Campfires, hiking and baked beans are all commonplace for members of the Boy Scouts of First United Methodist Church's Troop 447, who recently spent a weekend on a camping trip at the Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge in McBee, S.C.

While the fires, hikes and scorched food all made appearances, the campout was hardly a common one.

After learning about local plant and animal life from refuge forester Jack Culpepper, the scouts were invited by Culpepper (affectionately referred to by the scouts as "Ranger Jack") to take part in a “Tree Hunt”, with the goal of finding a massive cypress tree. The cypress tree, like Ahab's white whale, had been difficult for Culpepper to relocate after he first discovered it during a hike.

Accepting the mission, the scouts and adult leaders divided themselves into two search parties, with one heading east and the other heading west.

Following an hour-long trek through the refuge's sopping wet, briar and thicket laden marshlands, one of the groups found the legendary cypress that Ranger Jack had been seeking over the prior months.

According to Culpepper, the cypress tree discovered was the largest ever found within the bounds of the refuge, to the delight of the scouts.

Understanding how rare it is to have a captive audience of teens and pre-teens, Culpepper took advantage of the opportunity, demonstrating the process of "coring" a tree to the scouts.

Coring, which is technique used to date trees, begins with a hollow rod being driven into a subject tree. The rod is then removed, along with a cross-section of the tree's core, which includes its rings. Those rings are counted to reveal the tree's age and health.

As their reward for locating the tree, the successful group was given the privilege of naming the tree.

"Leroy" was the name selected by scout Christian Kang and the others of his group.

"It was pretty exciting," said Kang.

"I was proud to find (the tree)."

Troop 447 concluded their day with a visit to a site which evoked some feelings of nostalgia for some of the scouts. Two years ago a number of the 447 scouts had planted 300 six-inch tall Atlantic White Cedar saplings, and while at the refuge the troop visited their trees -- now over four feet tall.

"The kids had a great time," said assistant scout master David Kang.

"The weather cooperated, it was perfect for hiking and perfect for the tree hunt," he added.

The troop goes camping monthly, and according to Kang, the trip to the refuge was a welcome change from the average outing.

Coming up on Feb. 27-28 Troop 447 will be hosting its annual Pinewood Derby challenge. Winners will advance to compete in the District Pinewood Derby competition, which is being hosted at the Wagram Fire Dept. on March 7 from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. The public is invited.