The troop’s highlight event of the year did not disappoint. We benefited from our ability to build our camp where conditions were best. Even though many reservoirs had very little water we found a great lake to continue our tradition of water oriented activities. Summit Lake, elevation 7100′ in the Stanislaus National Forest. From July 16-18, older scouts and adults built our camp: a kitchen that can feed up to 75 people at each meal, a safe waterfront area for swimming and canoeing, latrines, dishwashing lines, assembly/flag areas, camping sites – all using pioneering skills – no nails necessary.
From the 19th – 26th it was the quintessential summer camp, canoeing, swimming, hiking, outdoor skills, games, merit badges, campfires, skits, astronomy talks and our signature Mountain Man event – jumping into the lake at 7:00 in the morning! When all was cleaned up and put away on the last day we restored the area to the way we found it – or even a little better.