A great cub scout weekend in the Knob View campsite, complete with two days of fishing, hiking, grape-vine swinging, swimming, tie-dye shirts, soap carving and more..
Camp Raven Knob
April 20-22, 2012.
A great cub scout weekend in the Knob View campsite, complete with two days of
fishing, hiking, grape-vine swinging, swimming, tie-dye shirts, soap carving and
more..
September 30-October 1st, 2011
Ben's first camping trip with Pack 538. Wonderful weather, wonderful
time spent with Ben, great hikes and scenery, just a great weekend.
Video of
our Raven Knob hike (part 1)
Video of
our fun on the grapevine - Raven Knob hike (park 2)
Ben and I arrived Friday afternoon around five and quickly
setup camp. Ben was very excited about going on a hike, so we were in a
hurry. I let him pick out a spot for the tent in the woods behind Sitting
Bull and Geronimo. As soon as we had all the gear inside the tent, we went
for a hike, exploring the woods behind our campsite, finding a creek and a log
to walk across. Kristen, Chase and Brett Pruitt had a nice campfire going
when we returned, so Ben and I roasted our hotdogs for supper and roasted
marshmallows for dessert. I sat around the campfire picking the guitar
while Ben played, then turned in early when Ben said he was ready to go to
sleep. We woke early the next morning, ate breakfast in the tent, then
went on another hike, this time exploring the area around the lake.
Ben picked archery as his first event and we joined Dave and Will Banfield,
arriving early. This was the only low point for Ben as he struggled
to keep the arrow on the bow and hurt his hand each time the flights hit his
fingers. But he quickly returned to a high when we found the inside
climbing wall and a soap carving class. Ben is terribly, terribly proud of
the canoe he made, and rightfully so. He said "I didn't buy a souvenir, I
MADE one!" We returned to camp, ate a quick and easy lunch, then went on
another hike to the creek.
We decided to join the Dodds, Wagoners, Pruitts and others for an afternoon
hike to the top of Raven Knob. Knowing how Ben tends to burn bright, the
flame out early, I didn't think we would actually make it to the top. But
to Ben's credit, he dug deep and decided that he was going to make it even if it
took him all day. We decided to forgo the trail and blaze a new one
straight up the mountain, which worked great and we caught up to the rest of the
gang right after they reached the rock outcroppings. Amazing view and well
worth the work. We continued on to the summit, then blazed a trail down
the ridge line before turning left and heading straight down the mountain.
Highlight of the trip for sure as there was lots of sliding and laughing and
some awesome grapevine swinging. When we reached the bottom, we turned
right and stretched the hike out even further by going all the way around the
lake. Great way to spend the day. That evening the kids all played
together while the pack prepared a group cookout. Because I would be
leaving town on Monday and because Ben had a baseball game on Sunday, we decided
to return home Saturday evening. I think Ben enjoyed our one-on-one time
and all the experiences he had at camp, as well as just playing with his
buddies. Looking forward to next year already.