Finally, my first bag night of the year

“My son and I signed up for the Cub Scout Rendezvous for this weekend, at Camp Comer in Northeast Alabama, not far from Ft. Payne. This is a large organized Cub Scouting event. My son had been quite excited to go, and so was I.

We got our gear together and left with some fellow scouts at abou 2:00PM on Saturday. The drive to Camp Comer was long and leisurely, and we were treated to some excellent views of the lower Appalachians. It's a very pretty area. We passed through DeSoto State Park on the way, but I was unable to get a good idea of what it's like.

We arrived at Camp Comer at about 3:30PM, registered, and with my son's help, portaged our equipment to our assigned campsite. Most of the campsites have either platform tents, or small structures they call "Adirondacks" that are like backyard utility buildings, with a curtain covering the large front opening. My son had elected to tent camp that evening, so I brought the Clip Flashlight 2 for us to sleep in. When we arrived at the campsite, I realized that we could have driven down with all the equipment and dropped it off. Oh well, it wasn't that hard to carry.

The other thing about our campsite was that it was extremely wet. There was a wide, shallow stream separating our side of the campsite from the side where the privy was. This wasn't really a problem for me, since I had worn my hiking boots, but my son was in tennis shoes, and I knew his feet would be soaking wet before long. Also, all the trails leading to the campsite seemed to be creeks as well. Wet wet wet was the order of the day.

After getting set up, we walked back up to the dining hall to see about doing some activities. They had some water balloon catapults set up, and my son had fun launching water balloons at some play cubes that had been set up as targets. After that, a hike was announced, so we went on that hike, which was to the highest point in the camp.

When we got back from the hike, we walked around to try some of the other activities, but unfortunately they were all closing up for the evening, since it was almost dinnertime. We went back to our campsite for awhile, and my son played around the fire with some of the other boys.

Dinnertime at the messhall proceeded without too much trouble. Walt didn't like the mashed potatoes or green beans, so I ate his. The food wasn't bad, but it also wasn't all that good either. But when you're hungry, you tend not to care very much about that.

After dinner, it was time for the Council fire, and we walked around the camp until we found the amphitheatre where it was being held. Unfortunately, because of the wet condition of the wood, they couldn't get the council fire started, so no fire, but one older scout did do some fire juggling, much to the delight of the Cubs.

We went back to our campsite, where thanks to the foresight of one of the parents, we did have a fire. We roasted a (very) few marshmallows, burned very many marshmallows, and generally enjoyed ourselves sitting around the fire and talking, and telling funny gross jokes.

We turned in at around 10:00PM. I got Walt out of his wet clothes and put in in jammies, and he got in his bag and fell asleep almost immediately. I got into my bag, on top of my new Big Agnes Insulated Air Core pad, and took a little bit longer to fall asleep. The BA pad is amazingly comfortable, like sleeping on my bed at home. When I was asleep, I slept very well, but usually on the first night out I sleep lightly and wake up a lot. This night was no different.

In the morning, the sun came up on a truly beautiful day. I got Walt up with a little bit of trouble, got him dressed in a dry change of clothes, and we went up to the messhall for breakfast. Breakfast was alright. They had biscuits, scrambled eggs, and something they called sausage gravy that looked more like chipped beef. My son and I declined on the unrecognizable, gravy-like substance, he because he didn't like the looks of it, and I because I don't tolerate stuff like that very well. We ate, and then we went back to camp where I started taking down our tent and packing up.

As I was doing this, my son asked if he could go on another hike with a friend, and I told him it was okay, if it was okay with his friend's father. I let him go, and finished taking down the tent. I got to thinking about it, and decided I had better catch up to them, so I grabbed my daypack and hiking pole and strode off to catch up with them. When I got to the starting point of the hike, no one was there, so I figured I had missed them, and I went back to our campsite to finish packing up.

As I arrived at the campsite, I saw the grandmother of some of the boys fall backward out of her Adirondack onto the ground. She apparently has had a couple of strokes recently and her balance isn't what it used to be. I got over to her as quickly as I could to see if she was okay. She was not. She had fallen onto her right arm, and she said she was in a lot of pain. There was no one else at the campsite, so I stayed there with her to help her.

She laid on the ground for awhile, because she had become nauseated, and didn't want to throw up. After a bit, I helped her back up into the Adirondack, so she could lie on one of the bunks. I left for a minute to see if any of our pack was around, but couldn't find anyone. When I got back, she was still lying on the bunk, and her nausea had passed, so I suggested that I take her in my truck to the medic station.

When we got there, there was no one at the medic station, so I left her sitting in a chair on the porch and went to go find someone. I found the head man responsible for the event, and brought him back. It turned out that he knew the grandmother from a caving club here in Huntsville, so they caught up while we looked for something to make a sling. We got a sling on her, and then the medic arrived. When apprised of the situation, he left to go get an EMT that he knew was present at the camp. At this point, I had done all I could do, so I elected to move my truck on up to the parking lot in preparation to leave, and then to walk back to the campsite and get the rest of the gear I had there.

My son and the group he was with finally got back to the dining hall area at about 10:15 or so. I had been a little worried, since they were supposed to be back from the hike at about 9:30, and my search of the camp hadn't turned them up. I asked the other Scout leaders if he had been good, and they said that he had been. He was covered in mud from his feet to his knees, and said he had had a lot of fun. I believed him.

We then walked over to the amphitheater again for the final ceremony, where my son got his patch for the camp. I had already loaded our gear into the truck, and so we waited for a little while for all of our group to be ready to go, then left the camp to head back to Huntsville.

It was a great weekend to get my first bag night of the year, but I have a lingering headache from allergy problems. I was sneezing and blowing my nose all weekend long. It was good to get home to A/C again, lol...

Pictures later...I haven't gotten them off the camera yet.”

“Cool trip.

I'm a little suprised that the medic station was left unattended cause those usually have steady attendence on cub weekends. More often for the dads than the cubs.

Scout camp food ranges from acceptable to bad and almost enough to not enough. As long as you don't set your expectations high you will be just fine.”

“Well, the "medic" was there, he was just asleep in the back room. He didn't answer my initial calls so I didn't know he was there. I gotta wonder what good he really was, since his first response to serious injury was to go find an EMT. Maybe he just had first aid training.”

“Um, not to be too harsh, but the place is a hole. One of the bathhouses had no working toilets, out of 12 in the building. The privy in our area had two holes, but one of them had been sprayed with diarrhea, and never cleaned. Very little maintenance has been done on the buildings, although the Adirondacks are apparently new.

The GAC had planned to sell Comer, Jackson (location of the Pinnacle) and another of the Scout Camps to buy a "SuperCamp" on a lake in Blount County, closer to Birmingham, in order to save money. This plan was dropped because of verbal flak from Scout leaders in North Alabama. After seeing the conditions at Comer, I gotta wonder why.”

“sounds like the kid had fun - if he was good and muddy, he certainly had fun!”

“Oh exactly. And he did. That makes it worth it for me. I didn't really have the best time this weekend, but him having fun is good enough.”

“bit - the word I heard is that folks wanted little Jimmy to go to the same camp they went to. The SuperCamp would've been bigger than Sipsey and located on Inland Lake. City of Bham was for it because it put a protected zone around the lake where most of the cities drinking water comes from. A power struggle killed the deal.”

“From what I heard, GAC kind of "sprung" it on them as well, and treated it like a done deal. My guess is that the info simply didn't make it down the chain until the deal was almost finished, and everybody freaked because they "weren't consulted".

Comer is in a really nice location. The facilities would be great if they were maintained. I understand that the Council has a limited budget. I think they should probably close a camp or two put the savings in the camps they have. The SuperCamp would probably have been nice, and given the accessibility from I65, not really all that much further from Huntsville than the present camps are. The GAC needs to get its act together.”

“There's a little more to it than that.”

“Well, enlighten me dayhiker! Via email, if you'd rather. I got no dog in this fight, but am curious nonetheless.”

“cool trip. I like how you post it in little chapters, so much easier to read.”

“Good trip report bit. Hope the granny was ok.”

“Congratulations on getting involved with your son's scouting. I have been involved with Scouts for the last 6 years and it has been some of the best times I have had. I grew up in the rural midwest and spent alot of time in the outdoors. I think that Scouting is a great thing for kids that do not get to do that. For those who grew up in family's that do a lot of hiking and camping it might be a re-run of a lot of things they have already done but it is still a great experiance. My son is in his 1st year as a Boy Scout and when we go on a campout he can start a fire, set up his tent, and cook a meal as long as its hot dogs ( we are working on that). I feel confident that if he got lost on a hike he would know what to do. I can't think of any better outdoor training than Scouts for a kid. Scout camps are not the greatest camps on earth. The food is eatable the toilets always need work but the money is not always there to make them as nice as we like. I don't hear many of the kids complaining about this, mostly the adults. You can all help. Most Scout Troops or Packs would love to have help from experianced campers. I am talking about all of you on this forum. Find a local Scout Group in your area and volunteer a few hours. You have all learned a lot the hard way share those experiances with them. Go on a overnighter and show them how to set up camp and cook and safetly hike in the woods. Many of the adult leaders read the book the night before the campout so they know what to do. You already know it. For the few hours you volunteer you will be rewarded with memories that will last a life time and will make a positive difference in a childs life. As for the camps they need money, and volunteers to help maintain them. A few dollars goes a long way at a scout camp. Thanks for listening.”

“I'm already the assistant leader of my son's Tiger Den. I plan on being a leader again next year.

I didn't expect the place to be the Hilton, but it would be nice if the toilets at least worked. If the Council cannot afford to maintain the camps properly, then they should close them.”

“pix, the granny is okay, but she did break her arm. I'm just glad I was there to help out, otherwise she might had been lying there on the ground for who knows how long.”

“Its good to see I'm not the only one who just now got his first bagnight of 05 in. lol.

The lady presented quite a twist in your story. I bet she was thankful you were around.
last edited: 5/02/05 1:29:06 PM”

“No kidding TMac. Circumstances have prevented me, etc., etc....

Hoping to get some trips in this summer. If the weather stays cool, they might even be enjoyable, lol...”

“Bit do you know if you local OA lodge does service work at the camp? Ours does frequently and they get a fair bit done.

It would seem a simple matter to put the word out that the camp needs some specific tasks done and that someone(s) within your council would volunteer their time (and possibly materials) to do it and just get it done.”

“Nice report Bit! Like you, my allergies have been driving me crazy this year.

Question for you, does it seen real bad this year, or is it just me? We have not had a lot of rain up here, so the pollen cout is off the charts.

I have a feeling that my first bag night will be on the West Virginia trip.”

“I will discuss it with some of the other leaders that were on the trip. I wasn't the only one who thought the place needed some work.”

“My allergies haven't been as bad this year, but they are still there. It's been rainy here a lot, and that may be why. I know that when it is dry, I am miserable.”

“Glad to hear that some parts of the trip were fun. Hopefuly the maintaence issues will get addressed.”

“HELP!!!! My first bag night coming up in 3 days and I have a cold, I need remedies...FAST!!!!”

“Lots of zinc and Vitamin C. Some people like echinacea too.”