They lost a piece of girlhood, then reclaimed it in an unlikely place

Isolated by covid and technology, young women go on a quest for friendship at the formerly boys-only Scouts National Jamboree

August 10, 2023 at 6:00 a.m. EDT
Lucy Hurd, center, 13, and Mia Strouder, 14, participate in an archery class at the National Jamboree in Glen Jean, W.Va., on July 21. (Photos by Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)
13 min

GLEN JEAN, W.Va. — At any moment, Audrey Perez knew it could all fall apart.

The 16-year-old sat on a piece of tarp and stared at Mia Strouder on the other side of the wooden Jenga tower: three feet tall and already trembling under its own weight.

Audrey had barely survived her turn. She tugged a block at the tower’s rickety bottom while her two companions, 14-year-old Mia and 13-year-old Lucy Hurd, chanted: “Fall! Fall! Fall!”