Guest Blog by The Emperor: Massawepie Round 1

Greetings from Camp Massawepie! Let me tell you about all the awesome things or boys have been doing and seeing here in Tupper Lake, NY.

We left Holy Redeemer on Tuesday July 2nd and drove about five hours to Schenago Campground in southern New York. The night was uneventful, except for the 1:30 siren at the nearby fire station that woke a third of the troop, some of whom had trouble re-settling.

Nevertheless, we pressed on the following day, and after another five hours arrived at the home of Mr

LaVoy's parents, Bruce and Jane. Getting to meet them, and to know them over the course of the week, was an honor and a privilege. We set up camp in their backyard and departed to climb Mt. Arab.  An old fire watch tower was on top, and we spent probably half an hour just gazing at the panorama from the tower--no photo could possibly encapsulate the grandeur.

That evening, we watched fireworks (yes, fireworks here are on the 3rd) over the lake, and all agreed that they were among the best, if not the single best, they had ever seen, with flashing, sparkling lights that set gold dust in the sky by double handfuls and sounds that hit one in the chest like the bass drop at a rock concert. It was really an experience.

On Independence Day (which took us a few hours to realize, fireworks having taken place the night previous), we toured lower Lower Lowes Dam , where Mr. Lavoy had done some enjoyable winter camping as a teenager with his brother (in the dam itself), and climbed Goodman Mountain. The more exciting part was descending! We decided to avoid paths and "bushwhack" our way down, sliding, bouncing, and frequently braking. Much fun was had, and we definitely pushed the boys' horizons. We then went swimming at Little Wolf Lake, where we had a simple hot dog lunch. 
 


Leaving the mountain, we went to a natural cold spring (about 55 degrees), and the water was so delicious and refreshing that some of us drank our entire water bottles right there and filled up again, wishing we had brought gallon jugs. At 9 pm, we boarded canoes for an eleven-mile canoe trip. It ended up taking longer than it had taken in previous years, as this was a moonless night. The advantage was a perfect look at the Milky Way in it's full glory. The disadvantage? While we could (mostly) see each other & the water's edge, or ability to navigate was limited by the heavy darkness, and we didn't get back to camp until a weary 1:30 am.

Even the morning larks in our troop slept in Friday morning. We deliberately took it easy that day, taking only one outing--a fifteen-minute canoe trip to an island. The non-swimmers of the troop cooked lunch while the rest jumped from the high cliff into the lake below. I'm among the non-jumpers, but I'm told it was quite a rush.

That evening, we had a guest for dinner, local professional storyteller Roger Hastler, who regaled us with multiple narrative, humorous poems in his memorized repertoire. He mentioned two favorite poets, Robert W. Service and; "this guy Anonymous, who seems to have written quite a few."

On Saturday the 6th, the last day of our pre-camp adventure, we went to the Anarondack Wild Center.

Being from Washington D.C. and accustomed to the Smithsonian, we weren't expecting anything special. Just goes to show you--this little town has a truly world-class museum about both the natural world and the life of Native Americans in the Adirondacks, and a lot of it (especially outside) is interactive. Or favorite parts were probably the otters, the storyteller with the live porcupine, and the play web outside. 


 
Following our trip to the museum, we tried to do some rappelling, but it quickly became evident that it was too wet and slippery to do so safely, so we switched gears and went early to our third planned location, the natural water slides at Bog River Falls. The swimmers had a ton of fun in the drink, and the non-swimmers explored the area and got some fantastic photos. 




That evening ended up being "pizza night," and after a few more poems--these from Mr. Lavoy's own (smaller) repertoire--we went to bed for the last time in his parents' back yard.

But there was still one more surprise in store for us. The next morning at Mass, whom should we meet but Bruce's old scoutmaster, Dick Preemo, still kicking around Tupper Lake this many years later. What an honor to meet one of the men who had brought his father up in scouting, when Loren is still influencing young men in scouting today.

In a later post, we'll tell you about Massawepie itself!