Dear All,
We are all looking forward to the upcoming Spring Family Camping Trip on the weekend of May 20th. We have 93 people signed up to come!
Friday Night Arrival Time: There have been many questions especially about arrival time on Friday night. I know we talked about starting dinner around 6:30 PM but we think that getting the kitchen area set up will take longer than that so we have pushed the dinner start time until 7:00 PM.
Location: We are staying in a group camping site at Stone Mountain State Park. The address is 3042 Frank Pkwy, Roaring Gap, NC 28668. The park hours are 8:00 Am to 9:00 PM. Please plan to arrive before 9:00 PM or you will not be able to come into the park. If you are arriving Saturday, you can enter as early as 8:00 AM. Please note that if you are planning to arrive on Saturday morning, please be there by 9:30 AM. Our hike is scheduled for 10:00 AM.
Directions:
From 421 N:
1. Take Hwy 421 N to I-77 N.
2. From I-77, take Exit #83 (Hwy 21 N, Sparta, Roaring Gap) (LEFT Exit).
3. Go about 13 miles to Traphill Road/ State Road 1002 and turn Left. Look for the brown state park sign.
4. Go about 4 miles to John P. Frank Pkwy and turn right. Look for the brown state park sign.
5. Once you go through the gate and past the visitor’s center, look for the road to the camping area and turn right.
6. The group camping area is on the left. (This is tent camping, please bring a tent or see me to borrow one of our two man tents)
Parking: Due to the number of people we have in our group, we may have to park some of our vehicles at the visitor’s center after unloading.
Site assignments: We have all four camp sites reserved (they are all in close proximity). The scouts will be assigned to a site by rank. If you have multiple scouts in different dens, you may choose which site to set up your tent.
Webelos: 1st site to your left, closest to the food area
Tigers: 2nd site to your left
Bears: 1st site to your right
Wolves: Site at the end/back
Please see the attached diagram.
Packing the Pack Equipment: We will load the supplies on the trailer Friday (May 20th) beginning about 1:00 PM. We need several people in order to get done and leave by 3:00 PM. If you have any extra space in your vehicle, please come to the church at 1:00 PM and let us load supplies in your vehicle. There will be lot of food and supplies to be loaded. We also need at least 8 people to help set up the canopy after arriving Friday. Then after the canopy is set up, we need people to set up the kitchen and organize supplies. No worries about the boys, we all help supervise during set up.
Ice: If you have room in your cooler, please bring some extra ice. We have needed additional ice in past years to keep the camp food cold.
Cup Mugs: In an effort to reduce waste of disposable coffee cups, we would like to ask that you bring your own camp mug and/or refillable water bottle. This is a great time to invest in an insulated metal mug- they are great for camping. Please write your name on your mugs unless you don’t mind drinking someone else’s coffee.
Bikes/scooters: Due to the large number of people attending, we are asking that you do not bring any bikes or scooters this year. We appreciate your cooperation with this request.
Dogs: You are welcome to bring your dog if it is friendly around other dogs, strangers and children.
Friday Night Dinner: This year, we will be cooking hot dogs for dinner Friday night to go along with the salads and desserts that families are bringing. I am still in need of some additional salads and desserts, please let me know if you can bring one.
Saturday Pack Hike: Due to our large number of people, it is imperative that when we prepare to go on our hike that we pay attention to how we are grouped. We will assign a lead person and a tail person. We ask that parents be responsible for their scout, but we need to stay as a group on the hike and that means within visual contact. We will divide into smaller groups, as there are options to length of hiking trails to take. Please begin discussing with your scout/children the safety importance of hiking. We will review rules prior to the hike as well. We will need parents to volunteer to be the lead/tail, so if you know this is a strength of yours, please volunteer.
Whittling Chip: New Scouts and/or Rising Third Graders and up – Our rising bear scouts are eligible to work on their whittling chip on the Spring Family camping trip. Shannon sent out messages about this to the rising bear or current wolf families in January. The Whittling Chip includes training for how to safely handle a small pocket knife. The rising bear or current wolf den leaders will handle this session for the boys and their parents. Older scouts that are new to the pack or missed this session earlier, can attend as well. Our pack takes the safe use of knives very seriously, we have posted rules and information for our parents on the website to ensure that we keep everyone safe. Please read this information and be aware of our parent’s responsibilities concerning the boys handling knives. Some families make getting a pocket knife a part of this event for the boys.
Dutch Oven Contest: We will have a Dutch Oven Contest on Saturday. We have dutch ovens that may be borrowed. I will need to know if you plan to enter the contest so we will make sure we have enough desserts for dinner Saturday. It is recommended that you bring parchment paper or dutch oven liners to make it easier to clean afterwards. Also, you will need to bring charcoal and a chimney. We will also be taking dessert donations for Saturday night (in addition to Friday night)- let me know.
Saturday Night Campfire: Saturday night, after dinner, we have a campfire. We usually sing songs (song books & sheets available), the kids do skits, sometimes, we can convince Brad to read some NC legends, lore or something else interesting for everyone and we will retire a flag. We need a person to volunteer to coordinate the campfire. You don’t have to be a circus ringmaster to do this, just keep things going. please let me know if you would like to help. Since we will be roasting marshmallows, if you have a marshmallow stick, please bring it or bring a non-painted wire coat hanger.
Please note: The pack will supply marshmallows for Saturday evening, but please bring a bag for Friday evening if you would like to roast some then as well.
Class A uniform: Scouts will need to bring their Class A uniform to wear for dinner Saturday evening and for the campfire/flag retirement ceremony that evening. This is the only time the Class A will be required to be worn over the weekend.
Suggested items to bring:
- Chairs
- Tent
- Sleeping bags
- Ear plugs
- Pillows
- Flashlights
- Lantern- helpful if you have extras to bring to put around campsite
- Toiletries- there are showers available
- Shower Shoes
- Towels
- Sunscreen
- Bug spray
- Hat
- Cup for hot drinks and water
- Comfortable shoes and clothes
Here is a Draft Schedule. It is subject to change.
Friday:
- Dinner, probably around 7:00- depends on set up
- Lights Out/Quiet Time at 10
Saturday:
- Breakfast at 8
- Hike at 10
- Lunch at 12
- Den Specific activity at 1
- Scavenger Hunt at 2
- Free Time (to include service project and skit practice) from 3-5
- Dinner at 6
- Campfire ceremony at 8
- Lights Out/Quiet Time at 10
Sunday:
- Devotional at 8 by Ty Brown
- Breakfast to follow after the devotional
- Pack up and clean up after breakfast
Meal Assignments:
Each den will be responsible for a meal. Our Wolves will be split in two groups and cover two meals- Ty will assign you. When it is your meal, you will be responsible for set up, cooking, serving, clean up- the entire process. This includes scouts and parents, not just parents. We need a couple of parents to volunteer to be the food people for the weekend. If you are the resident “foodie” at your house, speak up!
Friday dinner: Webelos
Saturday breakfast: Wolves
Saturday lunch: Wolves
Saturday dinner: Tigers
Sunday breakfast: Bears
Tentative Menu:
Friday dinner:
- Hot dogs
- Salads& Side dishes (variety- fruit, pasta, potato, green)
- Desserts
- Lemonade
- Water
Saturday breakfast:
- oatmeal
- cereal
- grits
- hard boiled eggs
- sausage
- fruit
- juice
- coffee
Saturday lunch:
- sandwiches
- chips
- fruit
- dessert
- lemonade
- water
Saturday dinner:
- Hamburgers
- BBQ chicken
- Cheese quesadillas for vegetarians
- Baked beans
- Carrot sticks
- Salads
- Dutch oven desserts
Sunday breakfast:
- cereals
- yogurt
- fruit
- oatmeal
- juice
- coffee
Please let us know if you can help with loading the cars, bringing supplies, helping with the food, the hike or coordinating the campfire program.
Take care-
Hope Pirtle
Preview attachment sfccampsitemapweb.pdf
sfccampsitemapweb.pdf
101 KB
Every parent going, MUST have the Youth Protection Course. If you are attending and have not taken it, please click on the link above, complete it, and get a copy to me. We did check with the council on two-deep leadership and transportation, and they have approved the car pooling plan. The gates are open from 8-8 each day if you are a parent who is going but does not intend to stay.
We are so thankful to the Webelos I den for grocery shopping for the whole group! Due to Shane Harterink’s diligent planning we know the boys will not be hungry. They have purchased food for every meal Saturday. (They will be stopping to eat a fast food breakfast Sunday morning.)
If you do not have one of the above needed items, please let me know. We do have extras available. Please also note that the scouts will be sleeping at least two to a tent, so not every child needs to bring their own. We do however, want to ensure we have plenty, so if you do not have a tent, please let me know so I can keep track of extras needed.
They will be enjoying lots of activities to earn their rank, such as outdoor cooking, setting up tents, safely building fires, leaving no trace, fire starting (without matches), and hiking. There is also a petting zoo and animal sanctuary at the park. Please DO NOT bring Nerf guns this year as they will have plenty of other activities. (I know some may be bummed about this, but don’t worry, we may include those in a different event this year.)
As a side note, if anyone of you has ever been to this park, you know there is a water sprinkler section for children. Please let your sons know they will not be playing in the water as they will be doing plenty of other fun activities!!
