of ice, and that was hard to get through. One group abandoned their snow cave because the ice was too hard, and most of the shovels got damaged slightly.

During breaks, we sledded a little, and I sledded down one hill, and I stopped near the end of it. Suddenly, three other guys stopped me because there was a big storm drain in front of me. Later, another scout troop came and camped on a hill close by. When they were sledding, we told them to stop because of the hole. We think they got the message. Not that many people sledded down there again. At nighttime, it was very cold, and an adult leader said it was less than 20°F. The roof in our snow cave was low, three other people were in that cave, but we slept well.

Saturday morning people noticed there were some parts of my face sunburned and some not. Apparently I put on sunscreen unevenly. After breakfast, we cleaned out our snow caves of all our stuff, and smashed them! The spots where leaders thought it would be weak in our snow cave were not weak at all! Before destroying the cave, we took a picture of the scouts all standing on top including some leaders! We actually could have made our roof much taller, based on how long it took to cave it in.

After all the snowcaves were destroyed, everybody went sledding.   After going down the hill a few times, I made movies of people sledding and catching air at the bump on the hill.   After that, we hiked back to the parking lot, and had McDonald’s for lunch (which is getting to be a tradition with snow camps). After camp food, fast food tastes especially good. One scout ate 5 Big Macs! After getting home at about 4:00 PM, my mom took a picture of me with the sunburned spots, and I started to write this article!

Thing One’s sledding videos (all in Quick Time format):

• Assistant Scoutmaster (4.4 MB)
• Another Assistant Scoutmaster (1.3 MB)
• Two scouts on one sled (5.4 MB)
• One scout (3 MB)

ETA 23 February: Check out Another Assistant Scoutmaster’s photo and video gallery!

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