The day after taking the kids from the Brandywine Valley Association Summer Camp program to Wind Cave I headed back to take a couple guys from Horseshoe Scout Reservation into the same cave. HSR is owned and operated by Chester County Council, BSA. Noah and Bill are on staff on the reservation. A project they are working on is to develop a program suitable for Scouts that are 15 to 17 years old and have done everything else that is offered at camp.

I met Noah and Bill at Camp on Friday morning. Wind Cave is about 45 minutes from camp and we all road together. They were pretty much dressed for the part already. When we got there they produced their own helmets and headlamps. This was a refreshing change as I’m use to supplying these. On the walk up the hill we talked a little about gear and what kind of Scout that would be doing this type of trip. Bill had a map of the cave he had from his father who is a Scouter and had lead a couple Troop trips to Wind Cave in the past. Noah had grown up in the area, but never visited the cave before.

The two of them, even being in their mid twenties, were playing like the kids the day before did. They are a good bit more skilled at climbing and moving through obstacles than the kids were, but they found places to play in their own way.

On the way home we talked more “shop” about how this would be a beneficial program for the camp. We talked about other activities they were checking out for this new older Scout program. They like this because it is close and they have access to equipment that they can use and would not have to make an investment. This would help keep the cost down for the campers, which in turn would attract more older Scouts as campers coming back for another year just to do caving. They also talked about each trip the boys would bring trash bags to clean up the cave as a service project.

I offered my assistance in helping them put together the program and let them know I would very much like to be involved. I also had a chance to promote Dragon Breath Grotto, the speleo-focused Venturing Crew, as another possible resource for them. Even though this would a lot of vacation days for me to take off to do 7 caving trips next year, I hope I have an opportunity to be involved in a “hands on” way.