Camp Wente (2022)
- aadyarai11
- Aug 21, 2022
- 4 min read
Oh, I went to Wente!
I loved it through and through
Oh, I went to Wente!
And you should go there too
I'm coming back to Wente!
And I can tell you why
Cuz there's never been a day like the day that I had on the day that I went to Wente!
"Wente was such a beautiful camp filled with great opportunities to try new things and amazing staff, and was a great experience for scouts and parents" -Sahana
Three cars of loud, excited, scouts, arrived at Wente for the sole purpose of enjoyment. We unloaded our luggage and were greeted by a tour of the camp and different patches that could be earned. Afterward, we finalized tenting arrangements, had dinner, and went to bed.
On Monday, we had flags. I have to admit it felt kinda cool to be leading a long line while holding our troop flag, as though we were assessing our dominance over the camp. Our troop also had to raise the flag in front of the whole camp, which was scary, but we did it successfully! We also had our merit badges for the first time. The most difficult ones I had were archery and communication. In archery, the goal was to shoot the arrow as close to the center of the target as possible. But behind the target, there was one bush. And I kept hitting the arrow into that one bush. In communication, we had to conduct a 30-minute interview. I interviewed my friend and she agreed to let me.... speed run it. In Moviemaking, we learned about different movie genres, identified some popular theme songs, and even made our own movies!
We also had the Wentathlon, where we each played a different role (runner, archer, shooter, swimmer, kayaker) to get the baton to the end. We made a few mistakes, but in the end, we all ended up having fun! The only other troop competition was the camp-wide games on Friday, which was similar to the Wentathlon, but there could be multiple people per game and we could keep re-doing them. Different troops came at different times to try and break the record. I remember during the canoe capsizing contest, we were going at the speed of sloths, but the instant Troop 29 showed up, we nearly doubled our speed! "It was a very fun and exciting experience. We even set the record for the fastest time!", says Tanya, one of the contestants.
On Thursday, we had O' Riley, a staff-run program that took scouts to the shotgun range for lunch. We all learned how to use a shotgun and also tried tomahawk throwing. Some scouts, like Tanya, had so much accuracy that they were able to hit the target on both shots. Others, like me, were satisfied simply by being able to shoot the gun without burning half the forest.
On Friday, we had skits. Our Troop performed the Haunted House Skit from the Camporee, but some of the other Troop skits were very impressive as well. One of the troops made a skit about cloning people and the clones looked just like each other! Another troop, 2126, got up and started singing popular songs, asking the rest of the camp to join in.
Aside from our schedules, there were some other activities, patches, and merit badges a scout could complete. The patches were the Wente wooly wash and paddleboarding and the merit badges were fingerprinting and Mammal studies. For Wente Wooly Wash, you could choose any three days to appear at the Waterfront at 6 am and play all the games for that day. Getting up at 5:45 was hard, but in the end, the experience was worth it. For Paddleboarding, we just had to learn how to get on a paddleboard, paddle, capsize, and get off. In fingerprinting, we learned about layers of skin, different types of fingerprints, and the practical usage of fingerprints. In mammal studies, we learned about different types of mammals through funny stories with mammals as characters.
On Saturday, we left camp with shocking punctuality. The three noisy cars that had come to camp one week ago were now leaving with the same level of excitement and energy. We blasted music in the car, sang songs, made a rap about camp, and joked around all the way to Chadbourne. For some scouts, like Eva and Hetshree it was an entirely new experience; going into the wilderness for a week without both their parents. "I had an amazing time at Wente and had a great time exploring different activities. The staff and food were excellent as well", says Hetshree. For other scouts, like Sahana, it was a second visit, a second shot at making new memories. But for the remaining population, it was an opportunity to have fun, try new activities, and build connections within our troop.
Credits: Annika, Tanya, Sahana, Advika, Hetshree
It's about scouting It's about bad food It's about scout camps With no bathrooms It's about leading It's about meeting It's about contests With no cheating There's boiling blood in our veins Eagle's the goal in our brains We change the game So you ask, "What's our troop name?" 2123!
Link to the pictures Surbala Auntie took:
Link to the movie:
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