Mount Seymour Camp

Since 2010, we have been having an all-Section winter camp at the Camp Luther A–frame chalet on Mount Seymour at about N 49° 21.423 W 122° 57.042 The parking lot is at N 49° 21.533 W 122° 56.935. The cabin is only 250m down a boardwalk / trail that can be very muddy at times.

When we pay for the camp, we typically book it for the next year. The camp is booked through Niki Janzen, Guest Groups Manager, Camp Luther, 9311 Shook Road, Mission, BC V2V 7M2, (604) 826-7062, niki@caampluther.ca The cost is $25.00 per person for the weekend.

This is an easy winter camp because it has dishes, pot and pans, a refrigerator, and an electric stove. The cabin has power and rusty-coloured non-potable running water. There is an outhouse 50’ away. Typically, we have had 50-60 people stay there “comfortably”. There are beds with mattresses so you don't need to bring foamies, but everyone needs to bring a sleeping bag and pillow, etc.

There are three bunk rooms on the first floor. Beavers typically go on the left and the Cubs go on the right (a one-room separation is a good idea!). The middle one is for Scouters/parents or overflow for Beavers. Quite a number of the bunks are double bunks and can accommodate two kids or an adult and their child. As for the Cubs, in the past we have had the boys and girls bunk in together and this has not been an issue. The attic has three small rooms with double beds, and the female Scoutersusually sleep there. The Scouts, Scout Scouters, Venturers and Venturer Advisors are usually outside in the snow, but if the weather is bad, they can spread out in the main hall area.

There is a provincial park campsite between the parking lot and the chalet that could work for the Scouts to camp. We used it one year and got kicked out because we had not reserved it even though it was empty.

Scouters, Venturers and senior Scouts can help with cooking. Parents can also step in and help. The water there can be used for washing, but not drinking or cooking, so we need to pack our own in.

Cell phone reception is “available” if you hold your tongue just right and the weather conditions cooperate.

Consider designing a patch for the camp. A good source is Zone West. Alternatively, there are winter camping patches available at the Scout Shop. We typically have about 60 youth and Scouters attend plus Beaver parents. We don’t give the patches to the parents, so keep this in mind when ordering the patches so we don’t have a pile left over.

A good idea is to have cold weather talks in the various Sections the week before the camp. Anyone who hasn’t gone on a winter camp before should have a gear check in the meeting before the camp, not in the parking lot! We don’t want youth showing up with no jacket, only running shoes, no gloves, etc.

Activities:

• Consider a theme for the camp and coordinate this with the patch.
• In 2015, we booked Coquitlam Search and Rescue to come and do a presentation for us. We sent them $100 donation later.
• An alternative is North Shore Rescue who came in 2016. Their contact details are North Shore Rescue Team Society, 147 East 14th Street, North Vancouver, BC, V7L 2N4, (604) 969-7005, (778) 338-6300, nsr@northshorerescue.com, http://www.northshorerescue.com/. In 2016, we had Tony Sperling ((604) 220-4862 cell) to come Saturday afternoon around 3:00 and he stayed until after campfire. We sent them $100 donation later.
• We have booked the Canadian Planetariums astronomy club to come up with their telescopes to do a talk and then view the stars through their telescopes in the parking lot. They may be reticent to attend since one of them fractured his hip after falling on the ice in the parking lot in 2014. The contact is Bill Burnyeat, Canadian Planetariums Program Manager, (604) 336-3821, Bill@CanadianTelescopes.com
• Tell the kids to bring multiple sets of clothes and sledding equipment. They end up building a toboggan run right beside the cabin so should remember to bring a helmet if they have one.
• For outings, we typically hike back to the parking lot and go up or down the Old Cabin Trail for a ways until we meet the Perimeter Trail, up and around Goldie Lake or Flower Lake, and come out at the upper parking lot, and walk down the road. Alternatively, we can ferry the kids to the upper parking lot and go snowshoeing from there out towards First Lake and Dog Mountain. There is a Scout cabin on the Old Cabin Trail between the parking lot and Perimeter Trail. There are also some old cabins southeast from the parking lot. You can find them if you go down the steep hill across from the parking lot and instead of following the main trail to the northeast, head southeast,.
• The kids like indoor games like card game, crokinole, checkers, cheat, etc. These are good as a break between sledding and hiking.

Things to remember to do:

• Assign the Scouter-in-charge, who will prepare the Camping and Outdoor Activity (COA) form.
• Assign camp cook.
• Assign Campfire Chief.
• Assign someone to do Scouts Own on Sunday.
• As this is an all-Section camp, one Scouter needs to be assigned to be the Scouter in Charge and complete the Camping and Outdoor Activity (COA) form.
• Bring required paperwork that is listed in the Group Gear Packing List - Mount Seymour.
• Consider a camp theme and coordinate with the patch if one is made.
• Book snowshoes from the Carriage House. They are about $6.00 a pair to rent for the weekend. Book them early so they are not reserved by some other group. Assign someone to pick them up.
• Assign someone to be first there to unlock and turn the power & water on, and also to be the last to leave after checking things are closed down properly. They need to pick up the key from Andreas Adler at (778) 836-3437, 903 Heritage Blvd., North Vancouver (turn right into the townhouse complex and look for 903). They provide a checklist to open and close the cabin. The power it turned on with a key at a panel just around the corner to the left of the main door. The water is turned on with a seriesof valve in the basement directly below the mudroom when you come into the cabin. There is an instruction sheet above the taps (one main valve, one drain valve, and three isolation valves to the three sinks upstairs).
• Bring firewood and kindling. Sometimes there is some there; most often there is not.
• Bring games for indoor play like crokinole, card games, Uno, checkers, chess, etc. A deck of 100 or so miscellaneous playing cards for Cheat is popular, paper for paper airplanes, etc.
• Bring knot book and pieces of rope to practice.
• Consider getting some parents to do some baking for snacks.
• Decide on how much to charge youth and parents (cost for Scouters is covered by the group).
• Decide on the menu and assign someone to do the shopping. Note that there are blue bins of food in the locker left over from previous camps.
• Decide on an activity plan – each Section is responsible for their own Section activities – projects or crafts, hikes, snowshoeing, etc.
• There is quite a bit of gear to bring from the locker or bring from home. Assign someone to go to the locker and pack the trailer - see Group Gear Packing List - Mount Seymour.

Everyone brings:

• Basic Scout Packing List