About 70 Boy Scouts from the Carson City Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently joined about 1,000 other Northern Nevada Scouts and their leaders in a regional three-day encampment at Smith Creek, a ranch 70 miles east of Fallon.
The boys camped, worked on Scout skills, participated in pioneer activities, and heard motivational instruction from Charles Dahlquist, general young men's president of the Church, and from other church authorities.
The boys and their leaders brought their own water and food, which they cooked in Dutch ovens, on propane stoves and huge grills.
The theme of the encampment was Pony Express Days. Activities from that era were available at "Main Street at Smith Creek," including horseshoe making, roping, trapping, buck saws, rope making and wheelbarrow races.
Nick Hales, a 13-year-old from Minden, particularly enjoyed throwing horseshoes and tomahawks.
"It was fun to throw something heavy and sharp," he said.
Nick also enjoyed building towers about 24 feet high and 100 feet square by lashing logs together.
"They were fun to climb on, but a little scary because they were shaky and we all thought they might collapse," Nick said.
James Stockton, a 17-year-old from Gardnerville, said, "It was fun to interact with Scouts from other areas. We were able to talk to other Scouts like we already knew them."
Dahlquist impressed upon the boys their responsibility to look out for each other. He also spoke of the importance of serving others by serving missions for the church.
Timothy Dyches, area authority of the church, explained the importance of sacrificing certain things for more important things.
Dyches told the boys about gymnast Shun Fujimoto, who held a dismount in the 1976 Olympics to earn a gold medal despite an excruciating injury to his ankle.
Fujimoto later explained, "Pain is temporary, but I'll always have the medal."
William Brewer, president of the Carson City Stake, is chairman of the LDS scouting-relations committee, which planned the event with the approval of the seven stakes involved. He said the event was designed to put the boys and their leaders in a situation where they could draw closer to one another.
