Windsor Pack 155

The Pack 155 overnight trip to Upham Woods near Wisconsin Dells on July 19-20 was everything we were hoping for… and more.

Here’s a quick summary of our trip and all the cool stuff we did. Many people were exhausted, but happy that they came. Many naps were reported on Sunday afternoon!
You can VIEW PHOTOS of the Upham Woods trip on our Flickr page…

• The Meals

Meals were well organized by the Upham staff. Upham Woods is an environmental place, so waste is minimal. Part of their method was to assign a “hopper” to each table. The hopper takes “orders” for seconds from his tablemates then visits other tables to see if they have leftovers of that food item. Only after visiting all of the tables for potential “seconds” did the hopper go to the kitchen to ask for more. This really helped reduce the amount of wasted food.

• Blackhawk Island

All 35 of us loaded on to a “barge” after putting on life jackets. We paddled over to the island under our Naturalists’ instruction. It was fun and entertaining — if you count paddling by committee as fun! 🙂 After we made it to the island we were separated into two groups. One group took a shorter hike, and another consisting of mostly older boys took a longer hike.

Both groups were led by an Upham Woods Naturalist. The boys learned about the geology of the rock formations, how the island came into the ownership of the UW, and how the island is a “vacation spot” for many deer! The boys got to explore two caves and get dirty by crawling on their hands and knees — and sometimes their stomachs. Many had so much fun they went through the cave as many as three times!

• Nature Center

The boys went to the nature center and learned about different type critters in the “skin, scales, and skute” and Wacky Water Critters programs. There was only one casualty — one boy unfortunately got his boot waders stuck in the muck and fell in! Whoops, shower time!

• Dinner/Cookout Outside

Hamburgers and beans … ummmmm, ‘nuf said!

• Craft

Cubmaster Tony Veroeven showed the scouts and their families how to make a box oven. A box oven is an “oven” created with a box, tin foil, and duct tape. Just add some charcoal and you can cook or bake anything you can in a regular oven. Everyone made their own modifications to their oven and problem-solved. The boys appeared to really enjoy making their box ovens. Tony and his son, Andrew, couldn’t wait so they baked cookies in their driveway Sunday afternoon when they got home — it worked!

• Night Hike

The boys were pretty tired (not to mention the parents!) after such a packed day ending with a long hike. Our night hike was abbreviated but was a great walk out to “Sunset Rock”. We missed the sunset but definitely appreciated the view!

• Campfire Program

The Campfire program was enjoyed by the scouts — they really did a great job with their skits, songs, and participation. Even scouts and parents who are allegedly “introverts” really shined! One scout might have a future in show business, as soon as he hones his “raw material”.

The Cubmaster discovered he has a new favorite song… “Boom Chicka Boom”. *OH YEAH!* (Isn’t it your favorite song too?)

The fire was highlighted with s’mores, pudgie pies, roasted string cheese, and a closing ceremony that reinforced the ideals and values of scouting. After a short night and maybe a bit of sleep, our scouts fell in for chapel and breakfast on Sunday morning. (Tired parents drank two restaurant-sized pots of coffee!)

The scouts returned to the Nature Center to participate in the program they didn’t do get a chance to do previously.

After a Leave No Trace garbage pickup and walk, we cleaned up the cabins and participated in a closing flag ceremony to retire the colors.