During a cold week in January, the event known as the Winterfest in Treasure Valley was scheduled for the weekend. Due to complications regarding the weather, the main event was cancelled. However, this didn’t stop our troop from camping out that night, some in tents, some in the Probus building at our site.

Certain areas of the event were still open, including a small field of ice at lower Boonesville plains. Sliding across the field was a blast, considering we were all bundled up in many layers of cold weather gear. Full allotments of winter coats, wool socks, and snow pants covered the body of every scout in our troop, and slamming ourselves onto the ice didn’t hurt at all; although one scout managed to make the discovery that broken ice can have the same slicing capabilities as broken glass, only his index finger received a cut.

Nightfall came fast, and with all of our tents pitched and prepared for the night, it was dinner time, and card game time! Crazy whatevers, pepsi, and war were the draws of the deck, along with a western spoof of 7-Up which brought along with it many laughs.

It was then time for the moment most scouts had attended for: the tent sleepover. It only takes one night to satisfy the coldweather camping requirement for the Camping merit badge, and all who attempted this challenge emerged victorious except one, which overall is quite successful.

The Winterfest event this year embodied what Troop 123 is all about: making the most of an outing even when things don’t go as planned. Unlike the previous trip, another followed the Winterfest just two weeks later by the name of the Klondike, another article-worthy event!