Thank You to all of the Scouts and Units that called Camp Barstow Home for at least one week this past summer! We would not be able to have a summer camp experience without your attendance, and for that we are grateful. We hope that everyone has enjoyed their summer and are relaxing on those final family vacations prior to school beginning again.
Over the course of the summer we, as staff, had fun incorporating our theme “Winter Wonderland” into several of our key activities. The goal was to help keep it cool at Barstow as we know it can get a tad on the hot side at times. Thanks to frequent trips by Santa and his helpers, I think that mission was accomplished. Temperatures stayed mild on most days, and were generally kept cool by a stray afternoon shower or two.
A little mid-week surprise with a Waterslide also brought lots of joy and excitement to camp. The reset at the end of the first Bundle session was definitely a welcomed surprise. And although during week 4 we switch it up to Kiddie Pool Kick-Ball, just as much fun was had. Week 4 also had an additional surprise of a trip just down the road from camp to watch the 4th of July Fireworks show.
Most badges at camp this summer were completed, with a few partials where qualification or catching fish were needed, but all in all we award more completions than we ever have to our Scouts. While we know that camp is not always about Merit Badges, it is still nice to walk away with almost every badge completed so you are not having to figure out how to complete at a later time.
We thank you for the feedback on the various aspects of the program at Camp Barstow this year and look forward to making some changes for 2026. Some small, and several large changes are on definitely in the works. It is exciting to announce that funding for a new latrine/showerhouse in lower camp has been secured and we hope to have it up and operational by the start of camp next year (more to come on this so stay tuned). In addition, we are setting up a new line up of Merit Badges for 2026 and innovating again by changing our Bundle System to be more inclusive for all units (again, more to come so stay tuned). And lastly, we are always looking to provide our Scouts with the best opportunities that camp can offer with new High Adventure programs for our older Scouts and new pieces for our current program to further enhance our camper experiences (you guessed it, more to come here too).
For now as we work toward building for Summer Camp 2026, we wish you well and hope to see you all again next summer!
Camp Director, William McCormick
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