NYLT Day 6

Today was the final day of the course. (Also the first day of a new year.) We packed up our tents and gear, began the day with an assembly at the flagpole, then ate breakfast and got to work on cleaning up camp. Soon, parents began to arrive, and we all ate lunch. Then each patrol gave presentations or performed skits teaching about leadership, before a final ceremony. Then we all went home.
Overall, the course was definitely a challenge for me - in communicating, and in getting along with other people. I feel like there were some times when I stepped up and took the lead, and others when I did not feel invested in my patrol, and did not really care how well we did. Overall, I think the experience was a good one to have, and I hope I have learned something from it.

NYLT Day 5

Today, New Year's Eve, is the last full day of the course. Tomorrow, we will be preparing to meet our families and go home. Most of today we spend preparing for tonight's outpost camp out, although we also did a few more presentations in the morning. The outpost camp out utilized many of the skills that we had been taught over the previous week.
We still need to work on our skit for tomorrow, but it's difficult to get everyone to focus enough to have a legitimate practice. The course is nearly over, and it has not been easy, but I'm glad I came.

NYLT Day 4

Today, we learned about the EDGE method for teaching, which was pretty familiar for most of us. Our guides demonstrated using the method to teach us how to use a GPS device for geocaching, which we practiced. We also learned about conflict resolution, which was probably the most interesting subject so far.
In the model troop meeting portion of the day, we learned about packing a backpack (for backpacking, not for school. Even Scouting cannot save us from the weight of textbooks). There was also a geocaching challenge. Our patrol was the slowest, but we did not give up and finished the course. The Making Ethical Decisions presentation was the last session for the day, and then the individual patrols had campfires to themselves.
I do wonder what type of Scout this course is designed for - I know it could be good for any Scout, but I think it would be particularly good for crew leaders of high adventure activities, the top three officers in Venturing crews, and patrol leaders in troops. I would be curious to know the age and rank of the Scouts going through the course in councils where the course has been established and successful for a period of time.

NYLT Day 2

On my 2nd day, I got up at 6:30am to be ready for assembly at 7am. We filed in as a patrol for a flag ceremony, and the presentation of a historic flag. Also, the new patrol leaders and assistant patrol leaders for each day were sworn in, and program and service patrols for the day were assigned.
After breakfast, there was a chapel service. This was also an instructional event, as we went over parts to include in a chapel service, the place religion holds in Scouting, and how to make sure that a service was open to all faiths.
The course has a lot of weird time in between sessions - 30 or 45 minutes after each session where nothing is scheduled to happen, and it's pretty boring. I would prefer to go through all our sessions through the day and have a larger block of time at the end of the day to do something fun or relax a bit more, but the timing is set by the national syllabus.
Most of the people taking this course are high school freshmen. There are a few sophomores I think, and I'm the only high school senior (except the ones in the senior staff). I never would have expected just a few years' age difference to make such a distinct difference, but I do feel like it is harder for me to blend in or relate to the rest of the group.
We  did some sessions on goal-setting and planning today, as well as came up with a patrol name. We also held a model leaders' council and model troop meeting. We built pioneering projects. Our patrol won (the first event we have won) with an extremely sturdy, tall, and straight flagpole.
The shower facilities at this camp are pretty terrible. I've never been so thankful for Binachi's bathhouses before; I was taking them for granted.
The last thing we did was watch a movie, before heading back to campsites for bed. Of course, the movie was chosen to go along with the course themes of leadership and teamwork, but it was actually a pretty decent movie as well.

NYLT Day 1

On the 27th of December, we woke up early. My brother, one of the other boys from my crew, and myself all had to get to Florida by 12pm to begin our first day of National Youth Leadership Training, offered by the Gulf Coast Council at Camp Euchee.
National Youth Leadership Training is sometimes considered "Wood Badge for youth", although it doesn't seem to be quite as intense. It is a prerequisite course for those Scouts who want to take NAYLE (National Advanced Youth Leadership Experience) at Philmont Scout Ranch (or maybe Northern Tier or Florida Sea Base). The course is nationally regulated and has a very specific format and syllabus. In order to take the course, Introduction to Leadership Skills for Troops or Crews is required. Our crew seems to have the only Scouts in the council who have had the prerequisite training, so it was only the three of us from our area.
We were not allowed to have phones or technology for the week, so I do not have any pictures. Once we checked in, we met our patrols. This particular course had four patrols of seven or eight people each. Participants are placed in patrols separate from other members of their unit. My patrol had the one other female participant in it, and our troop guide was also female.
The first activity was an orientation, showing us around camp and allowing us to set up our campsites. Then the sessions began. I believe there was one on communicating effectively, and one on formulating a vision - both a team vision and a personal vision. I don't understand how so many high school freshmen know what they're doing with their futures with such certainty, while I'm about to go to college, and still don't know. Personally, I wasn't able to get very much out of the first night, due to a migraine headache.
There was an instructional campfire that night to open the course before heading to bed. By instructional, I mean that it was an actual campfire, but at the same time we were taught about the components of a good campfire, and how to make a campfire a memorable one.

Summit Day 5

Today was our final full day at the Summit Bechtel Scout Reserve. My group (six out of ten of us) went to the Ropes in the morning and the Rocks in the afternoon. Ropes is multiple aerial challenge courses high in the treetops. It was a lot of fun, but not too terribly tiring. I don't think any of our crew members fell during the whole morning (we did two courses).
The afternoon was rock climbing, which was good. Most of the rock climbing courses are set up with an auto-belay system which is actually quite convenient, and simpler than being belayed by a person. The staff only had to check our carabiners and harnesses and keep an eye on us - they could be climbing walls too. The best I climbed was a 5.6, but we have a few spider monkeys in our crew who made valiant efforts at the 5.10's and 5.11's. There was also an area for bouldering. We are required to have two people spotting for every person climbing, but it was fun. It's strange climbing without a harness, and even scarier than usual, if that's possible. (I really don't like heights.) After bouldering and rock climbing, we rappelled down the side of the rappelling tower, and did the Leap of Faith. The Leap of Faith is almost like a zip line set up with the auto belay system, so as you jump off the rappelling tower you move out and down. It was a lot of fun.
That evening was the closing ceremony. The closing ceremony is basically a flag ceremony at Twelve Points, and then you get your evaluation forms, patches, Big Zip cards, etc. The patches say Christen High Adventure Base, and don't have a year on them. Unfortunately, the Duty to God and Outdoor Ethics patches are not available yet.
Overall, going to the Summit was a lot of fun. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again or recommend it to another crew. However, it is most definitely a new camp that is still rather disorganized and has a lot of learning to do. Also, don't expect a high adventure experience like Philmont, Northern Tier, or SeaBase. The Summit claims to be a high adventure base, but it is really more like an extreme version of summer camp.

Summit Day 4

I feel like our week is nearly over.

Last night was incredibly cold. No matter the amount of clothing and blankets I add, I'm still shivering in my sleeping bag.

Today we began with our service project. We raked mountain bike trails, getting dead leaves and loose rocks out of the path. The majority of the time was spent on hiking, waiting for tools to be found, and being driven to and from the site. It wasn't bad, although we didn't do much work.

After lunch and a ride back to the Scott Visitor Center, we stopped at our campsite and then continued beyond Bravo Camp to The Canopy, our elective. We did two sets of zip line courses in two groups. It was pretty fun, but uneventful.

Tonight all the usual activities will be open. A few people will have latrine duty. We also have to start thinking about preparing to leave on Saturday morning.

Summit Day 3

Today was our day of whitewater rafting. The weather was somewhat sunny, and colder than desirable, but no one got hypothermia and died. In the morning when we got up, the fog was so thick that we couldn't see to the other end of the energy bridge.

Rafting was great. I'd love to investigate the possibility of doing a whitewater rafting 50 miler. We did one Class V rapid and several Class IVs. Only one crew member on our raft fell out once, so we were mostly successful.

Rafts are much easier than the duckies were because the guide does all the steering, there are eight people paddling, it isn't necessary to paddle constantly, and the rapids are more fun and more frequent.

Tomorrow we have a service project and our Canopy elective.

Summit Day 2

 

 It is the end of our second day at the Summit Bechtel Scout Reserve in West Virginia. Today we went whitewater kayaking. We didn't actually use kayaks, we used inflatable kayaks, called "duckies". Most of them are designed for two people, and it's a lot like canoeing, although you use double-bladed kayak paddles. They are difficult to steer- real kayaks are more maneuverable, in my opinion.
We kayaked 9 miles in total, and did two Class III rapids in the afternoon, which was a lot of fun. That means we have completed a portion of our watercraft elective for the Ranger Award. We also built, claimed, fought over, and destroyed a large floating fortress created out of overturned duckies. It rained on and off throughout the day, but wasn't terribly cold. We were worried anyway, because today is Hypothermia Day.

I explored the Sustainability Treehouse, which was kind of neat, although I still don't understand why they didn't build a useful building, like the Visitor's Center/Trading Post, sustainably. As it is, they've made a cool, sustainable building that is not suited to any purpose besides displaying how sustainable it is. It's still cool, but it would be nice to see the solar panels and sustainable technology incorporated into places like the bathhouses.

At Action Point, I attempted BMX and mountain biking, which was pretty terrible. I also had latrine duty tonight. One of my crew members was sweeping out the youth male bathroom, and was mistaken for a bathroom authority figure due to the fact that he was holding a broom. He was questioned as to the proper methods for showering, which was quite strange.

Tomorrow is whitewater rafting, and it's supposed to be sunnier.

Equestrian Trip, Part I

This weekend, the Venture Crew took a trip to Alabama. Our goal: work on the requirements to earn the Equestrian Elective for Ranger/Bronze. We had a successful trip.

When we arrived, we learned about feeding the twenty horses. After lunch, we groomed several of the horses, and saddled five of them. After some time in the round pen, we were all able to go on a trail ride.

Many horse rides only allow you to walk on the horses. We did a lot more than that - we were galloping up hills. It was amazing. Afterwards, we learned about cooling down the horses, watering, unsaddling, grooming, and feeding.

The next day, we worked on tack care. Overall, we completed all the requirements for the elective except the presentation requirement. Our plan is to return for a short trip in March, so newer members can meet the same requirements we did, while we present to them and finish our elective. I'm looking forward to it.

Once I meet the presentation requirement  I'll have this elective complete. I also have a Lifesaver elective that I can complete once I do a presentation. I've completed five out of eight Ranger core requirements, so when I finish those two things, I should have earned my Outdoor Bronze Award, and be well on my way to Ranger. Any advancement we do must be complete by December, because the system is being redesigned nationally, and we don't know yet what the new system will be like.