Klondike 2012

Saturday, January 21st Troop 101 attended the annual district Klondike Derby. Held for the last several years at Ringwood State Park, in Ringwood, NJ, it is the event where troops from around the district compete for bragging rights as to who is the best trained, and skilled troop.

As the name might imply, the Klondike is based around the Iditarod, the dog sled race that runs 1150 miles from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska in 10 - 17 days. All the troops have a sled (just like the dog sled, though some can get quite interesting looking) that carries various pieces of equipment, that the Scouts haul from one station to another testing various Scout Skills, from firebuilding to First Aid. Each station awards points (a maximum of 10 per station) and the troop with the most points at the end of the day wins 1st place.

Every Klondike has a theme, and this year's was the Gold Rush. To encourage the theme, the organizers asked that everyone dress accordingly, and for once, Troop 101 were not the only Scouts and Scouters wandering around in cowboy hats and dusters. I'm pretty sure that most of the period costumes were left home due to the snowstorm that hit dropping 5 - 6" of snow on the ground, and dropping the temperature to somewhere in the teens. While the snow was great for moving the sled (on skis) from station to station, it tends to make an individual where more modern fabrics for keeping warm than what was offered to the average prospector in the 1890's.

At any rate, after a delayed start to weather, the boys managed to complete 10 of the 15 stations, with total score at the end of the day of 80. Breaking this down, if a patrol gets a perfect score at every station (and completes every station) there is a potential 150 pts. to be had. Since we only were able to complete 10 of the 15, this leaves us with potential 100 pts. Since we earned 80, I'd say the boys did pretty well for themselves, scoring all 8s, 9s, and one 10.

At this point we don't know where we ended up in the rankings, but I'll let you know when I do. Also, we were only able to get two pictures, and as soon as my camera defrosts, I'll post those up.

Congratulations, and good work to all our Scouts!

Janaury 2012: Camp Yawpaw, Mahwah, NJ

Once again Troop 101 is out and about after our holiday break. This time we stayed close to home, and headed to Mahwah, NJ to the lovely Camp Yawpaw. This trip was the final trip before the Klondike Derby, so it would be where the Scouts would be able to practice all their fieldcraft before the big day.

There are some trips that go smoothly, according to plan, and without a hitch. Those trips where, things are so routine, that they are boring, and are quickly forgotten in the collective memories of the members of the troop.

This was not one of those trips.

To start with, we initially had 4 Scouts attending the trip, but in the last few days before leaving two backed out. One because of a boatload of schoolwork, the other for family reasons. As the leader of Troop 101 I would like to see all the Scouts attend all the trips all the time, but family and school always come first. When all is said and done, you still need an education, and if it wasn't for your family, you A) wouldn't be here, and B) wouldn't have a ride to said event.

At any rate, as our policy is if even one Scout wants to go, and we can get enough adults, we go. So, piling into the big blue pickup with our two newest Scouts, we made our way to the camp without incident.

The first issue with this weekend was that it was probably the coldest of the year thus far. Topping out during the day at a whopping 31 and dropping down to 12 with a windchill of 4 - yeah, you could say it was a little brisk out. However, our morale was boosted by the knowledge that this is the one trip of the year where we stay in an actual cabin with heat, so it wouldn't be all that bad.

We grabbed our packs, checked in with the campmaster, and started heading towards the cabin. The cabin, as it were, is not only 3/4 of a mile from the parking lot, but it is at the top of the hill within the camp. As you can imagine, on a good day it is a schlep, on a cold day with your pack, troop gear, wearing extra clothing and below freezing temps - its a bit of a trek. So, we gathered as much as we could in two trips, got water and started making the cabin home.

Before I go on, let me say this about the water. The water in the area has a high iron content which is a chronic problem throughout the area, not only with the camp's well, but also with the water that is piped to the comes in the area. This causes two things: the first is it makes the water an orange-brown color, and the second is that new Scouts are reluctant to drink it even when its boiled extensively.

After huffing and puffing, we were all pretty thirsty, so we decided to drink a little something. As it happened, all we had was a carton of orange juice (that was suspiciously already open) which we almost killed that night, and potentially leaving us with nothing to drink in the morning. OK, no big deal, we had plenty of hot chocolate, and mix to make iced tea. However, we were more cold than thirsty, so we figured now was the time to get that cabin all nice and toasty.

The two Scouts got the fire going, while the adults took care of getting the food and other equipment in order, and getting some firewood cut. The nice gentleman who was our campmaster is also a very devoted woodsman, and was nice enough to bring up a few loads of firewood for us before turning in for the night. The guys got the fire started, and I stepped in to get it really going, while everyone organized and gathered wood for the long cold night.

It was at this point that we hit our first major bump in the road. As I was working on the fire, I guess my might lungs blew a little to hard on the coals, and the vertical part of the chimney fell off the stove. (This is one of those "stoves" where you take a 55 gallon drum, put it on it's side, add legs, a door and a chimney and burn things in it. There was a vertical chimney piece on the "stove" itself, and then a permanently attached chimney to the building. This allows the drum to be replaced.) The elbow that attaches between the vertical and the stove had rotted to the point of becoming the equivalent of paper, and the weight of the vertical was enough to make it finally give way. We managed to get the vertical back on, but there was a gap of about 6" between the temporary and the permanent chimneys. We figured, it would be fine, and watched as the smoke was sucked up the chimney.

Well, the way these things work is the fire creates a suction that carries all the smoke up and out. For this to work properly, the chimney must be sealed. So, in our case, every time we opened the front of the stove, smoke would come billowing out the front. Needless to say, within a few minutes, the cabin was filled with smoke.

So, we opened the doors, and let the smoke out, and the cold air in. There were two windows up in the vertical eaves of the cabin. One was nailed shut. The other opened quite easily by the glass falling out and smashing on the rocks outside. Well, I guess that's one way to open a window...

At that point, we bundled up and went to bed. To combat the cold night, we all took our extra clothes and placed them in the sleeping bags with us. One of our Scouts decided it would be better to wear all his clothes, so he went to bed about 40 lbs. heavier. Despite the cold and wind, we survived the night.

The next day we got the fire outside going and got breakfast cooked. Taylor ham, eggs, cheese and bacon on an English muffin. As we were cooking, I was asked to grab a plate to put the cooked bacon on while we got the eggs going.

It was at this point we realized that we had grabbed the one cook kit with no plates.

Argh. Fine. We had two frying pans, so we used one to place the cooked pork products on to one side of the fire to keep warm. While eating breakfast, we (obviously) got thirsty. Oh yeah, we're pretty much out of orange juice. So, rationing that (it was cold though!) we were down to making hot chocolate. We had placed the kettle on so the water can start boiling - however, you can't boil iron out of water. Not wanting to haul iron-laden water from the well (which was back at the parking lot) I decided to go down to the car and head out to Shoprite and get some water and pre-made iced tea.

So, off I went.

On my way out, I stopped at the campmaster's to let him know the stove situation. He said he needed to check for spare elbows, and if he had one, he'd come and fix it.

I headed to Shoprite, got three gallons of clean water, and two containers of Arizona Iced Tea and, after a brief stop at Dunkin' Donuts, headed back. I pulled into the lot, and put my heavy clothes back on. Then I realized that I had to haul 5 gallons of liquid back to the cabin. (Which is the exact amount of water that the beverage cooler holds that we didn't want to carry all the way.) OK. So I took some rope, and tied the jugs to me, and started making my way back.

Now, being the dedicated coffee drinker I am, I decided to walk a few yards, then take a drink. I mean, I didn't want to drink cold coffee did I?

Two heart attacks and a minor stroke later, I got back to the site and we finally had clean water for... whatever, and tea to drink. My two ASMs were working 1-on-1 with the Scouts on woods tool use, and knots and lashings. One of them really took to the knots and lashings, the other (mostly because he put 2-and-2 together and realized that more cut wood means bigger fire means less cold) took to cutting, splitting and burning wood.

Not long after, our committee chairman showed up to join us for dinner, and with the good news that the campmaster had found a spare elbow. We'd have heat tonight!!

Well, the campmaster arrives not to much later (with our 3rd load of firewood) and starts to work. After removing the old hardware, he begins to attempt to get elbow A into hole B. Hole B does not have the same size shape as elbow A, so using his trusty micro-adjustment tool (read a pair of channel lock pliers) he pounds the hell out of elbow A until it fits hole B - to no avail. He figures he needs a flange of some sort to adapt elbow A to hole B - and they reside at the store in Paterson. So, giving us his regrets, he packs his tools and heads back to the nice, warm, HBO having campmaster's cabin on the other side of the camp.

Enter Mr. Emmetts (the elder). He takes a look and states he can fix it, and heads off to his car in search of tin snips, a Dewalt codless drill, hammer, and a few paving stones (which oddly enough, were to be found right next to my tuck in the parking lot.) After 3 heart attacks, a stroke and an anneurism (he's in his forties and was carrying at least 120 lbs. in paving stones) he returns with everything he needs to fix this stove.

To fix a stovepipe at Coyle Cabin, Camp Yawpaw:
Step 1: Using a piece of firewood, return the elbow to its original shape and repair all damage created by campmaster and pliers.

Step 2: Using tinsnips, cut the one side 19 times about 1" into the elbow from the edge, creating 20 tabs.

Step 3: Bend every other tab 90 degrees out from the elbow.

Step 4: Place non-bent tabs into hole on stove.

Step 5: Reach into elbow, and bend inside tabs around hole, creating a flange. (You know, the one that was in Paterson?)

Step 6: Using a hammer and a flathead screw driver, split all the pavers in half, and use them to prop up the front and rear of the stove, so you close the gap of 6" to the main chimney, making the rear higher than the front so all smoke goes out the back and not the front.

Step 7: Light a roaring inferno in the stove, and stay warm.

Step 8: Close the now (*ahem) "open" window by screwing a found sheet of metal over it.

Finally, we had some heat. We had a great dinner of Sloppy Joes, cheese and broccoli pasta, and the portable salad bar that Mr. Emmetts (the elder) always travels with. He headed home, and we retired to the cabin for the night.

As with all fires, they have this annoying habit of going out - which is what happened in the middle of the night. Since we were all warm in our bags, no one was willing to get up and get it going again, and we all woke to a very, very chilly morning. Deciding it was better to be warm than eating right away, we decided to pack and eat our cereal in the car of the ride home.

Also, our two Scouts were a little frozen over by the time we got them to the car, but judging by them running around at the church when we got back, I'd say they are no worse for the wear. Sometimes, no matter how big the fire, or how warm the clothes, if (like in the case of these two Scouts) you have little body fat or muscle, you are going to get cold and/or be cold. After some time in the hot car, they thawed and were ready for whatever was coming next. Our final piece of business was leaving a roster (written on a cereal box) with the campmaster and we beat feet and headed home.

We returned, unloaded our frozen equipment, and headed home for a warm shower, and a much needed warm bed.

Time once again to clean up all the gear, repack, and head out on the next adventure - hopefully one that is a little less bumpy, and a lot warmer.

Happy Holidays & Happy New Year!

Troop 101 wishes you and yours a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a happy and healthy New Year!

December 2011: Cannonball Trail

Normally, the troop schedules a camping trip every month (except for August), however over the last few years, we normally don't get a lot of attendees for the December camping trip. The reasons are several, but the top two are either the Scout needs to go and visit family for the holidays, or the parent doesn't want their child getting sick so close to Christmas and Hanukkah.

So, in wanting to keep the outing in Scouting, we decided this year to do a day hike on the Cannonball Trail, which runs through the Ramapo Mountain Range in Oakland, and parts of Ringwood State Park. (Frankly, its a beautiful hike that more people should be on).

The Cannonball Trail itself is about 15 miles from Oakland heading North - however (like we did) you can take one of the many side and additional trails that run through the mountains, and turn the hike into a giant loop - and I do mean GIANT. The SM had his pedometer running on his phone (an app that is a must for any regular hiker), and when the battery ran out at 3/4 of the way through the hike, we had just about hit the 8 mile mark. A rough guess would be that we hiked around 10-12 miles.

The weather was brisk, but nice, which made it interesting getting the amount of layers need correct. When heading up some of the more steeper areas, your body was warming up and sweating profusely - so you remove a layer - only to be shivering as you descend the other side of the rise. The trail was pretty wet and muddy due to the volume of rain, but there are ways around everything, and for the most part, we survived quite well, and had a great hike. Special kudos go to Mike "The Foot" who was our trail leader for the day.

Total time on the trail was roughly 7 hours or so - which may be a record for a hike of that long for 101!

Pictures can be found here.

2011 Wayne Rotary Fruit Sale

This Saturday marked the 20th year that Troop 101 has assisted the Wayne Rotary at their annual Fruit Sale. The Rotarians sell cases of oranges, grapefruit and apples and it is T101's job to distribute the pre-sold cases to the citizens of Wayne.

Sounds like a lot of work? Yeah, it is.

However, we had surprisingly mild weather for the first weekend in December, and despite the hard work, we had a lot of fun - though I'm not sure there is an event where we don't have fun. While we don't know the actual number of cases distributed, we can say that we filled several big orders - and big trucks -  for other charity organizations, which then distribute the fruit to the needy at places like Eva's Kitchen in Paterson, NJ.

Some facts of the day:
1.) one order filled was for 65 cases of oranges, and 35 cases of apples.
2.) another order (which was picked up in two Chevy Tahoes converted to hearses) was over 100 cases
3.) each case weighs 42 lbs.
4.) our youngest and smallest Scout - Danny - weighs between 70 - 75 lbs. He was more than capable of lifting the cases of fruit without assistance into the cars. The cases were over half his body weight!

At the end of the day, each Scout went home some fruit, some sore muscles, and some service hours under their belt - and the knowledge that they helped a lot of people, and I don't mean just the Rotarians - who are very grateful that we can make it every year.

More pictures are here.

11/2011 Washington, D.C.

Every other year, the troop takes the extended weekend vacation of teacher's convention, and heads to a different state for a trip through a historical city or place. The schedule rotates between Boston, MA, Gettysburg, PA, and Washington, D.C. This year was our trip to D.C.

We left on an overcast day Thursday morning, right on schedule. Traveling down we saw fog, and more fog, and decided to take a break at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland. Sadly, not only was the ordinance museum closed, but many of the tanks, armored vehicles and artillery pieces were gone - all being moved to a new facility in Virgina. (Probably so that visitors don't need to go through the security check to get on the grounds.) However, we still wandered the few acres of open field looking at various tanks from WWI, WWII, the Cold War Era, and Vietnam. The tanks came from many different countries, and we had fun trying to figure out where they were from, and what era they were in. Since the exhibited vehicles were in the process of being moved to a new home, many of the description plaques were gone, leaving us guessing as to what exactly we were looking at. Despite the rather brisk autumn breeze, we managed to spend about an hour out there discussing ordinance. After that, it was brief stop at Wendy's for lunch, and we were back on the road.

We entered the Lorton, VA area with minimal difficulty, but once we hit side streets, we realized that our stopover in Aberdeen put us at rush hour. So, after a several mile crawl, we got to our campground after dark, a very nice former BSA camp called Camp Wilson.

Immediately, we got to work on setting up camp, and had a great meal of pork chops, Zataran's rice, salad and applesauce, it was off to bed to get some rest for our hike the next day.

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Friday morning was a beautiful, clear and (very) crisp autumn day, with a pretty cold wind blowing through. After a great breakfast of pancakes, we packed a lunch, jumped in the car, and drove to the Metro station. Being Veteran's Day and a federal holiday, tickets were a reduced fair (yeah!).

Riding the Blue line into Metro Center (for about 30-40 minutes) we began our tour. Starting from the Metro station, we headed for the White House Visitor's Center, where we saw an exhibit about the building and re-construction of the White House as well as a short video that discussed the day-to-day operations of the White House and its staff. (It also gave us some time to warm up).

Being led by Mike "Foot" Kane, we headed to the White House, where we discovered that they had closed the side walk that allowed you to get a good pick of the building. Not wanting to stand and freeze until the sidewalk opened back up, we started heading south towards the Washington Monument. On our way there, we made a brief stop at the Boy Scout Monument to take a few pictures (we are Boy Scouts after all!) We then continued south to the base of the Washington Monument (which is closed to the public until further notice) around the north side heading west to the WWII monument. (After running into a Segway tour filled with people from Wayne!)

For those who have never seen the WWII monument, it is truly something that needs to be seen in person. To make matters more interesting, being Veteran's Day, the entire city was crawling with vets of all wars, as well as wreathes, and small personal memorials. Several pictures were taped to the monument while we were there. Walking along the upper part of the monument closest to the Reflecting Pool (which has been drained and is in the process of being expanded) we walked the northern side of the pool towards the Vietnam War Memorial, which featured a live band playing songs from the time, and we happened to get there was the official ceremony was starting. Since the ceremony was going on, we couldn't get too close to the wall itself, but got close enough. After heading over to look at the Combat Nurses Memorial and the Vietnam Soldier's Statue, we then headed to the Lincoln Memorial.

Here we viewed the Memorial, and had lunch. Heading south again, we worked our way to the Korean War memorial, where we met a veteran of the war dressed as one of the statues, in his original uniform. Heading... south (I think) we worked our way to the tidal basin, where we hit Washington's newest memorial, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. This memorial was supposed to be dedicated the day of the earthquake, though happily, it survived without any damage, and is a great memorial to the man, and a beautiful piece of artwork.

Walking around the tidal basin, we stopped at the FDR memorial, then headed to the Jefferson Memorial. On the way there, we saw a very, very, very small wedding taking place on the grassy field next to the building. They said "I do" as we stopped to watch. Heading up the Jefferson Memorial, we saw the upper statue and dome, then headed to the underground exhibit, where we took a few minutes to learn about the man, and warm up again.

From there, we headed north away from the Tidal Basin towards the U.S. Mint and our next destination - the Holocaust Memorial Museum. This is a museum is something that I personally feel everyone should visit at least once in their lives. It can be very intense, even for adults. That being said, we unfortunately managed to get there and get wrapped up one of their temporary exhibits about Nazi Propaganda, and after 4:30 they stop letting people into the permanent exhibit. However, the Scouts did see the exhibit about the propaganda, and an exhibit that they have called "Daniel's Story" and version of the main exhibit aimed towards children.

As dusk settled on D.C., we made our way east along the Mall, towards the Capital, and ended our tour at the Supreme Court. From there, we jumped back on the Metro for a very sleepy and quite ride back to our stop. Jumping in the car, we headed back to the site for a great dinner of steak, beans and salad, and getting to sleep for another long day in the museums.

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The next morning we awoke to another bright, clear day with a lot less wind and a bit more warmth. After a breakfast of Taylor ham, eggs and cheeses on English muffins, we once again made lunch, drove to the Metro station, and rode in to the Capital, where we had a tour time of 11:30.

The Capital requires that you arrive at least 45 minutes early to go through security. Upon arriving outside the visitor's center, they have you get in line and let in groups of 20 through security at a time. Outside is where they tell you that there is no food or drink allowed inside at all. So, Mr. Foray volunteered to sit outside and watch our belongings while we took the tour.

Getting through security quickly, we got our passes and had 20 minutes to kill. We wandered through small exhibit about the history of the building, and then got in line for the tour. After waiting 10 minutes, we entered an amphitheater where we watched a 10 minute movie. From there, we lined up for our tour, which took us through the vault under the dome, through the dome itself, and the statuary room.

Total time on tour: 10 minutes.
Total time spent waiting and getting ready: 30+

Needless to say, the tour wasn't really worth the morning it wasted.

At any rate, we headed to the Air & Space Museum, and spent an hour there looking at the history of flight, and afterwards had lunch on the front steps. Heading across the Mall, we hit the Natural History Museum, with great exhibits on all sorts of creatures, and the planet itself, as well as the hall of minerals and rare gems, which includes the Hope Diamond. (As you can imagine, there were a lot of women in the hall of gems and around the Hope Diamond.)

At this point, with dusk settling on the city again, we decided to call it a day, and head back to the site. There, Mr. Israni joined us for Thanksgiving Dinner: fried turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, biscuits, gravey, corn and MORE SALAD!! We gorged ourselves on a really great meal, and while waiting for dinner to cook, the Scout worked on rank advancement. After dinner, it was KP, and then to bed.

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The next morning was another great day weather-wise, but alas, the end of our trip. We had a light breakfast of crumb cake, OJ and coffee, packed our gear, said goodbye to Mr. Israni, and headed home. Before leaving, our two newest Scouts had a Scoutmaster's Conference, and are now the rank of Boy Scout.

We hit the streets, and knew we were back home when we hit traffic on every road we got on...

All in all a great trip, and as Scoutmaster I hope that your Scout had a fun and informative time.

Now to clean up all the gear, repack, and head out on the next adventure.

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Pictures from the trip can be found here. If anyone would like a digital copy or a print, please let me know.

9/2011 Camping Trip: Swartswood Lake, NJ

Location: Swartswood Lake, NJ; Emmetts Lake House
Weather: mid-60's to mid-40's; partially cloudy and cool

Food:
Saturday:
      Breakfast: Pancakes, Bacon, Orange Juice and Coffee
      Lunch: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Brownies
      Dinner: Pot Roast, Spaetzle, Corn on the Cob, Brownies, Popcorn
Sunday:
      Breakfast: Taylor Ham, Egg & Cheese in a Pita

Well, this was our first trip of the 2011-12 season, and as usual, this is the trip to really figure out what equipment we need (or forgot), what needs to be replaced, what needs to be fixed, and what needs to be cleaned because it didn't get put away properly the last time we used it.

The first lesson I think we all learned is that mother nature has a sense of humor. Initially, the location was chosen so that if it was unseasonably warm (or seasonally warm depending on climate change) there would be the opportunity to take a dip in the lake, and have some fun in the water.

So of course what that means is its the perfect time for a double cold front to push through.

However, 101 being 101 we were for the most part prepared. A few of us wished that we had brought an extra jacket or fleece, or even a pair of light gloves, but the fire pit kept us warm, and the Scouts with us stayed in the boat house, while the adults slept under the stars.

Despite the cold, the boys managed to do a little canoeing, and explored a small island and found a few metal artifacts, as well as a little kayaking, and a trip in Mr. Emmetts' M-Scow sailboat. There was a light breeze heading out, and the paddling back the last 100 yards or so helped the Scouts burn off the morning's pancakes...

After that, we got into an impromptu fishing tournament, between the scoutmaster, one of the assistants, and both Scouts. We were competing for "Scoutmaster for the night" as well as bragging rights, and happily, the Scoutmaster stayed the Scoutmaster for the duration of the trip, followed closely by one of our newest Scouts. Our oldest Scout, however, managed to catch the largest Sunfish - the 13' sailboat variety. Parked on a dock. With no sail. He also managed to catch two docks, and cast so hard out that he shattered the bobber on the line. While our assistant Scoutmaster was attempting to fish, he didn't manage to catch one, however, he did dump enough breadcrumbs in the water to keep the fish near the "quay".

After the "fishing derby" the adults cooked dinner while the Scouts worked on the requirements for the Boy Scout rank, and afterward we sat around the fire talking and enjoying the crisp night air.

Finally, on a more somber note, we did have one fatality this weekend. Our 1st Assistant Scoutmaster discovered that while one can kayak and take pictures with a waterproof digital camera, the manufacturer does suggest using a float when on the water in case the camera goes overboard. The manufacturer was, in fact, correct on that fact. Sadly, he lost the camera overboard, and it now is resting comfortably in Davy Jones' locker. Despite deepwater salvage efforts, the camera could not be located and is considered lost. Happily, there were no important (or incriminating) images lost, though we have no images from the weekend.

All in all a good camping trip. Now to clean the gear, repack, and on to the next adventure...