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Tons of fun and sun for local teens at Venturers’ camp

A long weekend of rain-free weather greeted the Venturers.
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Jacob Medlock, Sequel Adamson, Dustin Keyes, Ben Tuivai, Camryn Ogren and Miranda Fischer perform a dance, to earn back their missing gear at last weekend’s Skeeters camp-out on Vancouver Island. Local Venturer Scouts and their adult leaders joined almost 500 other campers for the rain-free adventure. (Crystal Medlock photo)

Hope’s Venturer Scouts are used to camping in the pouring rain or -10 degrees, so they were truly on Easy Street this past weekend, when coastal B.C. recorded its first rain-free May long weekend since 1999.

A total of 20 local youths and their leaders attended the three night “Skeeters” camp-out at Camp Caillet, near Nanaimo. It wasn’t all easy, though: it’s not called “Skeeters” for nothing.

“Last year, I didn’t see a single mosquito, so we didn’t bring much for bug repellant,” said Hope’s scouting commissioner, Crystal Medlock, Tuesday. “This year, they were attacking us as soon as we arrived. I wasn’t sure I would make it home in one piece. Mosquitoes just love me. “It was perfect weather, though,” she added. Did they get lots of sleep?

“No… not all,” said Medlock, laughing and groaning at the same time.

“We left Hope at 5:15 in the morning on Friday and most of the kids started arriving at 4:15. Some of our neighbours probably noticed — but they’re used to us. It was pitch black and we had to load up the vans.

“Ashtyn Hambly and his mom, Yvonne, and my Claire had just gotten back from a Victoria band trip at 9 on Thursday night. And now that we’re back, quite a few of us have exchange students coming from Muskoka, Ontario on Wednesday (May 24) for a week.”

Tack on a June 2 overnighter at the Vancouver Zoo for about 60 Hope Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Venturers and adult sponsors and there might be a good sleep somewhere after Hope Secondary’s June 4 grad prom. This year’s camp followed a Harry Potter theme, which Medlock figured was a perfect fit, as so many of the kids had grown up with the Potter books and movies.

“It was very popular,” said Medlock. “There were maybe 475 to 500 campers in all.”

“Our kids participated in the scavenger hunt for the first time,” said Medlock. A list of items was given before the event, so groups could bring their treasures with them.

“One item was a cabinet,” recalled Medlock. “Who’s going to bring a cabinet on the ferry? So one of the kids coloured a Hot Wheels car to look like a taxi cab and they put it in a net.” Bonus points for creativity. “We got all but two items but there were a couple of groups that had everything.”

The “food” eating contest is a cornerstone of these camp-outs and Hope’s regulars, Ben Tuivai and Sequel Adamson, were joined by Joseph Tuivai and first-timer, Mikayla Hahn.

“Mikayla lives in Merritt but she’s got lots of family in Hope and she’s a registered member of our group,” said Medlock. “She came second overall, which was quite something, as she was up against the older Rovers.”

On the menu were sardines, chili peppers, a whole (peeled) lemon — and more than a spoonful of wasabi.

Other events included Jello wrestling, a casino night and two dances.

“Saturday night, they had a steak dinner, with a potato, a salad and dessert, all for $10.00,” said Medlock, who added a note of thanks to a local business for being so accommodating to her group of teenagers — especially on a busy weekend.

“So far, six Venturers work at McDonalds,” said Medlock. “We are all so grateful for how wonderful and flexible McDonalds is about giving our kids time off for camps and to volunteer. I couldn’t imagine a better place they could work and still be able to do all these great activities.”