Our original plan for this month had been to attend an event at Horace Moses Scout Reservation. With the COVID-19 shelter in-place still in effect, we instead participated in Camp Quarantine, a virtual camporee organized by the Heart of New England and Western Massachusetts councils. Camping could be done from a backyard or even inside a house.
We had two Scouts and four leaders participating in this trip.
The Troop connected during pre-defined periods using Zoom. The camporoee took place on the Heart of New England's Facebook page. There were some portions for everyone, such as an opening and a campfire. During the day on Saturday, there were fun activities for Scouts. For adults, there were presentations on different program aspects.
Just a few of the statistics provide by the Council: More than 1,400 families registered, there were over 5,000 views during the campfire livestream event. People viewed the event from 45 states and 13 other countries.
This was our second month of virtual camping. All of the Troop 54 participants camped out in our yards. Some of the participants cooked outdoors, and others cooked mostly indoors. The MacNeals demonstrated an impressive range of outdoor cooking methods, including cooking a turkey over a fire.
The weather was good for this trip, with a day of rain ending just as the camporee started.
This was our one hundred thirty-sixth consecutive month with at least one overnight camping trip.
Page updated 8/22/20
J. Froimson
