Summer Camp

I'm back from my Boy Scouts Summer Camp that took place Sunday to Saturday at Cherry Valley, Catalina Island. It was a fun 6 days away from home and I did many activities and finished three merit badges. I challenged myself and did things that I never thought I could've done. I went away from the technology and the city lights and my phone was turned off the whole camp meaning no distractions. But I had lots of fun and I will describe the highlights of each day.

Sunday
Sunday was the travel day as we all met at the Queen Mary at Long Beach and then we got our gear onto the boat and we took off. I didn't really feel like going as my foot was aching from the hike last week. We took the Catalina Express instead of the Catalina Classic Cruise as the Cruise was being fixed. The Express took under a hour but it was really rocky. They showed the U.S. Open for Golf and I watched part of it. I almost threw up. After arriving at Two Harbors, we hiked 1.3 miles to Cherry Valley. Then, we got all the orrientation of the camp and where everything is. Our campsite was the 1st one which was good compared to last time we came in 2005. We had the last campsite. There was an opening campfire Sunday night.

Monday
1st day of camp. We took our swim test and we swam in the ocean water. It was really salty and it was a bit tough for me but I passed it. I was too scared to breathe underwater. In the afternoon, we had our merit badge classes. I had Rowing, Orrienteering, and Wilderness Survival. It was a pretty easy day. I showered after the swim test and that felt good. At night, I had my orrientation for the Discovery Scuba Program where I watched this video on Scuba Diving.



Tuesday
We had merit badge classes in the morning and it was mostly all going over the requirements. Stayed onshore for rowing. Then in the afternoon, I went to the Scuba Locker. My gear was over there and I was going to do my dive. The instructor helped me and two other scouts from Oakland put on our gear. It felt tight at first and heavy but we went into the water. There, we practiced some basic techniques such as hand signals, clearing water from our eyes, purging, etc. I was nervous by then and didn't feel great going down there. But after a while, I decided I was ready for it and I went down with the group. We went underwater and stayed underwater for about 20 to 30 minutes as we dove down to 40 ft. I brought a waterproof camera and took pictures of things with it. Saw this globe and wheel down there along with many fishes like the gerabaldies and this big fish that swam back. It was so cool underwater. I breathed perfectly and nothing went wrong. I was so happy afterwards. It was so cool, 1st time doing it. I won't forget the experience of scuba. But I did it and overcame my fear.

Wednesday
Wednesday was the high adventure day. Our troop 693 was assigned to canoe/kayak to emearld Bay and then hike 3 miles back to Cherry Valley. The older scouts were assigned the kayaks and I paired up with Ricky. We went onto the open water and kayaked. We went pretty fast but had to wait for the war canoes as it was moving at a slower pace. Soon, got to Emearld Bay and then we played in the water for 2 hours. Then, we hiked back along the dirt road which was pretty simple. Nothing much more to say. Stopped a few times for water. It was an easy hike. Afterwards, I took my third shower of the week to keep clean. There was a commisioner campfire and there were skits. Our troop had a nice skit, run on and yell. I slept pretty well again on the comfortable mattress bunk.

Thursday
Back to normal schedule day. We had merit badge classes in the morning. In rowing, I finally rowed out of the rowboat and it wasn't easy. We went out to the end of Cherry Cove and I rowed back in. I had some trouble in the beginning getting control but with help of my row mates, I started moving back into shore. During free time, I wandered around and didn't do anything. Went on the mine tour and got my beads there along with the sea lab and nature trail. It was quite interesting listening to those stories of the mine. We played some highland games during the night and we all banged things making drum noises. Then, went on the honor trail in which they told us about our honor to god, country, and ourselves. That night, I spent the night out in the wild as part of the requirements for wilderness survival merit badge. I built my shelter earlier in the day and put lots of brush on top of lots of logs. It was a pretty good night sleep although I fell alot downhill and hit Hojo in the head. There were 33 of us that slept outside. It was a great experience to spend a night out in the wild. Also, we were informed that Michael Jackson died as there had been crazy rumors out there. I was really shocked.

Friday
Last official full day of camp Friday. Finished up the merit badges in the morning. I got a complete in rowing, orrienteering, and wilderness survival. In free time, I first went rowing as Hojo had to complete the requirement. Then, snorkeled for a few minutes but water was too cold. Then, I decided to go small boat sailing with the two Edwards. We boarded a sail ship and our troop friend took us out of the cove. It was scary as the boat rocked back and forth. It went on one side as we were going but I learned that was normal. We had to switch sides often to go with the wind. It was really fun though and a cool experience. I took some pictures. At night, I was honored as a warrior, second time people coming to CCV. There was also the closing campfire.

Saturday
The travel day back home. We packed up our stuff and hiked back to Two Harbors. There, we said our final goodbyes to the wonderful camp staff. Then boarded the Catalina Classic Cruise ship and headed for Long Beach. I slept on the 2 hour boat ride. I got home in the afternoon to find so many things had happened. One of my friends grandma passed away last Sunday, Michael Jackson died, and other news.

Anyways, summer camp was really fun. It was my best one yet. I did so many fun activities, kayaking, rowing, snorkeling, scuba diving, small boat sailing, and much more. It was a nice 7 days away from home with no distractions. All my pressure from the school year were released. Cherry Valley @ Catalina Island was soooooooooo fun.