The troop had an awesome trip to the Hiwassee river over the past weekend. Special thanks to Rusty Garner for letting us share his “fish camp” lodge, and all of the adults that made the trip possible! We drove up Friday afternoon, and we divided into temporary patrols: the Rainbow Trout and the Castaways. We then set up camp and had our initial PLC to begin planning a full day on Saturday.

Saturday morning, the guys from the Trout Unlimited Hiwassee chapter (Don, Marty, Larry, Max, and a few others) stopped by to teach the guys fly fishing merit badge. After an informative few hours of bait matching, fly casting and discussion of best practices we were off to the river to fish!

Once on the river, a few guys found immediate success, while others took a little longer to get into the “flow”.

After returning to camp for lunch, we finished the merit badge knots, and worked on fly tying. We then loaded up and funyaked and kayaked down the river, with help from our awesome guide Janet and her daughter Tristen. A great time was had by all, and we ran the rapids, floated, and took a swim at one time or another.

We retired to camp and a roaring fire! And settled in to cook dinner and get ready for fly fishing again on Sunday morning. After Sunday’s fishing, awards were given by the Trout Unlimited guys, including awards for longest, prettiest and most fish caught.

This was a great trip for the guys, and we’re extremely grateful for all of the awesome volunteers that make it such a memorable weekend!

Great day here at Red Mountain park working in Keefer’s Eagle Project. The boys finished digging holes, setting posts concreting them in place and delivering gravel to the new fitness center. The project is going great, and we’re excited to be a part of a great addition to Red Mountain Park!

The sun was shining and the birds were singing on our last day at camp! We all made our normal routine, and the boys made their final effort to finish their merit badges this morning. After lunch, we had free time and participated in the camp wide games; a banana relay where you had to take your banana to different parts of camp and perform activities. We also created “hammock haven” this afternoon, and several guys just laid around and rested. We then had dinner in our campsite, and attended the closing campfire. The boys have had a great week, but we’re all looking forward to being back home tomorrow!

After a rainy start to the day on Thursday, we settled into our daily routine, and continued our work on merit badges and honor troop. In the afternoon, we enjoyed free time, with several boys going fishing, swimming, shooting, Ga Ga ball, and the trading post. The polar bear swim was cancelled due to thunder and lightening, but the troop is looking forward to camp wide games this afternoon, and I can confirm that everyone at camp has had at LEAST 2 showers this week! We also attended Cracker Barrel (social & snacks) from our neighbor troop, 433 from Marietta, GA. Onto our last day, and closing campfire tonight!

Rain, rain go away! Having a fun, wet time at Camp Woodruff! We had a full day of assembly, dining, merit badges, free time activities, and attended the flag retirement ceremony. The troop is going for the “Honor Troop” designation, and are being challenged to complete all sorts of tasks around camp: pass a daily campsite inspection, answer 10 of 16 riddles, carry the flag to 80% of assemblies, wear our uniform to 80% of dinners, catch a fish, visit the Davis inn, etc. I captured several photos of the boys in class (they’re pretty excited 😂), and we had our last shower house cleaning session . The Mustache patrol went to the Davis Inn in the afternoon, where we threw tomahawks, branded our gear and made candles. Also, we welcomed Mr. Matchett and wished Mr. Freeman all the best on his way home. We’re excited to still be at camp, and are in the home stretch of the week!