Winter Camping with Cub Pack 151

“You're insane," “Make Chris take the boys,” and “Stay home and go out with us Saturday night.” Why were these comments left on my Facebook page last week? Because I was getting ready for a camping trip to Resica Falls Scout Reservation in the Poconos with son Peter's Cub Pack, and my friends thought I was insane for it.

I was actually looking forward to the camping trip. My husband, an Eagle Scout, is already very involved with the pack, and I saw this as my opportunity to get more involved, meet the boys and get to know the other parents.

Then I heard the weather forecast of snow all last week in the Poconos.

Being that I am 100 percent ready for spring, the idea of dragging my snow boots out and trekking through the wilderness after a bunch of boys in the freezing cold weather did not appeal to me at all. That girls night out sounded pretty good to me. I started praying for a bout of strep throat that had been going around.

Fortunately, my prayers for that were not answered.

We arrived at the cabin on Saturday morning, just in time for the first activity of the day. Our fearless Cubmaster of Pack 151, Ralph Walton, had the boys make marshmallow guns out of a PVC (polyvinyl chloride) pipe.

Making these "guns" involved an adult sawing the pipe, then the kids sanded, designed and assembled their guns. Even my youngest, Teddy, who is 5, made his own gun. When the guns were assembled and the kids were bundled up, we grabbed the miniature marshmallows and headed outside.

What ensued was a major marshmallow and snowball war on our own mountain behind our cabin. When Peter and Teddy gave up their guns and went for snowballs, I grabbed both guns and started firing marshmallows at the boys. Being the only mom crazy enough to be outside on that mountain, I was an easy target–and I loved every minute of it.

When we were out of ammunition, we headed back down to the cabin for lunch. After lunch, we went on a hike to meet the camp ranger and help him stock the Bushkill River with brown trout. This was a cold, wet, and muddy mess of an activity. The boys loved every minute of it.

After that activity, some boys went back to the cabin with another adult while some continued on to hike the extraordinary Resica Falls. A game of "Capture the Flag" ensued afterwards back at the cabin while the adults prepared dinner. 

There was the traditional camp fire later that night with, of course, s'mores and some more marshmallow shooting. Later a movie was projected onto the wall, which no boy or adult alike was able to stay awake for.

There was the typical and expected shenanigans you get when you have that many boys ranging from first to sixth graders–nothing a parent couldn't handle or at least laugh about. The moms and dads enjoyed talking, reading and playing cards.

The weekend was such a success that I am actually looking forward to our next camping trip. This time, I will make sure to pray for all of us to stay healthy.

This week is all about the Cub Scouts. We plan on going to the Phillies Scout Night, where the boys will be able to parade on the field, along with other local Boy Scout and Girl Scout Troops.

Next Monday is the annual Pinewood Derby. Peter is making his car a Bugatti Veyron, the fastest and most expensive car in the world. We'll see if he wins the derby but even if he doesn't, I think we won when it comes to being members of the Cub Scouts.

If you want information on joining Cub Pack 151 in Broomall, please visit here.

Cub Scouting is for boys and their families in first through fifth grades. You can find other Cub Scout Packs here.

Girls who want the camping experience can visit the Girl Scouts of Eastern PA Web site.