There is nothing quite like summer camp with the Boy Scouts of America.  The camaraderie is a wonder to see when kids actually act like kids and have their faces off of the screens and into a wide array of adventures.

Troop 759 spent our summer camp at Camp Hugh Taylor Birch in Yellow Springs, Ohio, a quick 1 hour jaunt from Columbus.  A venerable old camp, the service and fun that you experience with the staff is second to none.  Our journey began with checking and heading to our campsite, Lower Wyandot.  We were nestled up against the lake and under a low overhand go trees as the heat was set to hit near 100 during the week.  From camp to pool we put in and our experienced Scouts were able to dive in and pass the BSA Swim Test.  Our aquatics plans for the week were taking shape.

Our youngest Scout who is new to the program headed off to Tecumseh Island where he could learn about the Scout Oath and Law and pick up a ton of skills with a bunch of Scouts just like him – newbies to the majors.

Gabriel was able to work through four merit badges during the week and earned Mammal Study and Soil & Water Conservation from a Nature Director who was a whiz at animals, conservation and forests.  He took on a bigger challenge to earn the Life Saving Merit Badge which includes escaping from a panicked swimmer in distress.  He managed his escape and even learned how to turn a swimmer in the water with a back injury.  The other big test was the Canoeing Merit Badge with a crew of a fun couple of counselors and a buddy from another unit they swamped their boat, learned how to bring a capsized canoe to shore and how to board and exit canoes.  Gabriel rounded off his week with a party at the campfire and spending time with his counselor friends.  As the campfire faded he realized it was his last summer camp as a Scout but he hammered the work, had a blast in the dining hall and did a great job leading the Scouts.

Jacob worked his way through Archery, Climbing and Engineering and took on a familiar foe in Mountain Biking.  He learned how to rappel down the climbing wall and scamper his way up the wall with his giant size 13 shoes.  His form and stance at archery are second to none and he knocked out Engineering by mid-week.  Wednesday was a tough day.  Jacob took a tumble from his mountain bike and injured his hand.  A quick trip to the ER and his summer camp was suddenly over.  His consolation prize was ice cream from the world famous Young’s Jersey Dairy.

As we returned to Columbus, our gear is now stowed and we are back to get ready for summer to end and school to begin, and we are taking note of the generosity and support from our community in our fundraising efforts.  Our Mulch Sale helped the Scouts pay for their trip to Camp Birch and keep working toward their goals in Scouting.  We hope you enjoy the Portfolio from Camp Hugh Taylor Birch and we thank you for your support!

Yours in Scouting,

Chris Daly