TImberline 2010 - Camp Rush

BE, KNOW, DO

Back in August of 2008 I blogged* about my 2008 Timberline experience. Well, we did it again this year and it was my turn to be the Scoutmaster. A totally different experience than previous Timberline courses I have attended. When you're the one running the show it weighs a little more heavily on you! But I had two good assistant scoutmasters and two good quartermasters to help me keep me on track.

*If I knew how to insert links to previous posts I'd do it. I guess I just need to take the time to learn how to do it!

Once again, our camp was held in Rush Canyon, just east of Alton. The Heatons are kind enough to let us use this property without charge. They also make it available for Girls Camp.

The unseen part of our course occurs in the months and weeks before camp. Assistant scoutmasters, quartermasters and a youth staff are selected and we begin preparing by going over the course materials, selecting menu items (always important at scout camp!), picking up course items at Council, arranging for the tents, portapotties, etc.

The big prepartion day was the Saturday before camp. All adults and youth staff gathered to prepare the campsite. We checked the flagpoles*, set up staff tents, the kitchen, the shower trailer, and water buffalo. Patrol campsites were selected and in general, we did as much preparation as we could before camp actually began.

Since we don't have our Timberline course at a council camp (Maple Dell, Mountain Dell, Thunder Ridge, etc.) we have a lot more set-up to do than most courses.

*We had to dig one flagpole out of the ground this year and replace the rope. That was fun.

One of the funnest (funner? more fun?) things the participants do is build a structure out of poles and bailing twine. The design and construction is up to them. All we ask is that it hold up to a few hundred pounds of boys. Here the Blue Rays* show off their jungle gym, a climbing tower with a swing attached.

*Each patrol (we had four this year) is given a color when they start the week. It is up to them to select their own name.

New safety rules prohibit structures that require boys to be higher than 6 feet off the ground while assembling it. While I appreciate the safety factor, I mourn the loss of truly spectacular towers that were often three stories high!


The Red Dragons constructed an impressively sturdy swing. Unlike the other patrols that switched and modified their designs during construction, these guys had a sound plan from the start, stuck to it, and wound up finishing first.

Another shot of the pioneering projects.

Lashing competion underway so see which patrol could tie and untie a figure of eight tripod lashing first.

Four years ago when we held Timberline at Johnson Canyon* there were so many mosquitos we named it Camp Skeeter. We could've named this year's course "Camp Chipmunk" there were so many of these little critters around.

Timberline was held in Johnson Canyon at the Church Ranch in 2004 and 2006 during a tug-of-war between the Paria River District (us) and the Utah National Parks Council (them). The Council wanted all TL courses held at Council camps to reduce liability (they said) and make it easier on the Council. The District wanted to hold camp closer to home to make it easier for staff and participants and parents to come to camp and also to keep the boys isolated and focused without the distractions of simultaneous courses and summer camps. In the end a compromise was reached and we had it on Church land for two sessions. Two years ago the Council relented and we moved back to Camp Rush. Score one for the little guys

Swearing in the new patrol leaders and the assistant patrol leaders around the flagpole bearing the Council flag. Each boy gets an opportunity to be patrol leader for a day. Thye begin to realize the 'leader' part of patrol leader as the week goes on and responsiblity for the patrol's activities is gradually shifted from their Troop Guide to them.



Also changed daily are the Service patrols and the Program patrols. The Service patrol is in charge of helping out with the meals, cleaning the shower trailer, and most importantly, cleaning and stirring the portapotties. The bathroom scrubber residing in a place of honor in the Blue Ray campsite is a symbol carried by the all-important Service patrol and is passed along to the new patrol each day in Opening Assembly.



As part of the week-long competition between patrols, campsite improvements are made. Beads can be earned for neatness, cleanliness, gates, fences or boundaries, paper towel holders, towel racks, etc. Only dead branches, logs, poles, twine, etc. can be used and by the end of camp all will be torn down and only a flat spot where the tents were pitched remains.

After the day's activities are concluded, the participants are sent to the campsites (ostensibly to sleep!) and the staff meets to review the days activites and prepare for the following day. After staff meeting was over I would again go through the next day's agenda to make sure all was in order.

Sample of a typical day


Getting ready for the Honor Trail (which I blogged about a couple of years ago. Note the gray hair and protuding belly: I look upon them as marks of distinction.


It's not often you get to plan your own accident. Wednesday night, while the scouts are busy in the GP tent doing a Lego challenge (kind of like a Kim game) we were busy setting up this accident scene. Tanner Maxwell and Noah Cotter were doctored up by Alan Black (our ASM/Troop Guides/Medical) to look like victims of a propane explosion. When all was set, the adults retired to a secluded spot andFredonia Police Chief Watson (invited especially for the occasion) set off a charge of tannerite. This resulted in a tremendous bang and hordes of scouts running from the GP tent looking for the source of the noise. They found Tanner and Noah groaning realistically and the kitchen in disarray.

This scene is variously* repeated in every Timberline course and is provided as an object lesson in how to handle emergencies. It is interesting to see how different boys respond. Some quickly size up the situation and their first-aid training kicks in, some see through the ruse fairly quickly, and some end up quite shaken. After a few minutes Alan stepped in and instructed the boys (and adults) on how to manage the situation. Like the Honor Trail, this is a high point of camp for returning youth staff: everyone wants to be the victim(s)!

Four years ago Tyrell Reidhead 'fell' on a knife and had 'blood' pumping out of his 'wound'. Another year we had a young man give a convincing portrayal of a seizure.


Have you ever pitched a tent blindfolded? Have you ever done it as a group? Have you ever done it blindfolded, as a group, and not allowed to communicate, save for the Patrol Leader (who is also blindfolded? Interesting lesson in communication and leadership.

JD Maxwell* teaching a lesson in the GP tent. I'm not sure how much 12-15 year old boys retain from the excellent lessons on leadership and vision** but it's amazing to watch the youth staff (many of whom are 14-16) learn as they present their part of the lessons.

*This is the third year I've been with JD at Timberline. The first year I went he was Scoutmaster, and four years ago a QM. This was his seventh course.

**Vision as in what are your goals and what do you see yourself doing in 15 years and how are you going to get there?



A lot of our activities, while fun, also involve teamwork and ingenuity. This is the 'transport the radioactive water' exercise. 'Radioactive' makes it sound more exciting.

It's nice to go to a camp with hot showers. Provided you are one the of the first ones to use the shower, of course!

Lowering the flags at the end of the day.






P.S. We even got a write-up in the Southern Utah News this year: