South Brunswick Scout Captures the Sights of the National Boy Scout Jamboree

Written by Shailesh Murali

Zip lining. Mountain Biking. Skateboarding. Shooting sports. Rock Climbing. Mike Rowe, star of Dirty Jobs. The King of Sweden. BMX biking and so much more.

Where in the world could you possibly find all these things? At the 2013 National Boy Scout Jamboree, of course!  

The Jamboree, held at Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia, was a gathering of 40,000 Boy Scouts from all around the world held from July 15 to July 24.

These are very different than you would see anywhere else, like the biggest skate park and rock climbing area of its kind. Other activities include 1,000 foot zip line, BMX biking, shooting sports, whitewater rafting and a variety of merit badges. 

Everyone there had the time of their life with so many things to do. The Jamboree is one of the most unique scout camps ever created because while it doesn’t just specialize in one thing like the other Boy Scout high adventure camps (Philmont, Florida Sea Base and Northern Tier), it has everything.

The world’s largest skate park was found here at the Summit with things ranging from activities for people who have never skated before to a foam pit for extreme skaters to practice their tricks. It is a lot of fun for all levels and a great program overall.

The next amazing thing at the Jamboree is mountain biking. There are two different levels, high gear and low gear. Low gear is not as intense or crazy but is still a lot of fun. 

There are two options in low gear. You could either, go through lots of different trails in the cross-country option or you go down a slope in the fast paced and steep downhill. High gear is just overall action packed and extreme. 

These quick moving trails and lots of mud bundled together for a fun, fast and muddy ride.

Next, zip lining is a major part of the camp. Ranging from the canopy tours to the all famous Big Zip, zip lining was a major part of the Jamboree. 

In the canopy tours, you zipped through the tops of the trees. In the Big Zip you can go on one of 5 parallel lines that are over 3000 feet and can reach speeds of over 50 m.p.h.

Next, the Summit offers lots of activities in The Pools, such as scuba and swimming. There is also kayaking, Dragon Boat racing, a water obstacle course and the Mariner adventure. All these things helped make the Jamboree as fun as it was.

Next, BMX biking has so many things you can do like you ripping around the turns, catching air and racing around the course. You could also try the racing the flat track or the freestyle jump track. If you feel like it, you could also try the fast and furious downhill course that is sure to leave you wanting more. All in all, BMX biking was a fun part of the Jamboree.

Next, shooting sports and archery sports were both great things that attracted a lot of Scouts. Having over 60 acres of room to shoot and 100 stations, made the Barrels a fun and safe place to hone your shooting skills.  

Also, you could even shoot skeet, which are moving clay disks that fly through the air. Archery was very similar too, in the way you could hit moving targets as they fly through the air. There were also traditional bows and arrows too. In total, it was a great program for Boy Scouts and fitting for the Jamboree.

Next, the ropes, otherwise known as the Cope Course, was also part of the Summit’s variety of programs. There were five different levels for you to try, all fun and challenging. It was sure to excite you and give you a sense of accomplishment once you completed the course. Everyone who did it had a great time.

One of the biggest and most well-known things was the Rocks, or the rock climbing. Huge 30 or 40 foot walls loomed above you and dared you to try and climb it. If climbing walls weren’t your interest, you could even try bouldering, where you climbed a boulder, no manmade handholds. Or, you could try the leap of faith, a daring and enjoyable experience.

As if all those things weren’t enough, the Jamboree also provided an option for you to be able to go whitewater rafting. You were bussed off Summit property to a different spot where you split into different groups and went whitewater rafting. It was a great experience that taught you about teamwork and having fun. If you were a first timer, or an experienced rafter.

Well, while that covers most of the high adventure, that wasn’t what the entire Jamboree was about. If you didn’t want to do high adventure, or you wanted a break from all the action packed things, there were many other things you could do instead. 

There was a technology quest featuring Lego, Microsoft, NASA and many other companies. There was a day of service and also a trek where you went up to the summit of the summit. Then, while those were mandatory and on specific days, there were many things that were optional that you could do. 

There were special shows at the summit center on various days such as an aerial show featuring RC planes and copters. There were also various BMX shows that you could watch on different days. 

One day, a couple well-known authors also came to visit. As if these things weren’t enough, there were also two big shows at the Summit. The second, main closing show had many important figures there. 

For example, the star of the TV show Dirty Jobs, Mike Rowe came up and made a speech. He is an Eagle Scout and a famous one too. Also, the King of Sweden came and visited and taught us a cheer. 

The closing show also had some nice singers there, such as the band Three Doors Down. There were also many tents you could visit, like the Army, National Guard, and Coast Guard. 

After dinner, when a lot of these tents, and high adventure activities closed, the camp wasn’t silent. In fact, everyone was walking around trading and trading. 

What would they trade, you ask? Patches! Patch trading was a huge part of the 2013 National Jamboree because after 6:30, everywhere you go, you would see people setting up wagons or tarps with patches on them, and a huge crowd of Scouts around them.

In conclusion, with so many things to do at the Jamboree, no one had a boring day. With so much high adventure, shows, and patch trading going on, there was always something to do.

This was just the first glimpse of the Summit Bechtel Reserve’s accomplishments. This will be turned into a high adventure camp and summer camp starting in 2014! It will also host the next National Jamboree in 2017.

How much ever fun was had these ten days at the Jamboree, it won’t stop here! The Summit Bechtel Reserve and the Jamboree will go on delighting, exciting and inviting people for many years to come.