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.