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June 19-21, 2015 -- Camp Justis - Powhatan, VA

Canoeing On The James River

The Summer campouts always tend to be more low key than normal and this month's was no exception.  With a bunch of boys out of town on the High Adventure trip to Seabase down in Florida and a lot of others on family vacations and such, we only had about 25 boys on this trip, including nearly all of our first year scouts.

We try to use the first few campouts after our first year scouts enter the Troop to ease their transition into Boy Scout life.  This month's campout was highlighted by a Canoe trip down the the James River from Watkins Landing to Robious Landing.  As this is a relatively short trip (about 5 miles) and a very easy section of the river to navigate, it made for a nice leisurely 4-hour ride.  Between the low river levels, slow moving water and hot temperatures the boys learned a number of very valuable lessons, including how to paddle and steer their canoes (since there was little current), staying hydrated and the value of a good bottle of sunscreen.

Canoeing On The James River

Canoeing On The James River

Canoeing On The James River

Canoeing On The James River

After the trip down the river, we returned to camp for lunch, but were immediately faced with some pretty severe incoming weather due to the remnants of Tropical Storm Bill.  Since safety is always first and foremost when it comes to the boys, we had them go to their tents, secure their gear and then return to the safety of the Leader Pavilion for the duration of the storm, which only lasted until about 10pm.  Once the severe weather had passed, we sent the boys out to survey their gear and bed down for the night.  Other than some wet tents and damp sleeping bags, they all fared pretty well.  Once again, some of the boys learned some very valuable lessons about properly securing their gear for a storm -- like closing the door to their tent before a storm.

Heavy rains washed through Camp Justis

On Sunday morning, we opened the shotgun range and tomahawk range for the boys who wanted to participate.  Others stayed back in camp and helped prep gear for Summer camp.

Scouts Using The Tomahawk Range