Camping
Camp Thunder is a Boy Scout Camp located
down below Concord, GA. When I was a BoyScout I went there
for a week on several occasions. The last time I went with
my friend, Billy Tate.
Billy was a couple of years older than I, and I looked up
to him like an older brother.(Read my story under “Teen
Years” called “Basketball”.) He loved scouting as I did. We
had stayed in tents on earlier trips, but this time we were
assigned a bunk house which was quite an improvement over
the tents.
We had a productive stay, earning two awards: “Honor
Camper” and “The Order of the Arrow”.
While there, we were given the challange of going on a hike
and fixing our own meal while out. After a long hike we
discovered we were lost and it was getting dark. Billy
decided that we should stop for the night because it would
be almost impossible to find our way in the dark. We found
large rocks and placed them in a circle and built a fire in
the middle. We had some potatoes and a box of Bisquick that
the camp had given us. Billy showed me how to pack mud
around the potatoes and cook them in the ashes of the fire.
The mud hardened and at the same time cooked the potatoes.
Billy mixed water with the Bisquick and made a long dough
snake that he twisted around a stick and cooked over the
fire. We had some eggs but decided to wait until morning to
eat them. In the morning the rocks had gotten very hot and
we used a small pan that was part of an army mess kit to
place on the hot rocks and fry the eggs. Not bad eating
when you are lost.
We found our way back to camp without much trouble. I’ve
thought about this occasion many times over the years. Were
we really lost? ... or did Billy just make me think we were
so I’d have a more interesting time. Anyway, It was one of
the outstanding events of my scouting years.
It’s not unusual for a young boy to find an older friend to
look up to. I was lucky to have had an older scout who
befriended me and led me in the right direction.