Silver Moccasin–Chris

Three years ago, Cameron Burrup talked me into attending a Junior Leader Training course at the East Fork of the Bear River called “Silver Moccasin”. That camp was a great experience except for my fight with Jeremy Maynard (I beat the tar out of him).

1987 Silver Moccasin, Participant

A scoutmaster at the course broke a very strict rule and allowed me to stay at the camp. Rob Larsen not only did this, but he also asked me to be on his staff the following year. This was the best experience of my life. This awesome course got me excited about scouting again. It drove me to push myself to become an Eagle Scout, an achievement I can always be proud of. I loved Silver Moccasin so much that I agreed to return on Rob’s staff again the following year to be his Senior Patrol Leader, another great honor. I had nearly the best 14 days of my life. Now Rob was yelled at by Dennis Holtby for picking me to be on his staff and again for selecting me to be his Senior Patrol Leader because of the fight I had gotten into as a candidate. But that same Dennis Holtby has now requested me to be on his Senior Youth Staff this year. And we leave for camp this Saturday. I know I will have another wonderful experience up there. I can’t wait.

1988 Silver Moccasin, Troop 1 Patrol Counselor

1989 Silver Moccasin, Troop 1 Senior Patrol Leader

1990 Silver Moccasin, Senior Youth Staff

1991 Silver Moccasin, Senior Youth Staff Co-Senior Patrol Leader

1992 Silver Moccasin, Senior Youth Staff Senior Patrol Leader

This year is my sixth year up here at Silver Moccasin. I love this program so much. I had one year as a participant, 2 years on Rob Larsen’s Troop staff, and this is my third year on Dennis Holtby’s Senior Staff. This year I am the Senior Patrol Leader of the entire course, so I am in charge of about 600 scouts. It is awesome being the head honcho. I was the Patrol Leader of my patrol as a candidate; then I was a Patrol Counselor in charge of a patrol my 1st year on staff; then I was the Senior Patrol Leader over an entire troop, in charge of about 70 scouts; then I was on Senior Council, one of 6 youth on the Senior Council; then I was the co-Senior Patrol Leader on Senior Council; and now here I am this year. This program has been so good for me. I love it. I hope I can get back into it later in life as a scoutmaster or something.

After Darren’s open house, my family drove me up to Silver Moccasin.  We didn’t get here until about 10:00pm, so I just worked on the duty roster for a while. I love camping and I love it up here. There is just the sweetest feeling. I am glad I get a break from work and all the other pressures at home. The only thing that sucks up here is the cold. It is 30 degrees and snowing right now. I hope the weather clears up. Whey my family dropped me off, I kissed my mom and everybody cheered.  June 14, 1992

Today was a sweet day. We woke up to snow but we just stayed in the lodge and worked on binders all morning. We got a lot done. Everybody pitched in and we got them all completed by lunchtime. Because of our progress, we got to go to Evanston for lunch. We had a great time. I rode with Pres and Joe. They are the biggest studs. They entertained me the whole time. They are so funny. When we got home, we separated shirts and jackets and stuff. We got that done by dinner. We are so ahead of schedule, it is awesome. After dinner, we hurried and got our work done and we went to the Beaver dams. We were there until dark and had a great time playing around. We got back and had a birthday party for Pres. He is 76 years old. He gets along with all of us so good, though. He seems about 50. After the party, we found out that Tom Hopkins, a member of our Senior Youth Staff who was heading home to send off his best friend on a mission, had rolled his car on the way out. Dennis took him to the hospital and Lynn and Joe went to look for the car. I hope he turns out okay. It’s just a good thing he was able to come get help because it was getting dark and no one knew what had happened. He was walking back toward headquarters when Craig saw him on his way out. They never found his car, we will have to look tomorrow. When we all heard about it, Evan Thomas suggested we say a prayer. I asked everyone to kneel and asked Evan to say it. It was a great experience to pray all together. Evan is such a stud. He reads his scriptures every night and he gave me the idea to do that up here. He is a great influence. I really value his friendship.  June 15, 1992

Holy cow! Tom Hopkins is so lucky. His accident was a lot worse than any of us expected. He was about 10 miles out of Evanston when he swerved to the right to miss a badger or some large rodent. He went off the shoulder of the road and then overcorrected. He slid sideways across the road about 50-60 feet, hit the left side of the road, skidded through the dirt and flipped his car. He was airborne for 38 feet, jumping upside down over the fence and landing. He then slid and rolled down a 248 foot ravine and finally stopped there. We went and saw the car and it is a miracle he survived. The seatbelt definitely saved his life, and he definitely got some help from the Lord. He somehow crawled out of the smashed car, I don’t understand how, and he realized no one was going to see him down the ravine. So he climbed up the 250 foot ravine and flagged down a car and got help from there. Everything in Toms car got smashed up except for him. His tape case was full of tapes and we salvaged about 5 tapes (no cases) out of 24. But Tom had no cuts or broken bones or anything. He only bruised his shoulder. It is so amazing. Tom came back to camp tonight, 24 hours after he totaled his car. This whole experience has been a bit of a spiritual experience for us. There is certainly someone watching over him. This is the second accident he survived against the odds in the last 8 months. He just turned in his mission papers last Friday, so he must have an important job to do or a person to find on his mission. It has kind of made me draw closer to going on a mission as well. I feel better about what I need to do. Plus talking to Pres, Joe, and Evan has helped me too. Evan is such a stud. I wasn’t going to study and write in my journal tonight, but Evan influenced me again for the better. Anyway, today was a pretty good day. We didn’t have a lot to do because we are so far ahead of schedule. So me and Dave set up our basketball hoop. It is so rad. It is about 10’ 4” high and is so much fun. We did a perfect job on it. We played a basketball game in the snow and had a blast. I also helped Barbara finish the neckerchief counting today. And after dinner, we sang and played music; had our staff meeting; and then watched Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. It was a very fun day. I am having a great time up here, but I hope the weather warms up.  June 16, 1992

I am so tired. We had a big day today and I am beat. We woke up this morning and prepared for the troop staffs to arrive. Most of the troops showed up around 9:00 to 11:00, but there were a few stragglers. Troop 6 didn’t show until about 4:00, but they are always the last to arrive. In the afternoon, we spent most of our time preparing for the staff meeting we had tonight. We helped the cooks and set up the dinner. We fed everyone sloppy joes and then had Dennis talk for a minute. It went well. We also played a bunch of basketball today. It was a lot of fun. My team never lost, even though I was always on the short handed team. Then tonight we watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. 

Last night when I was reading the scriptures, these scriptures in Alma 32 just jumped out at me. They were verses 21, 40-41, and 27. They were just what I needed to read. They talked about having faith, being patient and diligent and planting a seed in our hearts. And one cool sentence is “even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you”. This kind of gave me hope and improved my attitude and told me not to give up but to keep working diligently with patience and faith for the spirit and for the truth. They were just awesome scriptures.  June 17, 1992

Today was a pretty easy day. We went out and set up the Reception Area in the morning. It was really easy, mostly because we used the same logs as last year because we hid them for this year. After lunch, we divided the candy up for the trading posts and got it all put away. Today we got all our CB radios and we picked up a bunch of Varsity scouts on the radio and teased them for a while. I am kind of homesick. I just want to go out on a date this weekend, but I guess I will have to make up for it when I get home.  June 18, 1992

Today was very fun. We woke up early and had breakfast and then got ready for our Staff Meeting. We had a successful meeting. David Holtby and I had to talk to the entire youth staff for about 10 minutes and then we opened up the trading post. We also flagged the trails today for candidates and we finished making our Trading Post boards. The best part of the day was when we went off-roading. I drove in Barbara Holtby’s Ford Explorer and we went everywhere, including through the river a few times. 

Well we found out the Apostle Richard G. Scott isn’t going to be able to come to speak to us at church tomorrow, so Dennis asked me to speak instead. I am so worried. I have no idea what to talk about. I think I will talk about examples and friends, but I will pray about it and free up my time tomorrow to prepare for it. I want to do it because it will be a great experience, but I am worried about it.  June 19, 1992

Today we had to wake up extra early, eat cold cereal, and head out to the reception area. The Senior Youth Staff had to park cars for about 4 hours and it got really old fast. After the troops all arrived and we ate lunch, I started preparing my talk. I had to stop for a long time to go organize trading posts and I basically did it alone. Some of the guys were sleeping and some were just screwing around. We also opened the Trading Posts for an hour today. Evan and I are in charge of Tomahawk and we raked in a lot more money than all the others combined. The rest of the day I was studying and preparing for my talk. Now I am feeling very good about it. I am well prepared. I used Evan’s Ensign magazines quite a bit. I don’t think I could have done it without those. We set the clocks back today and so it is later than my watch says. I hope I do good tomorrow, since I am filling in for an apostle.  June 20, 1992

Today was the best day ever. I woke up and ate breakfast and just got ready for church. I read through my talk once before we were off. We set up the sacrament and everything and got all ready. We had some great prelude music playing while the troops filed in. Braden Burrup and Todd Crane were on the very front row right in front of me. Pres Evans conducted, Brad Mecham and David Holtby said the prayers, and Evan Thomas led the music. Keyte Behunin and Kris Williams blessed the sacrament and all the rest of us helped to pass it. We had 2 guys bear their testimony, then had a talk from the Senior Patrol Leader from Troop 6, then Tom Hopkins spoke for a minute. Everyone did a great job. Then it was my turn. I was the featured and concluding speaker, filling in for Elder Richard G. Scott, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Wow, what an experience I had. The spirit was so strong. It was such a flattering experience and something that helped me a lot. I talked about examples and I must say I did a good job. Everyone gave me compliments. Some adults even said I did as well as Elder Scott could have done. Obviously not true, but flattering comments anyway. Like Mark Twain said, “I can live two months on one compliment”. The spirit was strong while I spoke. I got choked up quite a few times. It really helped me and strengthened my testimony. I love it so much that I then agreed to speak to Troop 2 at their fireside when they asked. I spoke to them for about 25 minutes. Wow, I have been on the biggest spiritual high all day long. I feel so good about everything. We are listening to the “Celebrating the Light” soundtrack right now. We just heard the song, “The first step back is the hardest” and that song is true. But now I feel like I am on the right track and feel really good about it. I am learning how to study and pray and I love it. I want to always feel this way. I will always remember today because of our church service. I think it was one of the best church services I have ever been to. I wish I could have met Elder Scott, but he might not have come in order to help me out by giving me such a great experience. I feel so good right now and hope I can keep this feeling.  June 21, 1992

Today was an easy day. After breakfast, I was in charge of the morning assembly. We helped Ken fix some tents and then we had some free time. Me and David built a swing. It was awesome. We made it so that we could run and swing out over the big hill behind our tents. It was hard and scary at first, but we have it mastered now. Me, David, and Kris are the best at it. I learned how to do a 360 turn and then taught the others guys how. Most of the guys couldn’t figure it out, though. It was hilarious. We are going to film the swing in the morning. We also had the trading posts open for a while today. Evan and I raked in a $423.90 profit. Our trading post is doing the best.  June 22, 1992

Today was a frustrating day. I did tons of work. We had a hiking trip planned, but we had to postpone it because we had to work on the paddles all day. We had to route about 150 of them and stain 1/2 of them. I also had to go with Ken to work at the warehouse since the guys that were supposed to go were not around. We played on our swing again today and I mastered the 720 degree turn. No one else can do it. Tomorrow we are going to hike to Scow Lake, about a 5 mile hike. It should be pretty fun. I want to write some letters to my family and to some girls and to Darren and Karter.  June 23, 1992

Today was very fun. I worked on my boat all morning until Trading Post time. After that, we took off on our hike. The signs on the trail were wrong so we got off on the wrong trail, but we eventually got back on the right trail and stopped for lunch. Then we took off up the trail again. We had been hiking for about 2 hours and it was past time to turn around, but we knew we must be close to Bakers Lake so we decided to go for 10 more minutes and finally found the lake. It was way cool, but I wish we could have had more time to enjoy there. But we had to hurry back to open the trading posts. In order to be on time, we had to make it back in 1/3 the time it took us to get up to the Lake. So we jogged nearly the whole way back. It was a great workout for us and we all enjoyed it.  June 24, 1992

It is exactly halfway to Christmas. That is way cool. One troop up here actually celebrated Christmas in the staff with presents and all. I math only one up tonight. Evan did his stuff when I was playing with Joe’s video camera. Today was an easy day. Kris was spraying me and Tom with cold water when we were showering, so after he got in, Tom and I stole all his clothes, towel, and then sprayed him back with his water gun. Revenge is sweet. At the Trading Post, Evan taught me a rubber band shooting game that he was supposed to be good at, but I beat him. We also had a monster basketball game with the SPL’s were waiting for their meeting. It was awesome, but me and David were killing each other for position underneath. Tonight was our steak dinner because the participants were at their outpost hike. It was a great meal. After that, we watched the move “My Girl” and then I played with Joe’s video camera. Joe is the biggest stud.  June 25, 1992

It is 1:00 in the morning and I am up all alone. I will probably be up all night because I am working on my video. I love doing stuff like this and I don’t mind losing sleep for it. Today was miserable weather, it rained all day. But we all got through it and we even had some fun on the swing. The swing is awesome, we keep learning new tricks on it. I can do a 720 both inside and outside, and I can almost do a 1080. It is so fun. We have to get it filmed. Today was the last time we have the trading posts open. Tonight was our closing campfire and our Honor Trail. I was in charge of it. It turned out very well and I am glad we did it. It was a good experience. After the Honor Trail, we gathered in the Lodge and had a final meeting. Then we signed each others paddles and then everyone went to bed. We had to move our watched up 1 hour and so it is later than I thought. But I am resilient. I can’t believe it is almost over. The time has gone by so fast, but it seems like I haven't been home in months.  June 26, 1992

Silver Moccasin is now over. I will never forget the good times I have had up here the last 6 years and the lasting friendships I have made. This year was excellent of course. I really improved spiritually and I was able to decide a few things in my life. I also had a great time because of my friends and our inventions like our swing, basketball hoop, aerobic, etc. It has definitely been a good two weeks for me. I think I needed the break, but now I can’t wait to get home to see family and friends. Today was very busy. We spent all morning at the reception area sending off the participants. Then all afternoon at the Golden Moccasin site taking down tents. Then the entire evening at the Travis warehouse repacking it. We did get to play on the swing for a while and Joe filmed us on it. After dinner, we went down to Tomahawk Lake and had a big water fight. That was a blast. This Silver Moccasin course was the greatest ever.  June 27, 1992

Oh yeah. Laury Hunsaker is a Great Salt Lake Council guy who was at our church service last Sunday. He is taking a copy of the video of my talk to Elder Dunn to look at. He is also taking it to Philmont to show it to the Stake Presidents that area gathered there. That is kind of an ego trip. I love having a big ego, it’s bad, but oh well. I rule.

Favorite skits and songs from Silver Moccasin