A group of Boy Scouts didn't let a petty thief ruin their five-day canoe trip down the Cape Fear last week.

Five boys and three adults from Troop 350 of Raleigh put in at Clark Park in Fayetteville Friday.

"It was our first time canoeing on the Cape Fear," said Scout Leader Bob Curry.

The group camped overnight at public boat landings and other locations along the way. While they were at the Huske Lock and Dam, Curry said, someone stole some fishing rods, food and snacks from their campsite.

"We found a trail of paper wrappers from a pack of Fruit Roll-ups," Curry said, "but they (the thieves) were already gone."

One of the fishing rods had some sentimental value as well. The ultralight fishing reel and rod was won by one of the boys in a contest.

"We still had a good time," Curry said.

Some of the Scouts only recently returned from a 70-plus mile hike at Philmont, the large Boy Scout Reservation in New Mexico.

Several of the boys wore their Philmont t-shirts Monday as they organized a game of touch football after securing their canoes at the portage area at the Elizabethtown lock.

"They just canoed fifty miles," Curry said Monday, shaking his head and watching the boys, "after hiking at Philmont-and now they're playing football."

The Scouts and their leaders practiced canoeing skills, outdoor cooking, and fishing. They caught bass, bluegill bream and catfish along the way.

To everyone's surprise, Curry said the Scouts saw only one snake.

"But there was a whole lot of poison ivy early on in the trip," he said.

The Scouts were treated to a steak dinner at Lock and Dam #2 near Elizabethtown Monday night. They planned to head home Tuesday.

"Everybody seems to have had fun," Curry said as the Scouts tossed a football near the locks. "They're talking about doing it again, maybe going all the way to Wilmington the next time."

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