Camp Hahobas!

We had a busy end of week 6 with a rush of visitors to Cp. The Martins were here to see campfire etc., then Andrew Bodien stopped by, and finally Anton's brother Greg and his family:

Saturday afternoon we decided we were ready to get out of camp for a few hours. So what better place to go than... ANOTHER scout camp! I have been wanting to see Camp Hahobas for years, as it is the "other" scout camp on Hood Canal, but one we rarely hear much about. So off we went...

It is quite an interesting camp. It's huge, and I do mean HUGE. It's probably a two mile walk from one end to the other. They have three lakes but this one is most heavily used:

Their campfire bowl is kind of randomly put in the middle of camp with no view or ambiance. Of course I am spoiled by Parsons, but then when you see their spectacular view of Hood Canal...

I was so in awe. Keep in mind that I LOVE Hood Canal and have never seen it from anywhere close to this angle. I stared for 10 minutes. You can see Lilliwaup and Hoodsport and I assumed the Olympic mountains, but couldn't be sure because it was cloudy. So I found this picture online:

This is their view on a clear day from their beach property.

Wow-ee wow-wow.

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And this leads me to my Kramer-scout-camp-visitation report:

Negatives:

-You've got to be kidding me! They have this kind of view and don't even use it! Unbelievable!

-There is no dining hall. They have a kitchen next to an open air tin roofed structure with picnic tables.

-There is no central lodge or historical sites (that we saw) even though the camp has been around since the 30's.

-I can't say much about the program because I didn't witness it, but it seems to lack a certain amount of energy and tradition. (Again, we are spoiled.)

Positives:

-Beautiful, huge property with lots of potential

-They offer shotgun, high ropes, civics, and other things that not all camps (including Parsons) offer

-Property is surrounded by state forest so they don't risk development creeping in

-From what we heard, it seems the camp is making a turnaround and is trying to improve their reputation and recruit more troops

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I decided at the conclusion of the trip to make it a goal to visit every scout camp in western Washington and Oregon. So far I have been to three: Parsons, Pioneer, and Hahobas (Brinkley doesn't count because I haven't been there since the Pigott renovation). It's really the perfect day trip to make as a family or stop along the way of an overnight road trip. Also it's interesting as a former program director to see how how different camps run. When I told Anton I wanted to tackle the list of camps I asked if he thought I was nuts. He said something like "It's awesome. How many women would be excited about visiting even one Boy Scout camp, let alone ten!"