Canoe Trip 2012

Its the Annual Troop 101 Canoe Trip on the Delaware River!!!

That's right this past weekend it was the time of year where we dust off the PFDs, load up the water guns, re-learn how to do a T-rescue, and prepare to defend against pirates and river rats and hit the old Delaware, that lazy stretch of river that people seem to think is the Colorado and rent giant rubber rafts thinking they'll get to see rapids! (and I glide by, point and giggle every year too.)

Frankly, I have never laughed so hard on a canoe trip before.

This year, we had 16 people (one of which was a Cub Scout) with 8 canoes, and we had a great time. The weather wasn't the best (it was overcast most of the day) but it was warm, the water was... I'll say refreshing, but we all know that really means cold as hell... and we had a really great group of people.

Every year, there is at least one "problem canoe" and this year was no exception, however, I wasn't expecting it to be from the Cubmaster, who is not only an Eagle Scout, but also an experienced canoer. Apparently, he, his cub scout, and the cub scout's father had an argument with gravity the day before, and gravity was definitely being a little vindictive.

Canoes work best when they are upright, not full of water, and you are in them paddling. All during the day, one of this trifecta of canoeing goodness eluded the members of this boat team for one reason or another. The CM and the Cub father attempted to paddle the runoff of a reservoir with disastrous results (though two really funny videos, one from the POV of the father in the front of the canoe thanks to a camera lashed to his PFD), something that I think was supposed to be a T-rescue but wound up being something more like a Japanese letter rescue, and the inability of the two of them to keep the boat steady through even calm water.

It was something that really needed to be experienced. I'm still waiting on other people's pictures to come in to really have the full story in image.

At any rate, we had a nice lunch on the river, the weather, though overcast was warm and at times just sunny enough to give everyone a little sunburn, and the river itself was 3.5' over normal, and running like fast and steady. Other than a little more sun, we couldn't have asked for a better day...

...well, less pushy ducks knocking on the side of the canoe for food would be nice. (I think they might have been visiting from Central Park...)

Unfortunately, my normal photographer was at the anime convention along with some of the Crew and several of my ASMs, so there aren't that many photos. I was taking them with my iPhone, and happily they are pretty clear considering I had a waterproof case it was in, and photographing through a wet piece of rubberized clear plastic. (That's why they might seem a little foggy). I was also alone in the canoe as I apparently can no longer so simple math without significant amounts of caffeine in my body, and it was hard to paddle, steer, and take pictures at the same time. Despite this, there is some video (I have to figure out how to post it) and a few pics here.

Want to know what happens? COME ALONG NEXT YEAR!

Sadly, is the last trip for us for the normal Scouting year. We will be heading to summer camp in July, and then we are done until September when school starts again. Now we can properly stow and clean the gear, and I'm going to go and get some sleep before I have to go to summer camp, and start this all over again in September.

Wayne Day 2012

Every year the township of Wayne has what is called "Wayne Day" - think of it as a Founder's Day or, um... a town fair? I actually have no idea what it would be similar to... sort of like a flea market but no one is selling anything?

At any rate, much like a flea market, individuals can purchases booths and are allowed to set up whatever they want to get people talking about their organization or business. Local banks and merchants are usually there, along with several of the churches in town, food venders, a small traveling circus, rides for the kids, a petting zoo, food court... you get the idea.

Whether you know it or not, Wayne is a large township, almost on the verge of being classified as a city, and within the town there are 8 BSA troops as well as 7 Cub packs, at least one Venture Crew (maybe two we're not sure) and one Explorer Post run out of the municipal building. To say that Scouting is a large part of the community is putting it mildly. Two of the troops (ours included) are celebrating our 75th year of service, and at least one is celebrating its 50th. So, not only are we a part of the community, we have been here for a long time.

This year in an effort to represent all of the Scouts in Wayne, Bob McDevitt, a former Scoutmaster and Scouter with Troop 134, tried to bring all the troops in Wayne together to try to properly represent Scouting.

Including Bob, or total response was 4.

Be that as it may, we split the tasks of the booth between the troops; 101 would handle the lashing project and the information table, Troop 192 would handle the cooking demonstrations, and Troop 102 would handle the model campsite. The model campsite was set up, and s'mores cooked over... we'll say open fire, but for legal reasons it was charcoal - while mountain pies were made and distributed with pineapple upside down cake by 192. Of course 101 being 101 had to do something totally ridiculous and absurd for our lashing project, so we constructed a... barn that was 12'x15'x18'. (Yes, you read that right.) Not only did it cover the information table, it also had a monkey bridge built off the back, which seemed to be a big hit with the everyone-that-would-never-be-eligable-for-Boy-Scouts crowd, but we let them run around on it none the less.

The highlight of the day was the 2 1/2 year old girl, who after her brother refused to cross, crossed not only once but twice without a hint of fear in her eyes.

Crew Advisor McLarty is patiently waiting for her to be eligible for Crew 100.

That being said, the weather co-operated with a minimal shower here and there, and all of our adults enjoyed climbing on our barn - Miss McLarty watched the trapeze artist from the top of the structure, which was pretty much the same height as he was - as well as the adults from the other troops that were with us.

All in all, we got a few potential Cub Scouts, a few potential Boy Scouts, and whole lot of girls for the Crew (after all, this was a recruiting event for us). Crew Advisor McLarty was doing her darnedest to build up that crew, and thanks to the less-than-enthusiastic-about-camping Girl Scout leaders in the area, I think the Crew may be back big time.

So if you are in the area next year (its the second Sunday in June) swing by and see what we've built! I don't know how we're going to top this year's structure... big monkey bridge? Tower? Ferris wheel? Trebuchet? Ballista?

Pictures are here.

Memorial Day Weekend: 101 Family Picnic

To mark the end of our year, Troop 101 likes to have our Annual Family Picnic to have an evening of food, fun and a few awards.

This year was no exception. We had our traditional fair of burgers and hotdogs, along with side salads, regular salads, a whole bunch of desserts and a little island music to top it off. We dragged out the volleyball set, had a few games, and all in all, had a really great time - and the mosquitoes seemed to be staying at bay!

The weather was great, and thanks to our resident grille master, Mr. Emmetts, everything was cooked just right and tasted wonderful. Also a thanks to Mr. Emmetts (the younger) for making sure we had everything we needed for night.

We didn't have any awards to hand out, but just getting together where everyone can chat and eat is maybe all we needed - and not too much Scout business was discussed.

Pictures are here.

May 2012: Camp Turrell

Troop 101 was out and about again in May and what better way to practice all those Scout skills you've been working on since September than by building your own shelter!

Yes, that's right - the boys had to take all those skills they've been learning and actually apply them to something other than getting their next rank. Friday night we headed to our old stomping grounds of Camp Turrell and stayed over Friday night at the lower camp, Camp Kluge. This is the winter camping area for the Dow Drukker Scout Reservation, which is what the property that contains both camps is actually called.

Friday we stayed in the lean-tos at Camp Kluge, and we had some snacks and played a few games of capture the flag. In the morning, we cooked breakfast and packed up all the equipment we would need, including food and water, and headed up the mountain to Astronomy Hill. The only thing at Astronomy Hill is a fire ring, and a lot of bugs. That's it. Whatever we needed had to be strapped to our backs, and hiked in. To accomplish this, all the group equipment we needed was divided between everyone's packs, and we started out on the yellow trail. (The Yellow Trail links the lower camp of Kluge to the upper camp of Turrell). The weather was well into the 70's or 80's and by the time we reached the top, everyone was huffing and puffing. The distance was not far, probably no more than a 1/3 of a mile, but the vertical climb is pretty steep, with most of the old time Scouters referring to it as "Heart Attack Hill". (Happily, once we unslung our gear, had a little water, we were all fine - no heart attacks.)

However, the top of the hill in an open clearing is much warmer and brighter than in the shade of the trees at the bottom. The temperature steadily rose, while the group worked on their individual shelters. Everyone made sure to take breaks, and all were helped by their respective leaders.

We had 4 scouts with us, who paired off, and 4 crew members, who with 3 being Eagle Scouts were left to their own devices. The fourth, Natasha was assisted by Crew Advisor McLarty.

After working hard on their shelters all day (with one collapsing because of a weak limb) we had a great meal of steak and potatoes with snacks and we sat around the fire watching the stars. The sky was clear, and we could see not only constellations, but also the Milky Way, several satellites, and even a shooting star (we don't call it Astronomy Hill for nothing.) Despite being quite the cosmic experience (pun intended) it really illustrates the amount of light pollution that a city can create.

In the morning we had a light breakfast, and returned our shelters back to the wilderness from whence they came. The trip down was considerably easier thanks to gravity, and the fact that we had ate all the food and dumped all the water we had.

It was a great weekend, we all had fun, and it showed us where we needed to work on our field craft. The one issue we did have - and here is warning to all those who enjoy the outdoors in the summer - due to the mild winter we had, the tick and insect population is through the roof. We had to make sure that we were well covered in insect repellent, and despite this we were constantly picking ticks and spiders off of us and our gear.

In fact, many were reporting finding ticks still on them several days later. For those concerned, you can generally feel ticks walking on your skin - they like getting into all kinds of places on your body, and are really easy to pick off and kill (burning or cutting in two is the best method.) When you get home from your event or trip, immediately take a shower, and look through your hairline as well as all over - when they stop moving they can latch onto the skin, and it takes a pair of tweezers to get rid of them. As for your clothes and gear, wash everything in hot water, and dry in the dryer. The heat will take care of them. Make sure its taken care of quick - otherwise they will find their way onto pets, into clothes, and you'll be back where you started. They are more of a nuisance than anything else.

At any rate, we headed home, cleaned everything through and through, and now its time to stow the gear, and get ready for the next adventure.

Pictures can be found here. Let us know who you thought had the best shelter! The winner gets a little something at the end of the year party! (Keep in mind the one with the beautiful slate wall is studying to be a landscape architect.) Enjoy!