The weather was perfect as the Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 gathered for their winter outing on Friday, February 22. The seven Scouts and three adult leaders were looking forward to a weekend of winter fun.
Camp Stearns is owned by the Northern Star Council, which is headquartered in the Twin Cities. The camp is located east of Fairhaven, Minnesota. The camp borders on a few lakes, has some great wooded camping areas, and plenty of open areas for various activities, including a disc golf course.
The Melrose troop stayed in one of the heated buildings during the weekend, but they spent a lot of time outdoors enjoying the mild winter temperatures on Saturday. In the morning the Scouts worked on various advancement requirements, including an orientation course.
The troop headed out to the rink after lunch for a game of broomball. The temperature was warm enough, and the action was intense enough, that winter coats soon started to pile up along side the rink. The Scouts had a great time playing this non-skating version of hockey. The boys even took the time to film a few scenes for a new video which should appear online sometime in March as part of the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast. The video may also appear on Youtube.
The highlight of the weekend came after chapel service and supper. It was time to head to the hills! The sledding hill, that is. Camp Stearns has a great sledding hill that is lit for evening use. And boy, did the Scouts from Troop 68 put it to use. The Scouts were able to move along at pretty good speeds, and able to get some pretty good air from the jumps. (See the picture) Of course, there were a couple good wipe-outs to go along with it. The long steep hill prompted one Scout to comment that there should be a tow rope to get back up the hill. The evening ended with watching a movie before heading off to the sleeping bags.
