In Ventura County, we are spoiled by nature. Within an hour of our home base in Port Hueneme we have over a dozen outstanding places to camp. One of those great places is Point Mugu State Park.
Nestled up the wide – but, from PCH, nearly invisible – Sycamore Canyon is a well developed campground along Big Sycamore Creek. With the generous assistance of our campground hosts, we were able to secure two adjoining sites, allowing us plenty of room to spread out and to ensure that the scouts had their own patrol areas, and the adults and the families had an area for themselves.
After settling in late on Friday night we lit the campfire and enjoyed the sights, sounds, and hilarity of being in a public campground at night. There is nothing that makes a scout more proud than when other, often less experienced, campers come to our site asking for help, and the scouts are able to provide a service, teach a si
On Saturday we had a full day of activities led by the Senior Patrol Leader. A two hour hike up a moderate trail brought us to the ridgetop between Sycamore Canyon and the Giant Sand Dune along PCH. The view was incredible, a 360 degree panorama of mountains, beach, and sea.
One of our troop trademarks is that wherever we camp, we try to spend a few hours making the site better than we found it. Few campgrounds can keep up with all of the tasks that need doing to maintain them, much less improve them, and in the spirit of “doing a good turn daily” we like to be a part of improving the places we visit.
So after the hike and lunch, the scouts conducted a two-hour service project on behalf of the camp and at the direction of the camp hosts, clearing out concentrations of leaves and branches that had fallen from the canyon’s oak trees during the winter and that were beginning to block trails.
The scouts spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing, playing ultimate frisbee, and practicing skills for advancement. A filling dinner and an incredible campfire ended the day.
After a good night’s sleep we had breakfast, struck camp, and shared our traditional closing with families. Scout achievements were recognized, and we started planning for our next activity.
For several of our families, this was their first time camping with Boy Scouts as we brought along two Webelos scouts from pack 3234.
This month the troop will focus on programs that emphasize our role as citizens in our community, in our nation, and in the world. Given that the month begins with a national holiday – Labor Day – this is incredibly appropriate.
Troop 234, Boy Scouts of America 