Woodchucks. They're the Best

                                                         NYLT: Part One

It is hard to deny.  How can Woodchucks not be the best?  They don't really exist.  And, you never know, it may be spelled Wood Chucks, or Woodchucks, or even WoodChucks.  It doesn't really matter, they don't really exist.  So, what if I misspell it?

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Yep.  You guessed it.  I was in the Woodchuck patrol at NYLT (National Youth Leadership Training).  I had to say, that we were probably one of the few patrols there that enjoyed our time together.  I enjoyed hanging out with the guys from that patrol. 

Once we (the guys from my Troop)  arrived at Camp Freedom, we signed in, and went out back to kill time, until we were divided up into different teams/patrols.  Although a few of the guys in my Troop tried to get into the same patrol, the Course Director (who was our old Scoutmaster) was the wiser.  She saw right through our petty scheming, so we were, regrettably, split into different teams.  We were heart broken.  On the verge of tears!  Okay...  Maybe not that dramatic.  But, still slightly disappointed, we departed with our TG (Team Guide)  to our campsites.

But as I came to realize that I was going to enjoy this week with a bunch of fun guys, I so forgot my disappointment.  But, once we got to our campsite.  We encountered our first problem..  There were to many tents!  These were the big eight-man tents, but there was only six of us.  We actually could of each had an enormous tent to ourselves, but the minimum of two to a tent.  So we decided to pair off, and take the tents closer to the main area.  The main area, meaning where we would and eat and cook our food. 



Here is the Woodchuck Patrol!  Nathan and I are hiding back there, somewhere!



This is Brownsea!  Where we would gather at the Opening ceremonies in the morning, and Retiring the Flag at the end of the day.



Braxton and Joseph!  More of the Woodchuck Patrol!

So, yes, the Woodchuck had an awesome start-off!  The next week would be spent either making up verses to the songs "Call Me Maybe" and "The QuaterMaster Store".  We would either make friends with other teams, or become rivals.  For the next five days, we would be in the classroom, or competing in tying tripods.  Sometimes we would spend an hour and a half in the Classrooms and then we would dash over to the Trading Post during break to grab a quick soda or snack.  It felt like we were in school again...  Which...is that a good thing?

I promise there will be more posts about NYLT from this Woodchuck!

"How much wood could a Woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"