When I found out I was going on Scout Hike 2026, I honestly thought it was going to be one of those weekends I would just survive, but not enjoy. My mum, after almost 3 days of arguing back and forth until even I was tired, signed me up for the hike. At first I was scared. What if my bag breaks my spine in 2? What if no one absolutely talked to me? What if I get lost and become a local legend all for the wrong reasons…? After the immense burden of packing and consolidating with my parents on if I would survive I said my final good byes and off I went. I still remember that night where I said my last good bye to my parents, seeing their faces made me feel even more afraid of the hike, them tearing up, me praying for my life. Everything felt like a mix of chaos, tears and the thought of already buying back cream... Once everyone hauled their luggage into the bottom of the bus we rode. For me the bus ride was surprisingly AMAZING, I had someone to sit next to instantly (very rare) and we enjoyed the whole ride, listening to music and watching many funny videos on my ‘emergency phone’ which at that point was way more important than my survival gear. When we reached I had my first thought: Maybe… this isn’t so bad after all…? But slowly that got nudged aside with my instant dilemma: Setting the tents. At first I was fearful of that too, as I had never disassembled my own tent. But everyone was so kind, helping each other with their tents, a horrible time turned into laughter and shared bonding plus no tent pole stabbings which I considered personal growth. The moment the tents were set up, me and my patrol went to sleep, very fast!

The next day started off strong, we ate our breakfast which for me was a berry milkshake that tasted foul, a mix of powdery gunk and a goopy concoction of supposedly ‘real berries’. The moment we left our first campsite the real hike began! For me the biggest fear was what if I wasn't as competent as the others and I got left behind…? But everyone was in the same boat. We all hiked together and after almost a short 1-2 minutes we reached our first base. For our group it was a first aid base where we had to do the classic scout skills like creating a stretcher, for me building a stretcher was almost engrained in my mind from the constant teachings in our group so it wasn't extremely hard, the only thing that was actually hard was listening to there brainrot scripts, I still don’t know how a group of 50 year-old’s can read that with a straight face. None-the-less after the many bases passed including: archery, fun team building activities and many funny and cool people along the journey we came to our second sleep point. As the first day we pitched our tents, which was easy for me, and I even helped another guy pitch his. Then it was dinner for me. I ate cup noodles which were half raw, and this other packet meal which I couldn’t finish as it tasted like mushy rice and grainy curry. After that meal I wrapped up the day talking to my patrol, sitting by the campfire, and scrolling through my phone. By then my battery was at 0% so I went to sleep, not realizing that I forgot to peg half my tent!

Waking up at nearly 7:00am I was confused as to what time it was, my phone was dead and I was super hungry. I packed my tent and luckily our patrol specially got ‘leader food’ privileges. The food there was absolutely delicious. After a long eating time we got back to the road and completed the best activities of the whole hike. We went to a mario-ninja themed game that was my personal favourite, with probably the coolest guy in a ninja outfit wearing a Rapunzel wig! We also traversed an environmental activity where we got the highest points in the quick game of jeopardy. After the activities we went to the HQ to wrap up our whole trip, dancing on the stage and listening to all the award winners. The buses finally arrived and we all settled into our correct bus placement. On the bus one venturer bought a speaker which he played catchy songs that everyone loved. After the eventful hike, we had to find our stuff and say our goodbyes to this incredible experience. 
 
At home I surprisingly missed camp-life, the thrill of being in the wilderness without any adults telling you what to do, and yes I enjoyed every moment of camp. From being scared to even sign up, to enjoying every bit of scout hike I came to realise that sometimes stepping outside of your comfort zone is the best way to experience new things, build greater bonds and have a LOT of fun during the way. Next time for scout-hike I am definitely signing up without doubt and maybe just maybe bring a battery bank for the journey!

Author: Pashaan S (1st Cherrybrook Scout Section)