Troops 258 and 358 spent a pioneering and wilderness survival campout weekend in the shade of a bamboo forest. This is one of the troops’ favorite campouts. Kinder and Mary Len Chambers, both 92-years of age, long-time bamboo enthusiasts and bamboo gurus, have opened their hearts and property to local youth-groups. Decades ago, in town for a chamber of commerce meeting, Mr. Chambers overheard that many campsites were cost prohibitive for Scout Troops and many struggled to find affordable campsites locally. He immediately returned home and declared that he could fix that problem by opening his land for scouts to camp for free. He has continued welcoming units through the years.
Upon our arrival, we were escorted to the campsite and given basic guidelines for our visit. The troops arrived in the dark, so they set up camp in the field. The next morning, some patrols practiced using backpacking stoves in the field’s fire ring, while others opted to use regular camp stoves. Soon everyone was involved in clearing the overgrown main trails that the Chambers enjoy driving their UTV through the property. Scouts periodically emerged from the forest carrying loads of young bamboo shoots and thoroughly enjoyed the hard work and felt good about helping the Chambers for this service project.
After lunch, Mr. Chambers drove his UTV followed by his faithful Labrador Retriever. During his visit, he showed off the trail to the river and recommended it for fishing or swimming. After lunch, scouts practiced their shelter-building and pioneering skills with the previously cut bamboo. Each shelter or construction had a unique flair depending on the personality of the scouts who built them. Mrs. Kinder visited in the afternoon after a swim in the river. She drove the UTV followed by their other dog, Bone, to check on the troops and ask that we sign the latest volume of their guest book. To finish the evening, the scouts held a short campfire and were surprised by the popping of the bamboo shoots that fueled the fire. Most of the scouts used the shelters they built to spend the evening in the cooler bamboo forest.
During our closing of Thorns and Roses, many scouts shared their roses of the unique forest, building shelters, and helping the Chambers clear the paths. The troops decided to try a different month in the future – not one that reaches 100°F. Campsite Notes: Primitive Camping only. Mr. Chambers prefers phone calls to reserve and confirm the campsite. Water is available from their house onsite. Travel time: a little over 1 hour east from Good News UMC. Mr. Chambers can provide tools to cut bamboo. He also explains his land management rules about which bamboo can be cut and how to groom the forest. They like to visit and share the stories of their bamboo and history of the forest and how it came to be a campground for youth. The bamboo was hit hard by the February winter storm this year, but is regrowing and needs to be thinned and groomed making it a great place for a service project.
