Troop 54 made our first trip to Durland Scout Reservation in Putnam County, New York, a Greater Hudson Valley Council camp, to participate in their 2024 Klondike Derby. Troop 7054 joined us on this trip.
We camped in Site 5, which had more than enough room for our tents and an adjacent parking field. The site had a portable toilet and at least two fire rings. A composting bathroom and a frost-free water valve were available near the Campmaster cabin, a few hundred yards away. After our arrival at about 9 PM, we set up the Troop 54 cooking area on the parking field, and Troop 7054 set up their cooking area in the site.
We had 2 Troop 54 Scouts, 5 Troop 7054 Scouts and 5 Troop 54 and 7054 leaders participating for a total of 12.
One other troop camped in tents. The rest of the troops staying overnight camped in cabins.
Troop 54 and Troop 7054 combined forces with a single sled for the Klondike Derby event. In recognition of having traveled the furthest to the event, our troops led the flag raising ceremony.
After the event, we held a flag retirement ceremony for the rest of the flags from the Shrewsbury, retiring 1158 small flags in bundles of 10. The mound of ash remained hot and glowing for about six hours.
It rained pretty hard the first night and was fairly windy all weekend. On Saturday, the temperature briefly spiked to the mid 50s but then slowly dropped to about 25°F overnight. Temperatures as measure near Mr. Froimson's tent:
This was our 181st consecutive month with at least one overnight camping trip.
Page updated 1/28/24
J. Froimson
