The 10th Annual Pacific Northwest Hullabaloo took place June 27 – 30. Nearly 240 attendees gathered together at Camp Currie Youth Camp in Camas, Washington. This year’s theme of the Olympics featured scout skills, camaraderie, and fun. Participants traveled from as far away as Colorado and Texas.

Weekend Program

The programming was broken up by section. The Otters (5 – 7 year olds) learned about team spirit, sportsmanship, and inclusivity through games, an ancient pentathlon obstacle course, a giant soccer tournament, water relays, and learning some rhythmic

gymnastics and breakdancing moves. Every Otter (and some intrepid Chipmunks) was honored with a gold medal highlighting a particular accomplishment. There was also a swimming up ceremony on Sunday morning for many of the Otters who were moving up to Timberwolves.

The Timberwolves (8 – 10 year olds) rotated through skills sessions focused on orienteering, athletic skills, creating sailboats out of recycled materials, and archery. On the final morning, they raced their sailboats in a raingutter regatta. Many of the kids earned their Athlete merit badge and all participants received custom sailboat trophies.

Many of the Pathfinders (11 – 17 year olds) were already on site participating in the second annual Paddle Camp on Lacamas Lake in the days leading up to Hullabaloo. Paddle Camp is a week long event with 17 Pathfinders and Rovers instructed 25 guides in canoeing skills. They completed 23 miles in 15 canoes on the Willamette River Water Trail, ending at Hullabaloo.

During Hullabaloo, Pathfinders camped in patrols, planned and cooked their own meals, assisted with parking logistics, and offered canoe rides to younger scouts. They also had their own activity rotations. Pathfinders learned net-making, archery, para-cord crafts, canoeing, a knot relay race, and a timed obstacle course. There was a friendly ongoing competition between Patrols. The 100th Sun Mountain took home the Scout Stave trophy for 2024.

There was programming for Rovers as well. This included wood burning and the much-loved Rover Happy Hour taking place in Rover Camp during down time on Saturday. Two words: candied bacon. Yum!

Campfire

On Saturday evening, everyone gathered at the amphitheater for an excellent formal campfire. Performances from all ages showcased a wide variety of talents.

Thank you

A huge thank you to the many rovers and parent volunteers who made this event possible, with a special thanks to the planning team who put it together. Save the date for next year: June 26 – 29!

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For example, two weeks ago we went on our first group camping trip. Our group consists of one (lonely) timberwolf and seven otters, six of whom are going into kindergarten next year. So while we had planned some activities, our otters were mostly content running around the woods. One found a piece of our group’s pioneering rope and was going around “whipping” trees. Another was a pretending to be a superhero horse with ninja skills. Another was looking for evidence of bigfoot. Despite what may sound like running wild, in 24 hours these scouts grew in a variety of ways.

Elliott, the otter who played sheriff whipping trees, had finished dinner and it was time to wash dishes. Every scout washes their own mess kit: plate, silverware, cup, and bowl, whatever’s dirty. Elliott, according to his dad, had never washed a dish in his life. He was not happy doing it, but did it. The next morning after breakfast, a leader let him know it was time to do the dishes. Elliott ran up to camp, washed his dishes, exclaimed, “I love washing dishes!” and washed some of the cooking gear before running off to whip more trees. In one day, this 5 year old learned a skill important to camping and had the self-reliance to complete it on his own.

Hazel, our superhero ninja horse otter, found a bridge over a stream and fort built by previous campers behind our campsite. While she wanted a parent’s help the first few times crossing the bridge and climbing up the fort, by the next morning she had the confidence to do it on her own.

Fletcher, our timberwolf, enjoyed playing with the other scouts, but also wanted some responsibilities that were appropriate for his age. Supervised by adult leaders, he gathered the three different types of firewood for our campfire and lit it with flint and steel – something I never learned to do as a Boy Scout. By being responsible enough to handle fire safely, he provided a campfire for the rest of the group.

At this one-night camp out, these guides built self-reliance, confidence, outdoor skills, and interdependence. We meet at least twice per month in the outdoors whatever the weather. Every meeting, activity, outing, or camp out, we see scouts grow in these skills. From the scout who learns how to make friends when he struggles to do the same at preschool to the scout who overcomes their sensory aversions to handle walking through the tall grass in shorts, in just one year these young guides have already grown in our program. It’s exciting to think of what they’ll accomplish in the next year.

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