Scout Camp

Ethan left Monday morning for scout camp!  It's a ward scout camp this year so they spending 2 days in Pine Valley, 1 day at Gunlock Reservoir, and 2 1/2 days in Zion.  Ethan was still sore from Fat Man's but he was excited to be going to Scout Camp.  Bryan got him all ready, I bought the extra stuff they needed, and Courtney double checked everything to make sure we didn't miss anything.

He had to be at the Church by 6:40 a.m. and so we got him ready to go with his backpack full of stuff and his camel back for the hikes.  He took a walking stick too and I hope he used it!

He was loaded down but won't have the big backpack when he's hiking.

Bryan and Courtney drove Ethan to the Church to see him off but they came back after 30 minutes because the boys still hadn't loaded up.  Courtney really wanted to go with him.

Ethan's leader has a tracking device with him and gave us the internet link so we could watch their hiking progress.  They had a hike Monday and then more hiking on Thursday and Friday.  This tracking system was a blessing and a curse.  It was great to see how they were doing but it was awful to watch them and see that they were still hiking at 9:07 p.m.  They hiked FOREVER and most of them were still sore from Fat Man's Misery.  But I bet they slept well Monday night!  The leader is able to check in a final time each day and leave a message so parents can see how they are doing.  Last night he wrote "Day 1 all is well."  But I had to turn the computer off because after 6 p.m. I was obsessively checking for updates every 10 minutes.  Ugh!

Tuesday they are staying at camp in Pine Valley and working on merit badges, both individually and as a group.  Ethan wants to do the fishing merit badge, photography merit badge and movie making merit badges.  I think he will have a lot of fun doing them.

Wednesday they are spending the day at Gunlock Reservoir.  A couple of leaders are taking their boats up there and they have rented kayaks so the boys will have a full day of playing in the water.  I hope they remember sunscreen and wear swim shirts.

Thursday morning they are breaking camp and meeting Bryan at the Church at 7 or 7:30 a.m. (I can't remember which) and driving to Zions for the last 3 days of camp.  Bryan will lead a group on a hike that is in the Narrows.  I am not sure if they are all going down the Narrows or if they are splitting into 2 groups with one going down and the other going up.  But Bryan will be helping with that hike.  I believe it is another 12-13 mile hike like Monday's was.

Friday is another hike in Zions.

Saturday they will break camp and be home in the early afternoon.

I am sure he is having a blast.  He had a bit of stress last week when he broke his glasses during a water balloon fight with the neighbor boy.  Ethan get nervous putting in his contacts so he wanted to wear his glasses at scout camp so he wouldn't have to deal with it.  Personally, I would rather deal with contacts than glasses because they are so much more convenient.  Anyway, I special rush ordered him some glasses but they didn't get here until Monday late afternoon.  So we sent him to camp with a bunch of contacts and a mirror so he could see.  When the glasses came I called another neighbor whose husband was going up Monday night to meet the boys for dinner and asked if he could take the glasses up to Ethan.  So I hope he got them okay and hasn't stepped on them or something.