Rock Climbing, Rappelling at Rattlesnake Point
Conservation Area
By Ryan Mitchell.
(Milton, Ontario) Scouts Canada-1st Whitby Venturers left on Friday night
July 11, 2003, making their way towards Rattlesnake Point Conservation Area,
near Milton, Ontario. In the car was Scouter Brian Wick along with Roderick
Dotzko, Selena Lam, Karen Mitchell (a new Venturer) and Ryan Mitchell. Scouter
Greg Luke and his son Graham were going to be at the camp as well but
would meet the others in the morning. The drive was only about an hour long
so it really was not a problem to sit through it. They stopped and ate at
Wendy’s around 10:00 pm and then proceeded to drive on to the campsite. They
found it without much difficulty and were greeted by the cheerful Venturers
from Stouffville. It was decided to set up the tents as soon as possible and
get settled in. This did not take them long, first of all because they were
well taught in erecting tents and secondly they were motivated by the thought
of lying down for the night. Everything was settled and they hit the sacks
quickly.
On Saturday, the Companies rose at about 8:00 am. They had to eat a quick breakfast of oatmeal and then head off to the camp parking
lot to meet the people who would help them to get started rock climbing for
the day. It was a fairly dismal weather at the time but they had been assured
that at least one climbing station would be opened for them. They met first
with Lauren, who was a trainee in the program. She was thirteen years old
and spirited. She gave them equipment to carry and led them down the path
towards the cliffs. It was here they met up with Ron Currell, from Oakville.
He got them started and introduced them to another trainee, Paul. He also
introduced them to a much more experienced climber, Bret, who had been doing
the whole rock climbing scene for about seven years. Once everyone was suited up
with harnesses and had all the proper karabiners in place. Once the
safety talk was given, the group proceeded down a set flight of steps, which
led them to the cliff bottom. It was here they began to climb the 20 m (60 ft.) cliffs. Climbing continued until lunchtime.
The weather began to show that it would hold out, so Ron set up a rappelling
station from the very top of the cliff. This turned out to be a favourite
for most Venturers and even Scouter Rob from Stouffville and Scouter Brian
rappelled. Graham was the first to try something known as the “Aussie Rappel”
which is where you rappel down the cliff face first. After
that everyone else followed suit and tried it themselves. Eventually we were
all pretty tired and it was time to pack the equipment away. Ron gave
everyone a specific job to do which was great because it got the Venturers
involved and allowed them to learn the processes involved in the pack up.
When all the bags were filled, and a group thank you was said, everyone carried
a specific bag back to Ron’s van. When all was loaded in, many Venturers said
thank you personally before Ron departed.
What a great day of rock climbing. When they got back to camp they got cleaned
up to go out to Kelsey’s for dinner. When they had finished eating
a great supper at Kelsey’s, they headed back to camp, but not until Scouter
Brian and Scouter Greg had stopped for a coffee. Back at camp, Selena
organized a soccer game for both Venturer companies. Planning and executing this activity was for a requirement
for her Queen’s Venturer Award. The game was really successful and everyone
had loads of fun. Afterwards the groups sat around the campfire for a while
until 1st Whitby decided to go for a walk into the woods. It was a great night
hike because no flashlights were used. Eventually, Scouter Greg and Scouter
Brian split to go and grab the van. They were nice enough though to take the Venturers with them to McDonald’s for McFlurrys. They
were a great treat. Upon reaching the camp gates again, Scouter Greg and Graham
decided to head home leaving the others to walk back to the site. Once back
everyone went to their tents and fell asleep pretty quickly.
In the morning the routine was quite similar to most Sunday mornings while
camping; get packed up and cleaned up and you are ready to go. Well that is
exactly what the Venturers all did and soon it was time to say goodbye and
depart. On the ride home, most of the Venturers were tired from the day before
and slept. In Whitby, Scouter Brian proceeded to drop off each of the Venturers
at his/her house.
The camping experience was really great for everyone, first of all because
were able to do it with another Venturer Company. The members of the 1st Souffville Venturers were nice and were always willing to
do activities with us. Secondly, we were able to participate in a real rock
climbing experience, something none of us get to do on a regular basis. The camp was a general
success.
Scouts Canada provides opportunities for youth to enjoy the outdoors through
challenging programs as described above. To learn more go to
Scouts Canada's
website or link to other stories below.
Return to
1st Whitby Venturers
Contact Scouter Brian Wick
Composed July 2003