The Qualifying Swim at Bear Lake

The first year that Dad was Scoutmaster, it was too late to get a reservation for Camp Steiner. (The Boy Scout Troop sponsored by Union First Ward always went to Camp Steiner in the Uintah Mountains - but not this time.) So he and I (as Senior Patrol Leader) looked around for a Camp where we could get a reservation.

Bear Lake wasn't too far away. It was a new camp, and we found that we could get a reservation. We thought it would be interesting. We were right - but in an odd sort of way.

Camp Steiner is up in the Uintah Mountains, with trees all around and mountains to climb and a small lake (more of a pond, really) in which you could swim, canoe, boat and fish. Camp fires were encouraged, and were a definite aprt of life at camp.

Camp Bear Lake is on the shore of Bear Lake which is shared between Utah and Idaho. It is surrounded by treeless hills, much like the hill just east of our house in Union. You can go fishing, swimming, canoing and boating in the lake, but this is a real lake, and so the requirements on water safety were much stricter. (I don't remember anyone wanting to climb the dry hills around the camp.) Because the surrounding terrain was so dry, camp fires were not permitted. The only way cooking could be done was over a camp stove, or charcoal briquets. So there were no camp fires with stories and songs. The first of the oddities.

Our troop wanted to take a canoe trip along the lake. As I mentioned, water safety requirements were much stricter here. At Camp Steiner, I was able to qualify to take a canoe out on the lake, even though my swimming wasn't the best. I was a bit worried about qualifying at Bear Lake because - well, there was just so much more water out there! And the waves (real waves!) came rolling in to the shore past the bouys that marked the swimming area. This was the second of the oddities.

The day for water safety qualifying arrived. We were scheduled in the early afternoon after our lunch. The days were usually sunny and hot. This one started in that way, but we could see clouds in the west on the other side of the lake. They got bigger and darker as the morning wore on. By the time the afternoon qualifying had started, they were quite dark and coming toward us.

In order to qualify, a scout had to swim from the shore area, around a raft that was anchored in the swimming area, and back to shore. Being a bear of little brain (more like Winnie-the-Pooh with mostly fluff) and quite concerned (OK, scared!) about the swim, I kept putting off my turn. The clouds grew bigger and darker. I got more and more reticent.

Our troop had to have at least a certain number of boys qualify to have any trip at all. If I didn't qualify (and I was the Senior Patrol Leader), we might not have enough.

Finally, I could put it off no longer. Dad had qualified easily, as had Joe. I started out. I started swimming out to the raft. The waves were rolling in to the shore, the wind had picked up, and the sky was dark. I managed to get out to the raft, all the while asking myself why I was doing this! I swam past the raft, and made the turn towards the shore. (Logically I should have been able to coast home. The wind was now at my back, and the waves would carry me to shore.)

I quit.

I just gave up.

I pulled my self onto the raft, and refused to go on swimming.

Enough boys had qualified to go on the canoe trip, but I wasn't one of them. Dad and Joe went, but I stayed back in camp. I was disappointed and a bit ashamed.