Fall Fest / Garrison 2025

After many years, the Pack decided to return to Fall Fest down at Camp Hart during our fall trip to the Musser Scout Reservation. We slept at Camp Garrison like usual, but since we were at the Port Liberty campsite alongside the boarded up USS Cradle of Liberty bunkhouses, we were tent-camping this time. The AOLs helped cooked dinner and everyone enjoyed games of roofball, but other than that, the main activities were a short hike away at Fall Fest.

Many more Scouts just came to Fall Fest and didn't stay overnight at the campsite

The Fall Fest activities were meant to give a taste of all aspects of classic Scout life. The biggest draws were the shooting ranges (archery, BBs, and slingshots), but others were surprise hits. We spent a lot of time at the bouldering wall, carving pumpkins, and doing leatherwork. The kids were not as impressed by the animal skins and Native American heritage items at the Nature station as the adults. The fishing station wasn't as good as when we ran this activity on our own. Let's face it, kids mess up the rods and then the next kids get stuck with faulty equipment. Overhanging tree branches made casting even difficult when the rods did work. Lunch was provided and it was tacos so it was a well organized event that we may return to every few years.

The kids also hiked back and forth from the campsite to Camp Hart and that added to our outdoors adventure. Each night featured campfires with s'mores and either ghost stories or a "and then" group storytelling activity where each person built upon the last person's tale in fun and creative ways.