Spring Camporee

The first weekend of May saw the most ambitious district camporee as Great Western held an awesome pioneering camporee.

Even with the spring rains turing Beaumont into a swamp (yeah, it's a swamp most of the year), some 200 scouts and adults turned out for a day of ropes and poles.

After a morning of instruction in knots, lashings and such, each patrol began a different project. These weren't merely tripods or fire bucket racks...but BIG towers, bridges, catapaults and more.

At least five different kinds of bridges spanned the creek leading into Lake Klein. A half dozen towers - some reaching 25 feet into the gray sky - and two catapaults were just a few of the projects.

It was estimated that 25 miles of poles and nine miles of rope were used during the day Saturday.

Troop 201's Byrnbach Tower was a hit as many scouts and adults had the chance to scale the heights during the afternoon.


Ian Duncan, right, tightens a lashing
with Mr. Machala



Troop 201 poses with their Byrnback Tower.
(L-R)Aaron Machala, Dan Voelkerding, Doug
Kirchenbauer, Mike Zayd, Kent Scheerer,
Jonathan Lee, Ross Wilson
Ian Duncan and David Machala



Doug Kirchenbauer, right, helps a
scout climb the rope ladder to the
troop's tower



Troop 201's Byrnbach Tower reaches
24 feet in the air above Beaumont
Scout Reservation



Kathleen Bradley perches atop the tower to
spot for scouts climbing the rope ladder



Great Western District Director Randy Fuerst gets into the swing of the camporee



A Scout negotiates the Monkey
Bridge spanning a creek



Some other pioneering projects seen from on high



A scout climbs the rope ladder to Troop 201's Byrnbach Tower



Photos by Mark Duncan