h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

We have paper birch in the U.S., but Silver birch gets planted here sometimes too.

A chunk of silver birch wood could be a tent pole if long and thin enough. Or a lcub with which to defend yourself against marauding animals or humans.

I still don't know how the other patrols made better objects, unless they had better knives.

I would have fared the same as you.

Those were the days.

Glory, glory, what a hell of a way to die!


I used to compete in Patrol games with our mixed Scouts / Guides group.

Since we became second to last the first time, and last the second time, we concluded that disqualification would be the only logical outcome for the third time. (we became last again instead but had lots of fun).

Famous last words during the cooking contest:
"Is this black gravel or minced meat?"
"If you can make a nice gravy by adding Coke and tomato puree to the meat, maybe we can enhance the cabbage by boiling it in Fanta?" (The cans of soda were at hand, water had to be carried in. Some chefs cook with beer or wine, but we weren't allowed alcohol yet, so soda it was).

The interesting thing was that people from other groups had to eat our food to rank it (poor them). I commend them for their straight faces.

After the finals, Patrols could choose from the totems that every patrol brought in at the start, with the winner getting first pick. For some reason we always ended up with our own totem. If you try to paint the Earth on a styrofoam sphere, first check if the paint doesn't dissolve styrofoam, like it did with ours. (sounds a bit like your log with a dimple)

On a different camp (where you could earn your woodcutter insignia) we had to make a square bar out of a round piece of tree trunk, just using a small axe. This is probably easier than using a pocket knife (although some of my fellow scouts had rather large pockets, with knives rivalling the axe in blade size)

The advantage of not caring too much is that cutting ropes is much faster than untying all those knots at the end of camp.

Caiman and his friends, the nemeses of camp.

My family's point of view about summer camps was rather different. If we wanted to experience primitive life out in nature, we merely visited our relatives.

On the other hand, the younger generation is now into scouting. Of course, sometimes the cub scouts just camp out at the farm...after all, they might see a bear.

Nature comes to my area if I'm patient.

I remember a Canada Goose who made her nest on the lot where my neighbor's trailer would eventually be put. She never paid rent on the space, but geese don't have money anyway.