Orbital Ordeal - Kawida Lodge - Pulaski County Park, Nancy KY April 1 & 2, 2016

Location - Pulaski County Park, Nancy Kentucky

Mileage - I drove the church van.  Didn't keep up with the mileage.  The boys and I left Frankfort at 3:30.  We picked up a Scout from his house at 4.  We picked up additional Scouts and the church van at the church in Georgetown at 4:15.  We stopped in Lexington to pick up two additional Scouts and ritual gear at 5:30.  We arrived in Nancy Kentucky at 7:10.

Weather - NO Rain.  Decent weather Friday night.  Chilly on Saturday during the day.  Windy on Saturday evening.

Clothing - Shorts during the event. I wore my flannel shirt on top of my tshirt.  In the evening on Saturday, I wore my down filled REI coat.

Shoes - Hiking Boots the entire time.

Camping Style - Since I was Elangomat, I was asked to sleep in a tarp on the ground just like the Ordeal Candidates.  I laid my tarp on the ground.  Put my Slumberjack Sleeping Bag on top, and then wrapped the side of the tarp on top of the bag.  By the middle of the night, it was windy enough to blow the tarp off my sleeping bag, so I slept under the stars.  This would not have been possible if it had been raining.  I slept between two trees, and tied a rope (550 paracord) from one tree to the next.  I used a carabiner to keep my water bottle on the rope.  I attached my flashlight on the same carabiner.  This was right above my head as I laid down.  If I heard noise, I shined the light in the water bottle.  It increased the amount of light.  I also had my boots on a carabiner on the rope.  It kept them off the ground during the night.

Sleeping bag & Sleeping - I slept under the stars.  Slumberjack 0 bag.  Camping pad under my bag.  It was quite comfortable.  I've gotten in the habit of sleeping in a cot during campouts, and realized during this campout that it isn't always necessary to use a cot while camping.

It was in the 50s when I went crawled in my bag.  I was a little too warm.

Saturday morning before the sun came up.  These are the Ordeal Candidates along the lake waiting for breakfast.

Main Activities - This was OA Ordeal that my youngest son was going through as an Ordeal Candidate.  I was Elangomat when my oldest son went through Ordeal, and I talked my oldest to joining me as an Elangomat during my youngest son's Ordeal.  This meant that as Elangomat (Lenni Lenape for "Friend"), we went through the same activities as the Ordeal candidates.  They eat sparsely; Elangomats do too.  They work arduously; Elangomats do too.  They aren't allowed to talk; Elangomats have the same requirements.  Elangomats got away with a little more leniency about food during this event, but that is not the normal with our OA Lodge.

This is the group I worked with on the trail. There was another adult with me in the group, so I was covered for YPT guidelines.

I took my group to the Eagle Scout hiking trail in the park which was a mile or so away from the camping area to do trail maintenance.  We picked up a lot of trash along the trail, and we cut drainage ditches on the trail where rain water was eroding the trail.  We did a good job and picked up a lot of trash!

On the way down to the place where Ordeal was held, we picked up the Lodge Chief and another Lodge officer.  We had plenty of room in the van for 2 additional riders.  I think it was good for the OA candidates of my troop to get to know the higher level officers of the Lodge.  On the way there I mentioned how I would love to see a patch for an award that Kawida Lodge had received from last year.  Kawida Lodge had recently received the E Urner Goodman Camping Award, and I told the chief that I would love to see a patch that looked like the award that we received with the year 2015 being the year that Kawida Lodge received it.  The patch was designed while we were in the van on the way to the event.  Hopefully it will come to fruition.

On the way home the Lodge Chief was able to hear the excitement about the Ordeal from our new Ordeal members.  Stories were shared the entire way home.

There were 14 total Ordeal Candidates at the event, and 5 of the candidates were from Troop 215.  We also had 3 additional members of our troop at the event.  It was a very strong showing from Troop 215.  Our troop has not been very active in the OA in years past, and I wanted that to change because OA events are more fun if a Scout has other members of his troop at the event with him.  Thomas and I have been active in the OA for most of the last 2 1/2 years, mostly it was the two of us from our troop alone at the events.

Extra Gear - No extra gear needed.

Nights Camping - 1

Total nights camping so far this year - This was my third campout of 2016.  It was my 5th night camping this year.

Next Campout - New Scout Campout for our troops new crossovers.  The Scouts will be teaching Scout Skills, and we are also starting the Bicycle Merit Badge for the older Scouts.  This will take place April 15 through 17 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.

Finally, all three of us are in the OA.  This means a few things.  It will be a lot more fun with all of the Baker Boys (dad and two sons), and it also means I have to pay more for OA events.  It will totally be worth it!

 This is along the creek at the hiking trail.  I want my troop to go camping soon at Pulaski County Park.

With the exception of Thomas and me, these are the new OA members from our troop.

I sewed the new OA Patch on Tyler's uniform on Sunday night.  His uniform looks really good!  I'm proud of both my boys!