Lumberjack Campout Oct 2016

We have a few people in our neighborhood that use a wood burning stove to heat their home all winter.  A few years ago we decided to do a "Lumberjack" Campout and go cut wood to haul back and give to these people to help them get through the winter.  We get a wood cutting permit and go up to the same place each year because there's tons of wood ready to cut, and the road leading up to it is terrible, so nobody else goes up there.

This year was no different.  We spent about 6 hours with the adults cutting up the logs with chainsaws, and the boys and some adults hauling the wood back to the trucks and trailers.  This year we had enough boys that were interested in, and strong enough to chop the wood, so we were able to chop about 90% of the wood we harvested!

It's a lot of work!  We all work hard, and really get worn out, but the boys love the work, and they love that we drive down into town and go to a recreation center to play Wally Ball (volleyball in a racquetball court), and then swim for a couple hours before driving back up to camp and spending the night.

Even though it's a very hard working campout, it's one of our scout's favorite camps!  Partly because they get to chop wood, and partly because it is service and we are able to bless others with the wood we harvest.

I think another part of it is that it's a lot of work, and we as males crave some hard work once in a while.  There's a sense of accomplishment that comes when you work hard for a day to accomplish a task, and you finish the day totally worn out, sweaty, sore, and tired.  When take the time to look back at what you've been able to do, you feel like you've achieved something worthwhile.  You've made your mark.  You've stretched yourself and found yourself up to the task.

Boys need to learn to work hard.  They don't learn that from video games, they learn that from going out and working hard alongside adults that work hard.  They'll probably be surprised to see that they enjoy working hard too.