Never have I met a cheerier group of people at 5:30 a.m. in
the pouring rain than the Boy Scouts. This
morning I dropped off my Son in those conditions for his final scouting trip –
canoeing. His scout leaders call a
downpour a “fine Scottish mist.” See,
isn’t that cheery?!
I have to admit that I was relieved to hear they will be on
the Allegheny River, not the Youghiogheny (“The Yuffayuffany, the river which
is impossible to spell,” my mother calls it).
The Yough is mostly white water, while the length of the Allegheny the
scouts will be on has only one little section of white water.
We had a thunderstorm during the night, but our weather is
predicted to be horrendously awful later today, with a 5% chance of 70 mph
winds, which, in every mother’s mind, equates to 5 x 70 = 350 mph winds. I would appreciate your prayers today for the
safety of those Scouts and other intrepid people who venture outdoors in such
weather. As for me, I already prayed, so
I’m going back to bed. Except I'm not, because I have to drive Oldest Daughter to work.
Here he is, putting in on the Potomac, several years ago, on a canoe trip with his cousins and uncles.
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| Not afraid to get his feet wet. |
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| Looks idyllic, eh? No Scottish mist! |
9 comments:
"Fine Scottish mist . . ." Heh. Once when my tall boy was a younger Scout, it rained so hard on a planned canoeing adventure that the rangers or whoever was in charge of the river wouldn't allow anyone to put in. So the Scouts built small canoes out of aluminium foil and raced them down the rushing stream that had formed through the middle of their campsite. It's still a great memory for the tall boy all these years later.
Glad they had such cheerful attitudes! Sound like they are true Scouts at heart.
Wait - I think my Scouts were on the Yuffayuffahany the other week, for whitewater rafting. Ohiopyle something or other? I don't know, I can't keep up with them.
Ah, youth. And those crazy adult Scout leaders.
In the long run, there's probably very little difference between a fine Scottish mist" and pouring rain. Having hiked in the fine Scottish mist for a week, we got soaked just as wet.
I will add my prayers for safety and no hurricanes!
Was he just canoeing for the day or were they camping as well?
@Liz - What a great way to redeem a cancelled canoeing expedition!
@SubCor - Yes, I believe it's the Yuffa-etc River at Ohiopyle. But my scouts are on the Allegheny - much calmer than the Yough. Which I pronounce "Yuck", by the way.
@Angie - it's a 3-day camping/canoeing trip. I admire their stamina!
"A Fine Scottish Mist"... Ha!
My brothers have fond memories of their 50-miler canoe trip. My youngest son (and only Scout) looks forward to his own.
Nothing makes me feel more like a midwestern hick than reading about people canoeing in the Potomac and squealing, "Ooo, just like George Washington!" Except I'm pretty sure Washington wasn't in a canoe.
Praying for safety!
Kristy, I don't know if George Washington canoed on the Potomac, but it's quite possible he canoed on the Allegheny River, since he was a surveyor in parts of Pennsylvania before he moved on the greater positions of authority.
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