The Troop’s very first campout was the unforgettable weeklong summer camp at Camp Hi-Sierra, CA in 2002. It was a brand new experience for brave fresh Scouts to take turns in serving meals, to live in canvas tents, to swim in the cold steam water early in the morning, and to attend merit badge classes of their choices. These merit badge classes came with a great variety of subjects ranging from cooking, fishing, leatherwork, basketry, pottery, woodcarving, wildlife study, environmental science, forestry, soil and water, archery, and rifle shooting to many more.
Our 2003 summer camp was still under Mr. Liu’s guidance at Camp Chawanakee, CA. The boys had a chance to swim and canoe at Shaver Lake, and spent a night without tent under a starlight sky amid the gentle summer breeze.
The 2004 summer camp was going to Camp Parsons in Seattle with Scoutmaster Mr. Patrick Chin while Mr. Liu remained as our Unit Commissioner. We felt honored to visit one of the oldest Boy Scout Campsite in America (since 1919). Both local and out-of-state troops poured in their warm welcomes. Our Troop was invited to friendly campfires, a visiting commissioner taught us how to open oyster shells, and seaside scenery never stopped to amaze us, not to mention having the merit badge class of Oceanography right by the sea.
This year, 2005, we have our summer camp at Camp Kern, Bakersfield, with Scoutmaster Mr. Hubert Chan. Among the new Scouts in our Troop, we have a little one with great courage in attending the dawn-breaking swims and well-deserved the special “water-dog” patch. Then there was this fishing story. After a Scout successfully caught a fish, the friendly Scoutmaster from Troop 508 demonstrated how to cook it with a stick and fire. Since the whole Troop shared a delicious bite in the meal, our scouts became very busy fishing in the camp!