Cold weather camping is just summer camping with more clothes!

Bright sunshine, crisp autumn air, no school and we were heading for the North Country once again. On Friday, November 9, 15 Scouts along with 7 leaders and 1 guest hit the road to Camp Greilick near Traverse City. Leaving at 1:30 allowed us to arrive at camp and set up before darkness set in.

When we arrived at camp three Venture members, 1 qualifier and 2 Leaders went their separate way for a backpacking weekend.

The cloudless Friday night sky beckoned us to gaze at the heavens while we were on our traditional night hike. Thanks to Mr. Slade for bringing his telescope and star charts so we could see the rings of Saturn along with many more stars that we normally are not able to see.

Nate quickly found out that when the clouds are gone at night so is the heat. His survival blanket was not enough to keep him warm during the night. Saturday he was back in his sleeping bag!

Saturday morning we woke to the soothing sounds of the famous troop 287 bugle - reveille performed by Cam. Later Mr. Clark had to tune the bugle.

Everyone enjoyed a hearty breakfast of pancakes, sausage, fruit and juice before exploring the surrounds of Camp Greilick. Every Boy Scout Camp we visit has unique qualities and Greilick is no exception. There are over 500 acres of woodland, three lakes, a challenging climbing wall and a fabulous Adirondack cabin campsite for winter camping. Very nice!

Cold weather is always a good time to have a chili cook off. Mr. Ekola and Mr. Chodl prepared pots of the spicy concoction to warm our insides. Both were excellent! We made cornbread in a Dutch oven to accompany the chili.

Scouts were engaged in a very long game of Capture the Flag during the afternoon to work off their lunch and prepare for the evening meal.

Foil dinners with a chicken/pineapple twist were made by one patrol while the other prepared rotisserie chicken with potatoes and carrots. Mr. Chodl cooked a Honey Suckle turkey breast on the Weber grill for the Chief patrol.

Working on Cooking Merit Badge, Matt prepared meals Saturday for himself and two leaders. For breakfast he made scrambled egg and sausage bagels with cheese. Lunch included pocket sandwiches, chips and fruit. Pizza prepared in a Dutch oven was the delight for dinner.

Our Scouts are really getting good at camping. Dinner was done, dishes cleaned and to everyone's amazement we were sitting around the campfire by 7:00. As we reflected on the day, it wasn't long before Scouts were in their tents. Since we could not find any stars in the cloudy sky, everyone was in bed by 10:00.

Sunday morning, long after the crack of dawn, we were up and making the traditional low mess, minimal cook, high energy breakfast. Clean up went well and we started to break camp. The Ventures joined us in time for Church services.

Camp Greilick was behind us at 11:30 and we were back in Portage by 3:30 in the afternoon. On schedule all weekend, now that's scary!!

It was a great weekend in Northern Michigan!

Scouts who attended were:

SPL - Nate E, ASPL - Dustin B, Quartermaster - Brad C, Historian - Matt G, Grubmasters - Sam C and Peter K, Scouts; - Sam C, Eric S, Ryan O, Cam H, Evan K and Dwight T.

Venture Crew:

Crew Chief - Jeff O, Ventures - Tim B and Mike B. Quallifier - Tom C.

Chief Patrol:

Scoutmaster - Tim Ekola, Assistant Scoutmasters - Jim Chodl, Dave Slade, Joel Clark, Randy Orwig and Dan Bunker. Jim Cottrell and Tim Osterman accompanied the Ventures. Special guest - Dave Ekola (Tim's brother)

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