West Point Camporee Trip Report
Sometime the spontaneous can be very exciting. This trip was unusual in that it wasn’t exactly part of the yearly PLC
planning effort. OK truth be told it was partly your Scoutmaster remembering his Scouting youth. You see as a young
Scout I was fortunate enough to attend a West Point Camporee; and just to avoid you all dating me, yes I know this
year was the 49th Annual Camporee. I was curious of this event was still held, and after a little Googling found it was;
and the registration deadline was then only 2-weeks away. I went ahead and registered the Troop then sought the
approval at with the boys at the next PLC meeting. When I read off the list of events, there was no hesitation. I hear a
resounding “sign us up”; which I countered with “I already did”. You should also understand that this is an “invitational”
Camporee. Yes, you must be invited to attend and you are only guaranteed a once in 5 years opportunity. The caveat
to that is if your Troop has a sponsoring Cadet attending (more on that later). We were fortunate; we applied and were
accepted as first time attendees. Several other local Troops on the application list were not accepted. The other first for
us was this trip would require the Scouts to leave school early to make the long trip to New York. The boys assured me
this was not a problem!
We gathered at 1PM at UMCR parking lot to pack the gear, sort out rides, and hit the road. There was a little initial
confusion on the gear and a discussion about the Patrol Method. This trip, unlike most camping trips would be a
backpacking trip; we would be carrying in everything we needed for the weekend; this requires more Patrol teamwork.
West Point calls this “lightfighter” and it has special recognition for completion. But despite the initial gear and
organization issues, we were off in short order and headed to NY.
Our plan on the way up was to rendezvous the caravan outside West Point and have lunch together. Mr. Kreher was
kind enough to arrange sandwiches for us all; now only if we could find him. Mr. Merker and I somehow missed the exit
off the NY Thruway (OK my fault), and were separated from the group. Then Mr. Kreher did the same. Mr. Hannagan
was able to corral us all back together via cell phone and informed us the original lunch destination was inaccessible.
So we all met there on the side of the road, regrouped and then headed out to meet Mr. Hannagan at a new location.
The only issues was that as the cars pulled out, we separated in traffic, and Mr. Merker and I, losing sight of the cars,
once again were on an adventure. This time we got to see more of West Point. I think that Mr. Merker was actually
trying to find a Navy outpost! But this too turned out for the best and Mr. Merker found us a place to eat, and I was able
to find the gang on the side of the road again. This was difficult with no one’s cell phones working in the mountains of
West Point. Back together again, lunch was great, the stretch was nice, and we cleaned up and drove in the main gate.
And WOW were there a lot of Scouts there. Almost 6000 Scouts from as far away as Iowa!
We got on the Campus, parked, registered, and slung the backpacks on in no time. Those hills we’d drove up and lost
cellular service on; now it was time to hike them. We hiked out of Campus, down the road a mile, then into the woods;
which went immediately straight up hill. Bull Hill to be exact, and this is some hike! We knew we were in for 3 miles,
which turned out to be more like 4 given the hike to the trail head from Campus. But this hike felt like 10 miles. I think its
fair to say that most everyone struggled a bit with the hill. The exception was Gordon M who appeared to be jogging
back and forth up the hill in an effort keep everyone together – Super ASPL! Its also fair to say everyone did a great
job on the hike, hiked at a good pace, and everyone made it. At the bottom of the far side of the hill we all received our
special tokens of the journey; a 2011 Lightfighter patch and a Bull Hill pin complements of the West Point Cadets. Once
in the main camping area we found some Cadets to show us to our patch of grass and we quickly got tents up and
settled in for the evening. It was late and everyone was glad to get rest. Mr. Kreher and I headed out for a late night
Scoutmaster’s meeting to receive the logistics from the Cadets. We learned these guys, 225 volunteers, spend a full
year planning this event, and with 6000 Scouts it’s the largest camporee they’ve ever held. The Cadets were 2-weeks
away from finals, but were absolutely thrilled to be doing this for the Boy Scouts! Most of them had Eagle Scout badges
hanging from their uniforms!
Sat morning came fast and we were up early for a PT (Physical Training) with the cadets. Now that it was daylight we
got the lay of the land and realized we were camping on a hill and all the activities were downhill; we were in for a full
weekend of hill climbing. Furthermore, the cadets decided PT should be jogging up and down the rocky trails on the hill.
Ugh! But again, we all made it. As the Patrols made breakfast we reorganized, having learned that every Troop was
only allowed to send 2 patrols out to the competitions and score sheets could not be combined. Dylan K, who lead the
initial organizing, quickly adapted and 2 Patrols went off to compete for the day. The activities included first aid,
stretcher relays, orienteering, a mental challenge course, and several other stations. The boys had the opportunity to
shoot M16 rifles and M60 machine guns (blanks), and even throw a dummy hand grenade. Throughout the day there
were Cadet Drill Team demonstrations on the parade field, a mock “engagement”, movies, and Army cheerleaders (I
hear that was a big hit). There was even a Scouting Museum which had the original Wood badge beads and partial
uniform owned by Baden Powell himself! There was a treading post which had an enormous line, and was sold out of
everything by the time Mr. Flach made it to the cashier 1.5 hours later! And, there were Scouts everywhere trading
patches just like at a Jamboree. All around great day.
Saturday night was a Scout master cookoff, and Troop 220 entered a lightfigther desert. For parents that go on this
trip; that’s the place to be! Some great camp food is made by some serious outdoor chefs! Saturday night also had
religious services, and the Troop attended together. The sermon, by an Army chaplain was very inspiring. Saturday
night was topped off by an enormous bonfire that nearly melted us and a band! Mr. Kreher and I again attended a late
night Scoutmaster meeting to get the “exit strategy”. That was interesting….but I will spare the details.
Sunday AM we were up early ate simple and packed up. The adults brought the cars around, but the gate we were told
to come in was locked, this turned out to be a blessing as 6000+ people trying to exit at once was nearly chaos. We
hiked the gear all the way out to the road, grabbed the Troop flag, and hiked back in for the Parade in Review for the
Brigadier General. As was the whole weekend, we were late for the ceremony. But, we finally found out why it kept
happening; we had no cadet assigned. Apparently the SM meetings, where we got times/schedules, were being
changed every morning and it was the job of the Troop assigned Cadet to inform us – but we had no Cadet! That
explains everything…
Fortunately for us, this won’t happen next year! For those of you that don’t know Eagle Scout Graham H will be
attending West Point next year and he has volunteered to be Troop 220’s sponsor for the next 4 years. Now that we
understand how the event functions and operates we are sure to be extremely competitive in the future. Maybe Troop
220 can take away top honors at the Sunday Parade.
This was a great event, thanks to all the Scouts for their participation and leadership and all the parents that supported
us all on the event.
I hope you are looking forward to next year, I know I am.
YiS
Mr. Zach
West Point Trip Report