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My story from growing up


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Posted by Lee on March 07, 2022 at 03:44:57

Hi guys, I don't post here very often but I've really liked reading the "evolution" stories that a lot of you have posted and wanted to share a bit of my own. When I was young, I was very very active in Boy Scouts. I didn't pay much attention to the political or religious aspects of it, honestly I just really enjoyed the outdoor skills like camping, hiking, swimming, canoeing, etc. My parents weren't outdoors types, so scouts was fun to learn about things that I wouldn't get at home. And there were lots of wackywet times too! We did A LOT of swimming, including some survival skills where we'd have to jump in fully clothed. A lot of camping and hiking trips involved dips in whatever lake or river was nearby. A lot of parties and unofficial meetings would be at a pool. Lots of hikes and camping trips would take place in rainstorms. Obviously I'd be wearing anything and everything (or sometimes nothing) just depending on the situation. Those stories aren't that different from what lots of people have shared on here already so I won't repeat my own experiences.

What I will talk about is one particular canoe trip. First I should mention one of the adult leaders in my scout troop. He was a retired army officer, we just called him "Major" (that was his rank when he retired.) He was a bit of a mixed bag, so to speak. We equal parts admired him and were terrified of him. We admired him because he knew his stuff. He was an avid outdoorsman and could teach us anything and everything about how to survive in the wilderness. From little things like how to setup your tent so you stay dry in the rain, to how to cook a 5-course meal over a campfire, he seemed like he knew everything. But... he lived his life like he was still in the army. He was very disciplined and expected that of all of us. He was the type where if you saw him walking down the street, you'd automatically know that he was a soldier. His attitude was that if he gave an order, it was to be followed EXACTLY. Sometimes he ran into trouble working with a bunch of teenage boys - I wouldn't say we were bad kids or troublemakers, but we WERE teenagers who didn't always want to follow orders exactly. And I mean EXACTLY. If he told you that your belt buckle needed to be perfected centered, your socks pulled up exactly one and three quarter inches about your ankle, and your shirt be ironed and tucked in - GOD HELP YOU if that wasn't done exactly the way he ordered. And he had a short fuse and a terrible temper. And when you're a teenager (especially one who comes from a much more relaxed family) its easy to find yourself running afoul of someone like that! But, because he was so knowledgeable, he often led some of the more exciting adventures that we'd get to go on. So I admired the guy but also always felt like I was walking on egg shells around him. But one summer, I think maybe around my sophomore year of high school, he announces that he wants to lead a canoe trip for 6 scouts. Me and 5 of my friends quickly sign up. The canoe trip was going to be in a remote wilderness area, and last 4 or 5 days. It sounded like a blast, and we spent a few months having regular meetings around Major's kitchen table, studying maps of the area, planning a route, campsites, hikes, etc. Learned a ton just doing that. Major of course gave us a very precise list of what we had to pack, how we had to pack it, what we could and could not wear. For example, in the canoes we had to wear long sleeves and long pants to protect from sunburn, along with close toed shoes and socks and a wide brim hat. For camp we could have shorts, t-shirts, swimtrunks, sandals, whatever we wanted to be comfortable. But one of his quirks was you had to wear a collared shirt to the dinner meal (Even on a canoe trip), and he reminded us that we'd still be expected to brush our teeth, wear deodorant, if we had to shave at that age we'd be expected to do so, etc.

I was a pretty novice canoeist, and Major said that he wanted us get going early on the first day so we could get used to the canoes and get to our first campsite with time to spare. So we set out into the beautiful wilderness, and not 20 minutes later a terrible storm starts up. Like, trees blowing down in the wind, thunder, lightning, and just absolute torrential rain - A few times I actually lost sight of the canoe just a few yards in front of me. Major bellowed at us to pull the canoes ashore in a little relatively safe area off the river, and even he was looking a little frazzled by the severity of the storm. Finally the worst of it passed, and he made sure we were all alive and well, which we were, but completely 100% soaked. Once the danger passed, Major was back to being Major, he directed us to dump the water out of our canoes and get back on the river. It rained pretty steadily for the next 4 or 5 hours, til finally the sun came out. And it was absolutely 100% miserable. It was one of the humid days where you were both hot AND cold at the same time, your feet were soaked in your shoes, water kept sloshing around your feet in the bottom of the canoe, your clothes were itchy and rain kept pelting you in the face. We made it to camp and were completely exhausted. Major looked at the sky, and even though it was currently sunny and starting to dry a bit, he forecast that we'd be getting more rain, and ordered us to quickly get camp setup and a fire started. We got to it - fortunately Major showed us how to pack canoes properly, so all of our gear was still dry - so we got tents setup and a fire going, food put in a bear bag to keep the bears away, and we did all this still in our soaked clothes. And while it was "wackywet" this was NOT fun at this point. One word: CHAFING. Plus being cold and tired. Finally camp was setup according to Major's guidance and he took pity on us and said we should take a break before dinner. He said we should strip off all our clothes and sit or lie down for a while until we were COMPLETELY dry - if we were still wet when we put new clothes on, we'd just end up with irritation in our armpits, crotch and feet. We trusted Major on this and all stripped naked.

Now I'll pause here... this probably sounds weirder than it was. This was a long time ago, attitudes were different, and it wasn't a big deal. And I say very clearly that this WASN'T a sex abuse thing or anything like that. The 6 of us kids stayed in camp, Major hiked off a ways and left us alone, it wasn't like he was peeping at us or anything. Plus I was with 5 good friends of mine, we pretty much all grew up together, we'd seen each other naked before, we'd see each other naked again. So it probably wouldn't fly today, and I get that, but at that point in time it wasn't a big deal. So I stripped. Major was right - I pulled off my soaked socks and my feet were 100% wrinkled and starting to get irritated. As was my crotch. I laid on my back for a while and I could hear some of the guys start to fall asleep. I remember thinking that I was in some ways A LOT more comfortable in my soaked clothes than I was naked, and it wasn't just a social thing, it was a physical thing. I was tempted to put my wet shirt back on, or maybe my baggy pants, but I wasn't going to disobey a direct order from Major. At any rate, we got completely dried off, changed into clean and dry shorts and a t-shirt, and got to work preparing dinner. We all slept VERY well that night (apparently sleeping through another strong storm - I didn't even wake up I was so tired.)

Fortunately that was the end of the rain for the week, and the rest of the trip was absolutely beautiful. Major's schedule had us get up early for breakfast, get on the river by 7:30am, and get to our next campsite usually around 2 in the afternoon. Once we had camp setup, he'd send us to the river to swim, or hike around the area, or really whatever we felt like. Swimming was usually what we wanted to do, and we learned that if we were wearing clothes that were already wet, we should just swim in those, rather than getting two sets of clothes wet on the same day. Some of the guys went shirtless, I realized I preferred to keep my shirt on. So for about 4 days, I spent most of the daylight hours totally soaked in a long sleeve shirt and pants, including shoes and socks (but I guess I normally went barefoot once we were out of the canoes and swimming near our campsites.)

So that's my story. Its maybe not the best, but its definitely an experience I've always remembered, for a bunch of reasons!


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