Summer Camp Update: A note to parents
(Information updated last: Apr 6, 2009)

NOTE:  Click on any picture to see it FULL SIZE

When: July 19 – Meet at Camp Gorsuch at 1pm
            July 19 through July 24th-Summer Camp at Camp Gorsuch
            July 24 – Last day of camp; take scout home after campfire program

Where: Camp Gorsuch on Mirror Lake, just north of Eagle River.  This is the Great Alaska Council’s summer camp site for Boy Scouts.     

Fees:  The cost for camp is $220.   A $100 deposit should have been paid at signup time and the final $120 payment is due by April 28, 2009.  Late signups are possible but we have to apply for them on a case-by-case basis.    

Medicals:  All scouts and adults attending summer camp in 2008 will have to have an updated physical.  No exceptions!   Please check at the troop meetings, and make sure your son's physical is current.  Starting this year, there is a new physical form for the scouts and adults to use.  All scouts and adults will need to use this form.  Expect medical forms to be due by the end of June.

Getting there: Scouts will need a ride to camp from their parents or in a carpool with other scouts.  We need scouts from the troop to meet at the entrance to Camp Gorsuch at 1pm on Sunday, July 19th.  Patrol Leaders (or assistant Patrol Leaders) must ensure that all of their patrol gear they need, such as tarps, patrol box, and patrol flag, is loaded and brought with them.


What to wear: Your son should be dressed in a full scout Class A uniform. That is scout shirt, scout pants, troop neckerchief, scout hat, and a scout jacket if he owns one. It is best if the scout wears his swimsuit under his scout uniform so he is ready for the swim test right after in-processing.  He won’t wear his uniform all of the time while he is in camp, but there will be multiple occasions when he will need it and he will want to wear it proudly. For example, at breakfast a uniform is the meal ticket. The scouts learn fast. Make sure your son has bug stuff, bathing suit, towel, and a pencil and pad of paper near the top of his pack. He will need all of these items soon after his arrival.  

 
Get Wet!   Arriving in camp in uniform is important. After in-processing, one of the first items will be the waterfront swim test so the camp staff can assign him to a swimming category. This is important, because without a category a scout cannot attend ANY waterfront activities, and this camp is loaded with waterfront activities.     If you aren't a swimmer now, work on it and make sure you can pass the BSA swim test prior to July!    You don't want to miss out on all of the fun!!!!

What to bring: Boy Scout Handbook, merit badge books for the badges he intends to work on (many available from the troop Library for checkout), the Scout Outdoor Essentials (Boy Scout Handbook, p 224), camp clothing (Boy Scout Handbook, pp 200-210), and personal items (Boy Scout Handbook, pp., 224-225). Please personally check to see your son has bug repellent, good raingear (pants and top or a poncho), a swim suit, a cup, plate, and eating utensils, and has at least one other outfit besides his uniform that is not 100% cotton. If they get wet, cotton blue jeans and cotton sweatshirts won’t insulate and are dangerous. PLEASE DON’T PACK COTTON CLOTHES!  Also, make sure he has a jacket--regardless of how nice it is there will be times when it gets cold. Raingear doesn’t have to be an expensive gortex suit, but it needs to be able to keep him dry if the camp is a wet one. The extremely thin plastic suits are cheap, but they will rip easily as your son travels the wooded trails. Rubber ponchos and nylon waterproofed rainsuits are better, and will last several seasons. THREE to FOUR towels are also recommended, especially if your son is working on waterfront merit badges. Experience has shown that the tropical weather in past years is not the norm, and there have been weeks in years past where towels hanging in tents never dried. Your son’s pack should be packed neatly (see Boy Scout Handbook p. 230) so he can hike it into his campsite. Cameras are also nice-to-have items. Mosquito netting is highly desirable, and can be hung from his tent and draped over his sleeping area.
            Getting ready for camp is part of the learning experience, and your son will learn a lot just going through his stuff and making it fit ‘neatly’ in his pack. Some scouts bag up their socks and underwear in ziplock bags, as well as other clothing they want to insure stays dry until it is needed. Don’t let him forget his personal items, i.e. toothbrush, soap, etc... As he packs, he should refer to his Boy Scout Handbook for guidance. ALL ITEMS, INCLUDING CLOTHING AND EQUIPMENT, SHOULD BE MARKED WITH HIS NAME AND TROOP NUMBER, SO THAT WHEN (NOT IF) HE LEAVES THEM SOMEWHERE THEY CAN FIND THEIR WAY BACK TO HIM.  For a specific list of recommended items to pack, this one has been  put together by the camp staff. 
To see the checklist, take this link now----->  PACKING CHECKLIST.

Electronics, games, radios, etc: Scout camp is the opportunity to get away from city life and enjoy what nature has to offer.  For best use of camp time and to minimize distractions and problems, scouts are discouraged from bringing their electronic games, Gameboys, radios, CD-players, cell phones, and iPods to camp.  We highly recommend that scouts leave very expensive items and other very important or sentimental things at home. The woods have a way of swallowing up stuff, and the lost and found pile grows daily.

Food: Three solid meals will be provided by the camp.   At camp, all meals will be served in a dining hall, and while the food probably won't win too many awards, it will get the job done and we don't have to cook it (or clean up after cooking it).     That said, we recommend that your son brings other food (i.e. snacks), and have it marked in a small box with his name on it. Emphasize that he should not ‘sneak’ food into his pack or tent. In fact, food will NOT be stored at our campsite at all---we don't need bears visiting us when we don't want them. I will allow the scouts to lock up their snack boxes in my truck in the evenings. Remember, your son will have plenty of food, but sometimes an occasional snack or candy bar is something that he might want. By bringing his own snacks, money that could be used for special scout items (i.e. leathercraft merit badge kit, basketry merit badge kit) isn't spent on a candy bar at the trading post. 

Basic Advancement Opportunities: Summer camp is a tremendous opportunity to work on advancement items. Experience has taught us normally a new scout on his first year should concentrate on rank requirements for Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class, and this year there will be a Cheechako Trail program designed for those campers who are new to Scouting.  It teaches a new scout basic scouting skills and offers skill development that is needed to obtain the Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class ranks.  Cheechako Trail campers can also spend time working on other merit badges.  Leaders are encouraged to help teach specific advancement skills or assist staff members with this program.
 

Merit Badges:  At camp there will be lots of opportunities to work on merit badges, and it should be possible to earn between two and four during the week.    Camp is NOT a merit badge "factory" but it is a great place to have fun, and to get some merit badges done at the same time.     At summer camp merit badges will be offered for all registered scouts.  Scouts will be scheduled in program sessions as reservations are received.  Remember – Priority is given on a first come first serve basis!  Some class sizes may be limited.  We do our very best to try to accommodate all Scout’s needs but we they can't handle classes that are too large to run. 

The following badges will be offered to those scouts who are designated as "BSA SWIMMERS":

AWARD REQUIREMENTS
To earn the Silver Sourdough Award, a Scout must meet the eligibility requirements and complete at least seven (7) of the activities below. The three (3) activities marked with an * are mandatory; at least four (4) more, of the Scout's choice, must be completed.  Generally, scheduling will be flexible for this program. Details may be arranged through the Program Director or Asst. Program Director. Backpacking equipment is needed for all outpost and overnight camp activities; the camp provides all other equipment. 

1. Mosquito Valley Outpost
2. Leatherwork Project
3. One merit badge from the following list:
            A. Lifesaving
            B. Fish and Wildlife Management
            C. Orienteering
            D. Small Boat Sailing
            E. Soil and Water Conservation
            F. Archery
            G. Forestry
            H. Indian Lore
            I. Woodcarving
            J. BSA Lifeguard
            K. Climbing
4. Paul Bunyan Award
5. Mile Swim
6. Buddy hike
7. Meet or beat camp standard on the Gorsuch marathon
8. Climb the pole and ring the bell
9. Build a fire by friction
10. Build a coracle and use it
11. Run the camp biathlon
12. Hit 2 of 6 clay pigeons with a shotgun
13. Tie 6 Scout knots in < 30 seconds
14. Additional possibilities may be available
15. Low Cope activities   

Bear Claw Award:  The Bear Claw Award is a patrol award that Scouts at Camp Gorsuch earn by participating in patrol activities while at camp. A Scout on his own cannot earn this award, but only as a member of a patrol that completes the requirements. It is designed to help a patrol plan and carry out a well-balanced week of Scout activities.  All Troop 230 patrols are expected to compete in this award program.   Patrols that complete the Bear Claw requirements will receive a Bear Claw necklace for each member of their patrol. Scoutmasters and Senior Patrol Leaders can also receive a Bear Claw if all their patrols earn the award. 

ACTIVITIES
1. Hold a patrol meeting to plan activities for this award, plus if not already done decide on a patrol name, yell, and call.
2. If not already done, design and make a patrol flag.
3. As a patrol do one of the following:
            a. Work on a camp service project for at least one hour.

b. Participate with your troop in an outpost camp.

c. Hike one of these camp 5-mile trails:

A. Bear Mountain Trail

B. Cheechako Trail

C. Sourdough Falls Trail

4. Have a game or contest with another patrol outside your troop.

5. Participate in a patrol or troop Friendship Campfire (If there are fire bans in effect have a fellowship with another troop).

6. Participate in a patrol shoot at the archery range or rifle range.

7. Each patrol member makes some type of advancement toward his next rank while at camp.

(For example: complete a merit badge or service project).

8. Plan and carry out a patrol activity of the patrol’s choosing.

9.  In your campsite, plan and conduct at least one flag raising and one flag lowering ceremony.

About homesickness & camp "escapes":  With new scouts part of the adventure of summer camp is learning to get away from home for the first time.   Often scouts will call up mom and dad, and express this feeling.  It’s a normal part of growing up, and I've found that the calls rarely happen when the scouts are busy, swimming in the lake, shooting the guns at the range, or rappelling off of rock faces.   However, when the rain is pouring down, a class they were taking didn't go right, or the bugs are bad and they and their friends are having to deal with it, then those are the times when scouts typically call home.  While it’s a normal part of growing up, some parents make the mistake of jumping in when an encouraging word is a better way to go.    Scouting is trying to build character through individual achievement and a "I can really do this" attitude.   Baden-Powell, scouting's founder, once remarked to "...never do for a boy, what a boy can do for himself."  Those words could never be more true than they are today.  Scouting tries to teach independence and leadership; both traits that every parent wants and hopes their son will learn.   

If you do decide to drive up out to visit, please coordinate your visit with the parents who have volunteered to spend the week with the troop.    Sometimes in the past we have had a well-meaning parent drive out to camp and take their son into town for a bite to eat, a refreshing shower, and an evening of fun.     In at least a few cases, this happened without any of our volunteer parents even knowing about it!   I'm sure you can imagine yourself looking for someone else's son only to find out hours later that their mom or dad came and took them away for a shower, some TV, and a little playtime.  Please realize how totally unacceptable this is---the boys should always be encouraged to stay the entire week and help their patrol get through the tough times as well as the fun activities.  Mom and Dad can be a BIG help in making sure their scout sticks with camp and learns from the whole experience.  We absolutely have to know which boys are in camp and which are not, 100% of the time without any exceptions.
        One "trick" some parents do is to write letters to their son, which they then give to one of the parents camping with the troop for the week.   Then, each morning during "mail call" the letters get "delivered" one by one over the course of camp.    The camp does have a mailing address, and it will be announced prior to our departure.

If you have to reach us:  There is a camp phone, which we will distribute prior to departure.   Cell phone coverage generally works at camp.  The troop scoutmaster-in-charge will have a cell phone for parents to call.  That number will be released at a later date.   Best times to call for non-emergencies will be in the evening.  Remember that during the day the scouts (and adults) are probably running all over the camp, from one merit badge class to another, and will be very difficult to track down.  In the evening they should tend to be at the troop campsite after the camp activities are done for the day.

Final comment: Scout camp is a terrific opportunity for all scouts, young and old. Please, take the time to pre-plan with your son(s). Set realistic expectations together and make the most out of summer camp 2009! If you have any questions, feel free to call your scoutmaster and ask.    See you at camp!