I am a Life Scout in Troop 260, Suffield, Connecticut. I am working on my Communications Merit Badge and would like to tell you about a trip that our Troop takes every other year, that I have been fortunate enough to have gone on twice now.
We travel north to Allagash, Maine for a nine day trip. This is where my story begins. We travel all day to get there, and overnight at the Outfitters. The next morning we are awakened before the sun, so we can travel another hour or so to where we put our canoes in the water. Our Troop splits into two groups, as you can only have 14 people on the river at the same time, so we really don’t see a lot of each other throughout the trip. Each group has their own gear/supplies.
Once on the water it starts off on the more difficult side with white water rapids, then over time it gets progressively better.
This year on my first day, I was in the canoe with one of our assistant scout leaders. We started off on a good note but then towards the worse part of the rapids we got wedged on a rock sideways and every time a wave came by more and more water came into our canoe, until finally we jumped out. The canoe tipped, and because of the heavy current, I ended up almost a quarter of a mile down river, running into rocks, until finally, one of our other canoes came by and helped me. Later, we all had a good laugh. There is a spot along the way, where we stop, and can jump into the water for a swim, based on the time available.
By night time, we have found a place to set up camp, get into our dry clothes, and get dinner ready. Then we wake up early and start all over again. Several of our Scouts brought their fishing gear and were able to fish on our down time. We had to fight the black flies and mosquitoes, which could almost carry any one of us away. After five to six days on the river, we loaded up our gear into our Troop trailer and headed south, to overnight at a Scout camp, where we find our first opportunity to shower and clean our gear before heading home.
As part of Troop 260, I have been on many wonderful adventures! In 2020, the older Scouts and leaders will be traveling to Florida to Sea Base, where they will be scuba diving for a week. It is because of our Scoutmaster and leaders that we are able to enjoy such adventures. They all give of their time, have their own families, and all work full time jobs!
I just wanted to let you know a little about our Troop and the wonderful people in it.