Last night, Mark, IJ, and Shane went on a 10 mile hike-and they started at 10:00 PM! Why on earth would anyone want to hike at night...in the rain??? Because it's fun! This hike was organized for Boy Scouts, but Webelos 2's were invited to go along so they could satisfy one of their Arrow of Light requirements. Shane got special permission to go because Mark believed that he could walk 10 miles in the middle of the night.
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| One of the Ten Essentials: Flashlight |
The boys had to have a backpack inspection at a Boy Scout meeting. Before the meeting, we had to make sure they had their Ten Essentials and their extra clothes packed in plastic. There is no point in packing extra clothes if they are just going to get wet in your pack! We received gentle reminders that extra batteries are good in case yours die...but Mark says an extra flashlight is even better-especially a headlamp!
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| Building a Bridge |
The camp had several activities along the ten miles, so the boys did more than just hike. They had to build a fire that was hot enough to pop a water balloon, tie a mystery knot following verbal directions, ring a bell with a BB gun, and many others! Mark really enjoyed leading the boys (even though it wasn't his den) and he even ran them through his own version of Mile Post Math ("If I walk three miles an hour, how long will it take me to walk one mile? How long will it take us to walk ten miles? If we left at 10:00, what time will we get back?")
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| Wet, cold, and ready for hot chocolate! And bed! |
Mark's group got back to headquarters at 2:45 AM and they got home around 4:30 this morning! With less than four hours of sleep, they turned right around and went to the last flag football game of the season. We may or may not have laced IJ and Shane's hot cocoa with espresso shots; I'll never tell! Up until this morning, the Cobras were undefeated. They were creamed this morning, but that's okay. My boys were the only players that were up all night hiking in the rain, but other boys were off their game as well. They enjoyed an after-game party at the pizza parlor and came home with trophies for their Wall of Mediocrity (did you know the boys weren't allowed to show happiness if they scored a touchdown? That's poor sportsmanship!).
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| Everyone's a Winner! Yay for People! |
Now seriously, the real reason night hikes are organized, rain or shine (of the moon variety), is so the boys experience night hiking conditions
before they are lost in the woods. Someday, when these Cub Scouts are Boy Scouts and are on their first 50 mile hike, they will need to know that hiking is hard, tiresome work. They will need to be ready for the discomfort of hiking wet or pushing themselves the last few miles before they reach camp.
The added bonus for my boys this morning was the "second day." The first day of a 50 mile hike, the boys are hiking fast and furious and leaving the parents in the dust. The second day, the boys wake up tired and grumpy when they realize they have to do the same thing again...and again the third day...and they better keep it up because hiking back is the only way to get home!
