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After a smooth but rowdy three hour bus ride, Troop 466 arrived at Goshen Scout Reservation Sunday afternoon and made our way to Camp Bowman site #5 with all of our gear intact. Our participants this year consisted of two senior patrol leaders (Conrad and Femi), four scouts (Alex, Daniel, Luc and Henry), three scout leaders (Scoutmaster Tom Rogers, Steve R. and Darrell S.) and one full time parent volunteer (Jenniffer K), who needed a small Sherpa to accommodate all her luggage.
Upon arrival we surveyed the area, and encountered a small threat of rain but nothing other than a brief and light sprinkle materialized. We went straight to medical check, then toured Camp Bowman with our awesome assigned site guide, Anders. He showed everyone the main features of the camp including the well stocked trading post, showers, flushing toilets, aquatics area, all the different program areas and the importance of the bear box!
As evening fell, we picked our tents, unpacked our gear, and ate our first official dinner together. Flags were at 8:30, we just managed to get there in time in full class As. After flags we were all lead down, signs up and silence, down to the lakefront amphitheater where we enjoyed a campfire program of sign-a-longs and corny skits, illuminated by two huge bonfires. Then it was back to camp for some sharing of spooky Goshen Legends and tall bear tales just to make the first night especially cozy. Thanks guys!
Overnight, with everyone tucked into their tents, (including the bears) we had some light rain which was a pleasant sound in the woods as temps dropped to a comfortable lower 70. But the humidity insisted on sticking around through the week making for damp clothing the refused to dry, necessary cooling cloths and lots of very sticky strange bugs.
