WILDERNESS SURVIVAL IN THE PINEY WOODS
January 20-21, 2007

I am proud of our scouts. They knew it was going to be cold. They knew it was going to rain. They could have stayed home safe in their homes watching cartoons and thumbing through the ads to the Gap. Instead they showed up prepared and they demonstrated grit. It did get cold and it rained all night.

We loaded the vehicles in the rain. A Southlake police officer asked what we were up to and we explained. He shook his head in disbelief. If he knew Troop 168 better he would have known we do not cancel because of weather. Our best times have been with the worst weather.

It rained all the way to the Hope Place. We disbursed into the marsh or swamp at that time to build shelters. The rain slowed and the scouts were able to build fires and construct shelters. All participated and several great shelters were built. It was great to see the effort and the variety. ( Check out the Pictures! )

Mr. Jordan cooked lunch of venison and duck for the Big Bucks. The scouts fended for themselves. That night Mr. Jordan cooked wild hog for the troop. Thank goodness for the pavilion as it was down pouring at that time. The boys scarfed all the hog and salad, beans and homemade cheesecake. We were amazed at the amount of food consumed. We opted to eliminate campfire do to the conditions. Most of the boys retired to the shelters and some simply went to their tent. By the end of the evening only David White made it through. No surprises here. He had a plan and worked the longest on his shelter. The next morning we had a great breakfast thanks to our grub master Mr. Jordan. We all ate well and observed the parting of the clouds and alas SUNSHINE! We had a beautiful Chapel service thanks to our ex chaplain aide Colby Edson.

We had thorns and roses and loaded up wet gear and wet boys and headed home. Thanks to Mr. Hope for letting us use his place. Thanks to our grub master Mr. Jordan for his tireless effort.

Great campout. We were challenged more than ever. Most showed up and those that did grew a little taller. Oh yeah we brought all back alive too. Overall a great survival experience.