August Campout

When: August 21st - August 23rd

Meet at Exit 11 BP Station at 5:00 pm
Transportation from shoreline to the island between 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm on Friday evening
Transportation from the island to the shoreline between 9:00-10:00 am Sunday morning
(We need as many boats as possible to transport people. Please let me know if you can assist.)

Where: J. Percy Priest Lake (Bear Island) in Nashville
Parking at Anderson Road Recreation Area
Take I-40 East from Nashville and take Exit 219 - Stewarts Ferry Pike. Take a right on Stewarts Ferry Pike and travel approximately 5 miles on Stewarts Ferry/Bell Road to Smith Springs Road. Turn left on Smith Springs Road and travel approximately 2 miles to four way stop. Turn left on Anderson Lane and travel approximately 2 miles to campground/day use area.

What to bring: Please treat this as a backpacking campout. Each scout must be able to carry their entire belongings (including food). Island campsites are primitive campsites and available on a first-come, first-serve basis, so you must be able to travel light. Water and camping grill will be provided. Of course, bring swimsuits, towels, tents, dry clothes, etc.You MUST have shoes that you can walk in the water on the rocky shoreline. Flip-flops are discouraged and water shoes with thin soles are weak and offer little protection. An old pair of tennis shoes, docksiders or sandals work better.Activities:

-Motor boating safety permit exam: The TWRA has agreed to conduct the motor boating drivers exam on the island on Saturday morning. To participate, you must be 11 years old, studied in advance and have the TN Boaters Safety Exam Permit. This must be purchased before the trip and can be purchased from any location that sells TN Hunting and Fishing licenses for $10.00. (We got ours at Wal-mart.)-Study information available at http://www.boat-ed.com/tn/. There are several sample tests and reference materials available. Be forewarned, you do need to study in advance, but it is not hard.

-TN Boating guide: http://www.state.tn.us/twra/pdfs/boatguide.pdf - This contains a lot of the reference materials needed to pass the exam.
Merit Badge work on Motor boating, Water Sports (skiing) and Canoeing: Attached are the requirements. Some instruction and demonstrations will be given during the weekend. -Practice availability is dependent upon volunteers with boats. -If you are interested in any of these merit badges, each scout should print out the requirements sheet for their use. -Each scout participating must sign the liability waiver provided by Scoutmaster Klomfas.

-Swimming, campfires and fun: We plan on having a lot of swimming opportunities available.