Canoe War at Fire Mountain Boy Scout Camp

Hot summers like this one in the Seattle area always reminds me of the summers I spent at the Fire Mountain Boy Scout Camp. My favorite memory is the…

Canoe War at Fire Mountain that broke out between Boy Scout Troops.

Camp was only a week long but for a young teenage boy it seemed longer. While there was several entire camp involved activities, you were mostly on your own. In other words, you decided how you spent your days. The activities were geared toward earning merit badges. There’s a man-made lake as a centerpiece of the camp. It’s obviously the location of all the water activity.

One of the merit badges available was canoeing. I knew this would be my only opportunity to earn this one.

First, I must confess at the time of this story I swam like a 40 pound anvil. Honestly, still do.  As you can imagine, that water safety was the top priority of the staff. Thankfully, life jackets were on hand for our use.

The culmination of the canoeing merit badge was to participate in a Canoe War at Fire Mountain Boy Scout Camp!

So, what is it, you ask?

Lemme explain. Two Boy Scout Troops are designated as the two teams to war against. Then within each troop, the Senior Patrol Leader assigned two persons per canoe prior to floating out without paddles. The goal is to “swamp” all the opposing team’s canoes. You see, canoes still float even if filled with water. And there’s a technique to “unswamp” a canoe, too. In fact, there’s no limit to how many times you can “unswamp”. However, the process leaves your unswamped canoe vulnerable to attack. It’s best to keep attacking.

Troop 300 vs Troop Whatever – Canoe War!

I never remember the opposing the troop’s number. All I do remember is my canoe buddy, my Scout Master’s son, Tim Hecox. He told me many times that I reminded him of the cat in the TV show, Red Dwarf. I mentioned it because it was his favorite character, therefore made me likeable. In a canoe war, you’ll need all the allies you can get. And if they are capable swimmers, even better.

There was a buoy set in the middle of the lake. Both teams launched simultaneously from the lake shore and were to convene at the buoy. Once the officials observed we were in position, they sounded the horn to commence the war. The other boys in the opposing troop were noticeably bigger than us, which put us at the disadvantage.

Our team suffered heavy casualties with the canoes manned by the younger boys. Tim and I led the team through the enemy. We had a silent communication on now swamp the enemy. By the time I  had a chance to survey the scene, our troop was reduced to just us.

Three canoes were left on their side. I quipped, “Tim. We have two options. One, make them chase us around the lake in the hopes of tiring them out and prolonging the battle. Two, we charge them on a frontal attack and win the day or go out in a blaze of glory!”

Tim smiled, “Option two, sir.”

This would be the final skirmish in the canoe war. We paddle with our little hands towards certain “death” with smiles on our faces. We took out one more before being swamped ourselves, therefore Troop 300 lost.

I grumbled as we paddle back our canoe to the shore, “Totally worth it. I’m grateful you were by my side, Tim.”

“Me, too,” he replied.

You see, it’s not what you do in this life that makes it fun. It’s who you do it with. So, Spaceship Earth, please comment on your fav summertime memory, and more importantly, who was it with? Your significant other? Best friend(s)?

In the meantime, and as always, be good like you should and if you can’t be good … be good at what you do!

Mic drop *bOoM*

‘los; out