Troop 4 in the Journal News 11/20/14

Not sure how this ended up in the paper but Troop 4 made today's Journal News.

A handsome looking crew!

22 Degrees

That was the temperature both mornings on last weekend's Lean To Campout at the Nooteeming BSA Camp in Salt Point, NY.  We didn't really need thermometers to tell us it was cold, our dishes, pots and utensils that were washed and set to dry froze to the tables overnight.

Fortunately firewood was plentiful and we managed some big fires.  The kind where you had to turn yourself around every few minutes because the side to the fire got too warm.

Dr. V arrived Saturday morning with hand warmers for the bottoms of everyone's sleeping bag which helped tremendously with foot warmth overnight.

Saturday we took a 4 mile hike around the perimeter of the Camp, and followed that activity up with some work on our 2nd Class requirements revolving around knife and ax care, use and safety.  Below they are learning about and setting up a proper ax yard for their work. 

Our Tenderfoot Scouts also cooked all the meals finishing the cooking requirements they had for their 2nd Class rank.

While each lean to was not too big they were clean and well maintained, each with its own fire ring for warmth.  These fire rings were all used with varying degrees of success.  We will continue to work on our firebuilding which seems to need constant practice.

Many thanks to Will O who led the planning for this event and to Quinn who stepped up as acting Patrol Leader and helped guide the scouts through cooking meals and doing chores (a thankless job).

For a full look at all the pictures from the weekend please check our the Troop picture site at:

https://picasaweb.google.com/114081196567743974684/CampNooteemingLeanToNovember2014

Vinecutting

Last Saturday we again set up camp at the Open Land Foundation's Baxter Road Preserve to continue our environmental project of battling the invasive vines choking the trees in the Preserve.

I was unable to attend so the following is a synopsis of the day provided by ASM Scott Jeffery:

"Vinecutting worked out great.  Charlotte was there from the Open Lands and drove the boys to where the conservatory wanted them.  Think the boys got the biggest kick out of riding in hers and Dr V's trucks.  They worked in the way way way back, straight past the pond and beyond in the far reaches, about a 10 minute walk from our base camp. 

Michael's set up worked out great.  He had the water, stove, snacks and tables all ready so we had a great camp.  We had a great scout turnout with 12 boys there for most of the day, and one bonus boy that I never got the same story twice on how he arrived.  The pizzas were devoured, and hot chocolate and soup always in demand (though lighting the stove proved tricky in the wind).  Henry SPL did a really great job of keeping boys together and equipment accounted for.  I presume everyone got their stuff back as I was not there for the conclusion.  He was really organized.

Weather was great for the time of year, reasonably warm with brisk breeze. 

All in all it was a great day.  The lessons from the past ones made this one successful and the lesson learned on this one is to get the word out on a broader scale and earlier.  Still seems we now have another great template for the next scout to build further on for this event."

And the Orienteering winner is:

Henry, who completed both the 1K and 2K courses with the fastest time on each course.

While the weather was cold and damp we still had 4 Cub Scouts and 4 non scouts take part in the competition, and a total of 11 teams of racers on the course, most trying both courses.

Overall a fun afternoon and a well planned activity.  Thanks to Quinn and Aiidan for the work they put into making this happen.