I fumble to take out my phone from my small hiking backpack as I try to take a picture of the iconic Hollywood sign a few miles ahead of me. Behind me, I hear the chatter of my Boy Scout peers of Troop 173, taking a break after the hike up the trail as they enjoy the natural scenery and the picture perfect view of Los Angeles. As I finally try to take a picture, the cool breeze of the early spring morning brushes past my face and I take a deep breath of the clean mountain air. This scenery is by the popular Griffith Observatory, where my Boy Scout troop hiked to as a part of our “camporee,” which was mainly held virtually this year.
Generally, a “camporee” consists of multiple troops from the same council camping in a single area. For two nights and two days, troops engage and compete against each other in certain activities and events. However, due to the pandemic, Troop 173 decided to hold their own individual camp virtually, which consisted of specific troop activities that took place over one night and day.
On the first night, scouts cooked their own dinner and showcased their meals to the troop on Zoom. Ranging from foods like spaghetti to certain Korean cuisine, scouts displayed their special cooking skills and dishes. Following dinner, the troop engaged in a scavenger hunt consisting of items found around each scout’s home. With a list of ten pre-determined items, each scout had seven minutes to find as many of the objects as possible. Although the winners of the games did not receive any official prizes, the activities were entertaining nevertheless.
However, the most exciting event of the troop camp was the in-person early morning hike to Griffith Observatory. The hike up the East Griffith Observatory Trail, also interestingly called the Boy Scout Trail, led directly to the observatory with great natural scenery and a view of downtown Los Angeles. While the trail is only 1.4 miles round trip, it was pleasant to enjoy the views of the city at the top of the trail, and meet my fellow scouts in person, albeit socially distanced with masks.
After descending down the trail, certain scouts who needed to earn a cooking merit badge (a merit badge being an award obtained for becoming knowledgeable on a specific skill or subject) presented the breakfast meals that they prepared for the troop. Following the morning hike and breakfast, was another zoom session consisting of troop games. The competitive games included ones such as the popular Among Us and a Boy Scout related Kahoot, which is an online learning platform utilizing quiz-style games.
While the pandemic may have limited the overall camping experience, it didn’t prevent the troop from building unique memories by connecting with each other to participate in a camp, which tried to best resemble the traditional in-person experience.
