2021 Summer Camp Blog

Summer Camp 2021 information can be found HERE.

Sunday, July 11, 2021
Our First Day at Camp Today we drove up to camp with no incidents on the ride up, stopping at Culvers in Wisconsin Dells for lunch. Once at camp, we checked in with medical, performed the swim test and attended a brief orientation. We then had the evening flag ceremony and had dinner. After dinner we took a quick photo, had some free time and then ended the night with a campfire program. Here are some photos from today:


Monday, July 12, 2021
The cabins have been a pleasant surprise. They are much more weather and insect proofed then they appeared in the photographs. Last weeks weather projection has improved significantly as well. If we can get past Wednesday night we may end up with a completely dry week! The boys went to work at their various merit badge classes this morning which will continue through Friday. The camp is well run and big, but not too big. We are the largest Troop here by a wide margin and have an excellent centralized camp location. The boys are filling their free time with gaga and whiffle ball , extra time at the shooting range and pools. The food is camp food but better than many that we have been to. First day shout outs go to Neftali, Alex B, and Harry who struggled with the swim test yesterday but went right back to the pool this morning to pass with flying colors which allows them to move on to their water based merit badge classes. Way to keep fighting boys! More Pics!



Tuesday, July 13, 2021
Merit badge work kicked in for real today. Arrows were flying and shotguns were blasting. The boys are making great progress! Unfortunately we had a fluke mishap and a super shout out goes to Aidan McDonald who was a real warrior today. He broke his arm by complete accident and was calm and cool the whole way to the hospital. He is getting it set as I type this and is expected to make a full recovery! Please keep him and his family in your thoughts this evening. While today was another beautiful day, tomorrow’s forecast is looking worse. We will likely get some thunderstorms rolling in overnight It looks like this potential weather should not derail programming during the day. We are looking forward to an astronomy hike tonight which will be conducted by local astronomers. One more shout to Mr. Simkins who is enjoying truly epic birthday solo in an open air mini cabin! Wish us luck in tomorrow’s weather and swift healing to Aidan. Hang in there Scout, You will be camping with 75 again before you know it! Small Update We have a group of scouts (and one ASM!) that has gotten up early to do the Polar Bear swim at the cold pool in camp for the past three days (not all have gone each day). We expect most, if not all, to get three times each by the end of the week, which will earn them a real cool patch!




Wednesday, July 14, 2021
We all survived a wild and wet Wednesday! If you packed rain gear for your scouts it was well used today. We got our first two classes in uninterrupted and then the storm rolled in. They did pull everyone into the cafeteria halfway through the third merit badge session as a precaution , but while there was heavy rain we really didn’t get any significant lightning or wind. Our afternoon classes were able to happen uninterrupted so everyone should be on pace to earn those badges. Our forecast is now clear for the rest of the camp. The last two days we have been able to get some of those pesky swimming requirements knocked out for a lot of our younger scouts during free time at the pool. It rained off and on right up until a few minutes ago but we still got in a nice evening hike. Todays shout outs go to Aidan Jones who was the first 75 scout called up during lunch for a good deed. And Adam Loos for being a good buddy. We welcome Mr. Laverty to camp this evening, bringing us to full strength. Today we also learned that to get all our boys up and moving all you need to do is play Rick Astley!? Who knew? Sadly the weather canceled the wild west shooting show for today But looks beautiful tomorrow for the boys going out for the motor boating class. Troop 75 sends happy camper thoughts and love to all of our family and friends at home!





Thursday, July 15, 2021
Another full day day at camp! A lot of the activities pushed by yesterday’s rain were added back today. Some of our go-getters finished merit badges already today. The Motorboat crew went out with the Coast Guard to the edges of the Mississippi river. Our loons preformed a skit at the evening campfire. The leaders were treated to a private steak dinner while the counselors took the boys out for a hamburger picnic and athletics. Shout outs today go to Blake Fleming and Alexander Esser who have done a great job stepping in for our SPL Owen Simkins who was unable to attend this week. Also Ben McDonagh, Mark Knapp and Alex Bounds who have taken part in the 6:30 AM Polar plunge into the river each morning!! (Or so I’ve been told , I’m still asleep then!) Scoutmasters performed admirably at a camp wide Chopped competition, converting Spam , a frozen burrito, and goldfish into an edible mash of those ingredients. Merit badge classes finish up tomorrow. The boys have had a good time but I think we’re all ready for the closing program tomorrow night and heading home Saturday morning! After a bit of a struggle with some damp wood, we finally have a nice camp fire going and are looking forward to a relaxing evening, toasting marshmallows and telling stories. Good night from this weeks home of your Troop 75.




Friday, July 16, 2021
Mr. Jones had to leave camp so I am writing today’s log report. We had a very eventful day today with many scouts finishing up merit badge requirements. This included rifle, shotgun, climbing, archery, welding, swimming, life-saving, fishing, kayaking as well as a number of other Eagle-required badges. Our first year scouts completed a large number of requirements for Tenderfoot, Second Class and First Class ranks in the Brownsea program. For the minute-to-win-it competition played by scouts recognized for being a good scout, Ben McDonagh and Nick Northrup were chosen and both successfully completed the task involving a straw and M&M’s. Tonight was parents visitor night which included dinner and an award ceremony with another nice campfire. Alex Bounds was recognized for completing a 1-mile swim, which he finished in only 33 minutes. Aidan Jones and Nick Northrup were recognized for excellence for shooting sports. Ben McDonagh was recognized for archery. Our new leader Mike Kreger and four scouts (Alex Bounds, Mark Knapp, Weston Symon and Ben McDonagh) got polar bear plunge patches. Overall, we had a great summer camp! We are planning to leave by 9am and should be back at the DMV between 1 – 2pm. I will send an email when we leave tomorrow morning.

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