GREENFIELD — In the far corner of the Franklin County Fairgrounds, four boys were taking turns hoisting themselves as far up an old oak tree as they could.
They had makeshift “ladder,” made of neatly knotted strands of climbing rope attached to one of the higher branches and were seeing who could climb the highest.
“We’ve only had one kid go to the top so far,” said Boy Scout James Brannan, a member of Williamstown’s Troop 70, looking up the roughly 20-foot rope ladder.
It was the second annual Spring Scout Show and Camporee at the fairgrounds — and the first to feature some decent weather for Boy Scouts from across western Massachusetts to test their skills at archery, cooking, fly fishing and other activities on Saturday.
For Boy Scouts like Connor Nielsen, also of Troop 70 and focused on climbing the improvised rope ladder, the reason for being there was simple.
“I just like being outside,” Nielsen said.
According to Martha Maloney, public outreach person for the event, about 120 scouts arrived on Friday evening from the three western Massachusetts scouting districts — Metacomet District from Franklin and Hampshire Counties, General Knox District of Hampden County and Appalachian Trail District of Berkshire County.
The scouts came from about 12 troops and set up their tent encampments — including elaborate, interlocked-woodwork display entrances to those encampments — cooked and ate together on the first night of Camporee, before getting up to enjoy the Saturday activities, including demonstrations like a K-9 dog demo from the Montague Police Department, obstacle courses like rock climbing and a traversing a rope bridge and physical challenges like learning to use a fly-fishing rod.
The scouts were free to travel around the campgrounds for parts of Saturday, meeting other Scouts and seeing what the troops had set up.
Brannan, still focused on making sure his friend didn’t fall off the rope ladder, said the Scouts had to bring materials with them — rope, wood, tents and poles — and build their own temporary living and activity areas.
“We brought the rope, everything,” Brannan said. “But we had to improvise for all of this.”
It wasn’t just putting their outdoorsman skills learned in scouting to work that made the day fun, but interacting with other troops.
Jordan Pitts, 10, a Boy Scout in Troop 500 from Amherst — known as the “Holy Cows” — got to try out a mini handmade airplane with other scouts his age.
“The best part is just being outside and being with the other scouts,” he said.
According to Maloney, many of the scouts at the Camporee this year were “younger kids” like Pitts. This is a bonus to the event, she said.
“It’s a chance for them to move into leadership roles,” Maloney said. “They get an opportunity, because a lot of the older kids aren’t here.”
The scouts, Maloney said, can enjoy a weekend of fun, but when they leave, they will “leave no trace” of having been there.
Reach David McLellan at dmclellan@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 268.