Princeton Boy Scout Reports from the National Boy Scout Jamboree

By Elian Rubin

What is a Jamboree?

“Welcome Boy Scouts,” said the signs along the road as bus after bus of boys traveled the final roads to the 2013 National Boy Scout Jamboree at the new Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve in West Virginia.  The 40,000 boy scouts and leaders turned the 10,600-acre Scout reserve into the third largest city in West Virginia for 10 days.  This celebration of Scouting happens only once every four years and scouts come from all over the country to go to it. I was lucky enough to be one of them, and I am the only scout from Princeton going. I signed up two years ago, when I was still a cub scout.

The Summit is the new home of the Boy Scout Jamboree. In the past, the Jamborees were held at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia. This is the first Jamboree to be here. The Summit is BIG. Activities at the summit range from Ga-Ga ball to rope challenge courses to shooting ten different guns and so on.

Whitewater rafting on the New River

During the Jamboree, 10,000 boy scouts go whitewater rafting along the New River. The New River is the largest-volume whitewater river east of the Mississippi.It has rapids from Class I (easiest) to Class V (hardest). There are also class VI rapids that can’t be done without failing. But, when a class VI rapid has been crossed three times successfully  It becomes a class V+ rapid. Our whitewater trip went in the middle river section and we rode Class I to Class III rapids. We were allowed to jump in the water, stand on the edge while the boat was spinning but never in rapids for rapids can seriously injure you.

The whitewater rafting experts were a little worried about having all these boys on their rafts! But Edie Ritterbush, the owner of Whitewater Photography, said to one of the scout moms that the scouts were “the most nice, polite young men we’ve ever had rafting. They make you smile. They are such a pleasure for all of our staff.”

Well I’m off to have more adventures at the summit. But I will be back in 2017 to have even more.

(Cannot do everything, And have to eat and sleep, which takes up time.  Also walking from place to place. Most are 1-2 miles apart)

Rubin is a Princeton resident and a member of Princeton Boy Scout Troop 43. He is currently attending the National Boy Scout Jamboree at the Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia and is submitting periodic reports from the field.