Our original plan had been to camp the previous weekend at another camp, but that council canceled our reservation one day prior due to their inabiliy to sand the icy camp road and a problem with the water. Instead, Troop 54 returned to Moses Scout Reservation in Russell Massachusetts for our annual cabin camping trip. We stayed in the Hillside Cabin, a cabin we have not used before. With bunk beds in 3 separate rooms, plus a couple of small common rooms, this cabin is well-suited to the current Scouting America rules.
We had four Scouts and two leaders on this trip.
The wood stove in the main room of the cabin was larger but did not put out as much heat as other wood stoves we have used. This was fine Friday evening and Saturday, while the temperature was mild. On Saturday night, even adding wood every hour and a half, we could still see our breath most of the time inside the cabin.
The Scouts did some sledding in the morning and in the afternoon on Saturday, preferring not to waste the opportunity by spending time on advancement.
Mr. MacNeal cooked the food for the leaders in the main room, and the Scouts cooked their food in a small side room. We cleaned our dishes out on the small deck in front of the cabin. We had to bring our wash tubs inside when they were not in use to keep them from freezing.
The cabin came stocked with fire wood from the camp; we only had to haul replacement wood from a nearby cache. Running water from a frost-free valve was more of a hike from the cabin.
Page updated 3/12/25
J. Froimson
