Camp Parsons

Summer camp for Troop 186 is held at Camp Parsons near the town of Brinnon, on the Olympic Penninsula.

Check the troop calendar for this year's dates, generally in late July or early August.

Key Information for Parsons

• A Boy Scout Medical Form is required for camp and requires an annual physical. Don't put this off! Get the original to David Delestine as soon as you have it complete, we'll keep it on file. Don't forget to attach a photocopy of your insurance card, front and back. (Pro tip - fill out the form on your computer and save for next year!)
• Packing List for Camp
• Directions to Camp Parsons (We use the Edmonds route)
• A Satellite View of Camp Parsons
• Camp Map (from Camp Parson web site)
• Special Needs Form for those with food allergies (note: the Parsons dining hall is nut-free)
• Troop Song Book (MS-Word)
• Daily Schedule at Camp, available Merit Badges, etc (Parsons website)
• Scout Skills Schedule (from Camp Parsons web site)
• The Camp Parsons web site
• Shopping for the Midweek In-Camp Dinner and Friendly Fire Rootbeer Float Blowout

WHAT TO EXPECT:

Here's an excellent read for parents sending their scouts to Camp Parsons. The TL;DR is leave the cell phone at home, but there's also a lot of useful info there about what to bring. It's worth your time to read. First time scouts should read it too.

DRIVERS NEEDED:

Please go to the signup sheet as soon as its posted and indicate how many scouts you can haul to and/or from camp. If we are short of seats, it's the scouts whose parents didn't sign up to drive that will be walking back home from Safeway instead of heading to camp - or walking home from Parsons on the other end. Keep in mind that you probably need to reduce your seat count to account for scouts AND their gear - which is likely to include more than just a backpack.

DO NOT plan to arrive or depart separately:

Parsons entry and exit is highly structured and outliers really screw things up for your already harried scoutmasters. Your convenience is their deep inconvenience, so please just stick with the program. Please don't even THINK about showing up late or leaving early - that has effects on the rest of the troop's ability to earn certain awards at camp, which is not a recipe for popularity. Just be a team player, OK?

On Saturday at Parsons when we're loading out (at 8:30AM), NOBODY LEAVES UNTIL SM SAYS THEY CAN LEAVE. This is necessary because scouts will walk away from gear they're responsible for, leaving the scoutmaster to deal with it all - and don't you think he's already done enough for the troop? Be a team player, please, and stick around until given the all clear by adult leadership.

Every year there's one or two families that try to wedge Parsons in between, or even overlapping with, other events on their calendar. This creates fire drills which are not good for the scout or the troop or the adult volunteers that lead it. Just be smart and community minded and leave yourself at least a day's buffer on either end, OK?

The Hullabaloo

The Hullabaloo is a collection of competitions held on Friday afternoon at camp. The events includes a series of patrol competitions, a relay race and a the Octopus Cup canoe race. Troop 186 has a strong tradition of winning many of the events.

Winning Information

• Patrol Competition Tips
• The Hullabaloo Relay Race
• Octopus Cup Canoe Race

* If you are still planning on arriving at Parsons separately, it is CRITICAL that your scout meets us in line outside the camp by noon Sunday. Don't try to drive in to camp, just let him out on the road with his stuff and have him find us in the line of cars. Again, being on time is CRITICAL. The first few hours at Parsons are a procedural whirlwind and I don't have any bandwidth to deal with stragglers. Also you need to indicate on the signup sheet that you are transporting a single scout. - you're still a driver and those seat-butts numbers still need to line up.