NYLT is training for Boy Scouts around the world. NYLT stand for National Youth Leadership Training. Going to this training is a privilege and an honor. You can only go once in your scouting life. To go again, you need to be chosen to attend as a NYLT staff. During this course, you are challenged with different tasks. These challenges include flaunting a flag, choosing a leader of the day, and other challenges in a week. You are given the following: a handbook, a list of who you are working with, and a patch of the team you’re in.

I went to the training willing to go through the challenges. The first thing I accomplished was to meet the team guide, Riley Bowling. I got the Red Phoenix team. I met my team, who consisted of Pealer, David, Bryce, and Blake. Got our camp. Then got a 2-hour lecture over what they will show you during the training. Then, my team and I went back to camp, and picked our tents. After the long day, we went to bed, but some couldn’t sleep including me. I ended up going outside and did not get any sleep.

During the day, I was the leader. We listened to a shorter lecture. Riley helped us get around the camp during the day. Then the next day was the same thing, but different leader. This carried on for the whole week. All the groups got to know everyone in the camp. This all lead up to the final day… and our last together.

The last day is the one people remember out of the whole week. This is because it was the day for the groups to be together as a team. Things went normal. We got up, ate breakfast, but ended up dragging a table to the flagpole. We were told about a hill that got its name from a man who hiked on it, and had a heart attack. This was our final challenge. We had to hike around Heart Attack Hill. We also learned more of the history of the hill, and grew more nervous about the hike. We went to the table we managed to drag to the area, and planned how we would hike on the hill. Finally we left the area, and started our journey to Heart Attack Hill.

The hike to the hill was around 2 miles. When we reached the hill, we named the hill that lead to it High Blood Pressure Hill. We went up the hill one by one from the trail being narrow. After hiking for 3 miles we finally reached the last hill. We named the hill after Heart Attack Hill. Its name was Cardiac-Arrest Hill. We hiked to the first rest stop and found out that the camp director, Mr. Cole, was missing. Mr. Cole was nicknamed Ol’ King Cole. As volunteers, Blake and I hurried to find him. After back tracking, we managed to find him lost in the woods. We escorted Mr. Cole to the rest stop, and lost our teammate David. During the hike, David had twisted his ankle. We carried on without him, and were combined with another group called The Smoking Aces.

We continued to hike on the hill with the Aces, and traveled to the next stop when the worst thing happened to me. I lost my contact. Without my contacts I’m legally blind. Unable to see, we kept going so I stayed next to one of the Aces named Clay. After hiking for two more hours we finally made it. We looked at the lake, and felt a breeze that was telling us we were done. We then took a group picture, and decided to call ourselves the Smoking Phoenixes.

We gathered one last time and presented our flag to our team guide, separated the rest of the flag, and said our final goodbyes. We were also awarded a badge, a neckerchief, and a homemade neckerchief slide. We left that day and haven’t seen each as a group since.