I (Chris) made Life Scout, and was inducted in Order of the Arrow. My first troop was in Yokosuka Japan, where my dad was stationed in the U.S. Navy. We went camping and hiking a fair amount as I recall. The high point of that segment was a world Jamboree that occurred during a typhoon. One of my current friends was apparently at the same jamboree, with a troop from Hawaii.
When we moved back to the states, I joined a troop in Lake Braddock, Northern Virginia. We hike, camped, or did something at least every month. As an earlier poster noted, it seemed to rain on 90% of our outings. A highlight was a 50 miler canoeing on the Shenandoah.
Since then, I've hiked, backpacked, peakbagged, and rock climbed. I didn't need geoCaching to get me in the outdoors, but it certainly is taking up my time of late.
I have a lot of good memories of scouting. I'd be happier recommending it to others if the BSA wasn't pursuing the exclusionary policies so hard. It seems so senseless. Any kid who is interested in what the Scouts are doing should be allowed to participate if he's not causing trouble.
