The day started out with the leader of the expediton and our resident climatologist checked out the water level of the river. It was determined that the trip was still safe to go. After unloading all the canoes at the launching area and all the gears loaded onto the canoes, the troop patiently waited by the river bank for the adults to return from ferrying the cars to the parking areas. There were brief moments of torrential downpour and the water level was rising rapidly. There was no doubt that it was going to be a wet trip.

Despite the fact that almost the entire trip was spent in wet weather, the Days of Rain award may be harder to get than you think. The rain was constant but was not “of a severity that the unprepared would be disheartened” and it miraculously broke during the setup or teardown of the campsite. With the ingenuity of our gray bars, an upside down canoe and 2 logs made a great bench for the preparation of our two meals. The scouts were much more efficient with their meal preparation and they brought the perfect food for a wet day – hearty beef stew. No one went to bed hungry and we all managed to stay warm and fairly dry.

To read more about the award, read the Days of Rain/Degree of Frost award article.