The Journey to Eagle

I've been a spectator and mentor of Scouts over the past 25 years, during which I've observed young boys begin their trek on the Scouting path, and a few complete their path with the Eagle Scout. I've observed young men, often pushed by well meaning parents to complete the rank of Eagle Scout as quickly as possible. And then I've seen other young men methodically approach the honored achievement at their own pace. I'll state now that I prefer the later.

The race to Eagle seems to mirror our societies propensity for immediate gratification. I served for several years in the 90's on Eagle Boards of review for my district. A Scout at 13 when asked what the most important point of the Scout law is to him, will give a much different answer then at 17. The Scout Handbook is a two dimensional construct, yet the one key component we often forget, the third dimension that we as leaders are there to nurture; is emotional and intellectual maturity and to provide experience. It takes time to digest new experiences and formulate one's own understanding of the world.

The path to Eagle is not a bucket list to be checked off, and as I've grown as a leader on my own Scouting path, I've come to believe that attainment of the Eagle Scout is not the goal, but the honor that comes from completing the path you set for yourself.

Being an Eagle Scout requires you to be different than most everyone around you, and being different is really, really hard. That’s why the award is called “an accomplishment.”                   ~ Mike Rowe

I'm now getting to enjoy my son's effort in completing his Eagle Project. Yes, he has only a few months before he turns 18 and one could criticize me for not pushing him earlier. But he'll finish with a few months to spare. He needed to want it for himself - otherwise he'd only be fulfilling my dream, not his own. As I observe him in action, leading the Scouts of his troop, I see a thoughtfulness that only comes with age and maturity. The quality and purpose of the work is evidence of the consideration that comes with knowing the impact you want to create.

Adrian's Eagle Project

Camp Meriwether 2015

Camp Meriwether Gallery

Barclay Lake - Skykomish

Barclay Lake Slide Show
The troop took a hike the past weekend up to Barclay Lake on the West side of the Cascade Mountains, just off of highway 2.   Weather report was for morning showers with sun breaks in the afternoon.   We experience afternoon showers followed by two snow storms separated by a teasing sun.   Thankfully by dinner time the weather had abated.   By sunday morning we awoke to blue skies and sunshine.

Lion's Camp - Camano Island

The troop spent the weekend at the Lion's camp on Camano Island.   We started out the day by working on one of the Scout's Eagle Projects, then returned to camp for training.    New patrol leaders attended troop leader training (TLT) while the remaining scouts worked on camp skills.   The second day patrols took what they learned and competed in friendly patrol competitions.

Scout Meeting - Swedish Camp Fire

Swedish Campfire Meeting Gallery

Cape Alava

    Cape Alava Gallery
80% chance of rain heading into our Cape Alava backpacking trip...but what we got was the 20% chance of Sun the entire weekend.   Couldn't have asked for a better weekend.   Adults operated as a patrol and had salmon, potatoes and sauteed asparagus for dinner.   The scouts had fajitas for dinner. We hiked down the beach and explored the tsunami debris, the rock outcroppings, and tidal pools.

Camp Sheppard 2014

Camp Sheppard 2014

First campout with our new scouts at Chief Seattle Council's Camp Sheppard.    Good weather, not much snow though.   This was really at the tail end of the season and the last weekend at this camp.