Climbing at the Cliffs

A little late, but at least it's out and it's still 2015.  Great 2 weekend session at the Cliffs.  The Scouts earned their Clibming merit badge and Hemry and Michael got instruction in Bouldering. 

Here is everyone with one of the instructors who is an Eagle Scout.

For all the photos of both days please check out the Troop photo archive at:

https://picasaweb.google.com/114081196567743974684/CliffsDecember2015?authkey=Gv1sRgCKGg8eWk5OXF_gE

Flaming Eagles Start Their Sled

The Flaming Eagles started their sled this weekend.  They have all the wood collected, measured and cut.  They are now ready to start building.  They have a good plan and I think they will have a fantastic sled.  Looking forward to seeing the final product.

For all the pictures from their first work session check out the Troop photo album at:

https://picasaweb.google.com/114081196567743974684/FlamingEaglesSledBuildingNovember2015?authkey=Gv1sRgCIXFybr48PeY7AE

Environmental Service Project

Last weekend Troop 4 spent the day battleling the invasive vines threatening the health of the trees at the Open Land Foundation's Baxter Preserve.  We had a good crew to start the day with three additional members of the community helping out plus a few more scouts who arrived later in the day to lend a hand.

Thanks to the NSOLF for providing a pizza lunch to fuel our efforts.  It's a never ending battle but we know we are making an impact and fulfilling our scouting obligation to help both the community and the environment.

To see all the photos of the day's effort check out our picture page at:

https://picasaweb.google.com/114081196567743974684/VinecuttingBaxterRoadNovember2015?authkey=Gv1sRgCMvHhqyw9eTMuwE

Orienteering at Westmoreland Preserve

We had a great turnout Saturday for the Hudson Valley Orienteering Club's (http://hvo.us.orienteering.org/index.php) orienteering competition at Westmoreland Sanctuary.  Troop 4 had 10 Scouts competing, and each Scout competed in two events. 

Orienteering is a fantastic sport, it combines multiple skills that are usually not found together into a single competitive experience.  The scouts must be able to read a map to identify course and direction, make decisions on best routes, use clues to find objects, work as a team, all while running through the woods.  Doing any one of those things while running is a challenge, doing all of them is really really hard.  Some lessons from the day where sometimes the fastest way to an objective is not in a straight line.  Going around obstacles can be faster than going through them.  Breaking tasks down to be shared by a group is more efficient than having a single person responsible for everything.

The competition was stiff and the crowds large, but one of our teams pulled off the course record for the day on the White course.  This is the second year in a row one of the Troop teams has won the White course.  This course had 41 individuals/teams competing, Troop 4's three teams finished 1st, 8th, and 20th out of 41.  One of our teams was made up of Scouts who never competed in an orienteering competition and they still managed to finish in the top half of the competition.  They should all be very proud of their accomplishments.

The White course is 1.6km long, our Scouts also competed in the Yellow course (2.1km) and the Orange course (2.7km).  The Orange is particularly difficult because the Control Points everyone is looking for were put off the trails into the forest increasing the challenge of finding them.

All the results can be found here:

http://hvo.us.orienteering.org/content/results2015/ExploreSanctuary2015Results.html#White

To view the complete photo record of the day please check out the Troop photo site at:

https://picasaweb.google.com/114081196567743974684/OrienteeringWestmorelandPreserveOct2015?authkey=Gv1sRgCPfQpKOekP-D3gE

Catamount Ropes Course

No rain, but plenty of cold weather at last weekend's outing.  Fortunately everyone was prepared.

The ropes course challenged everyone.  Several scouts with fears of heights successfully faced those fears and we all had a great time.

Each Scout spent about 2.5 hours up in the trees going from obstacle to obstacle.

I think the coolest part came after the ropes course when we got to camp on the ski mountain.

We made our base camp next to one of the chair lifts.

Did I mention it was cold?  Even all bundled up the Patrols had the time to put some extra effort into their meals and what fantastic results they had.  Some of the meals I sampled were pulled pork sandwiches, BLT, spaghetti and meatballs, and sesame chicken.  All were fantastic, boy can these guys cook.

For the full photo record of the outing please check out the Troop picture page at:

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

American Red Cross First Aid App

First, thanks to everyone who helped kick off our First Aid Kit fundraiser today at the PQ harvest Fair.

While first aid kits are something everyone should have, it is as important to know how to use them.  Troop 4 makes first aid skills a top priority but not everyone has access to the training our scouts get. 

A good second option is the American Red Cross First Aid App, a remarkably consise and easy to use tool you can carry around on your phone.

Please "Be Prepared" and download the app.  

http://www.redcross.org/mobile-apps/first-aid-app

Troop 4 Purdys

Lake Lila Fishing Venture

This year's venturing trip was a canoe fishing trip to Lake Lila in the Adirondacks.  5 Scouts, all Second Class and above, took part and fished hard over 4 days.

Lake Lila is a remote lake buried deep within the William C. Whitney Wilderness Area of the Adirondack Mountains.  Accessible only by driving down 10 miles of semi-maintained county roads, then 5 miles on a two lane dirt road, follow by a single lane dirt road for 6 miles to the trail head and finally a 1/3 mile portage of all equipment down a trail to the access point, the lake is the largest body of water in New York State that the shoreline is 100% owned by the State.  While this might not be quite as remote as last year's venture it was close.

With a large storm moving in Thursday night we hastily found a campsite on the lake and made camp. By 9pm we were all buttoned up and in our tents as the rains started.  A hard steady rain lasted until early the next morning but all tents and equipment stayed dry.

Morning brought sunshine and the start of three perfect days of weather for the rest of the trip.

Mornings and evenings were filled with fishing and our downtime was during the afternoons between sessions on the water when we cooked our big meals and rested around the campsite.

The scouts got lessons in filleting fish and practiced on their catch, then cooked everything up for very tasty evening snacks before bedtime.

Back home and rested its time to start thinking about next years venturing trip.

For the full photo record of the trip please check out our Troop photo album at:

https://picasaweb.google.com/114081196567743974684/LakeLilaFishingTrek?authkey=Gv1sRgCNe-qpbspsm2MQ

Camp Read Wrap-Up

What a splendid week.  Thirty-six merit badges started, twenty-five completed with several more partials from last year completed during free time. 

On top of the merit badge activities we managed to go caving, climbing on the rock tower, swim, and participate in many of the camp wide activities.  Troop 4 also managed to fit in some time for a Read service project helping to keep the beach clean at the waterfront.

We managed an archery competition during siesta against Troop 1 Mount Kisco, competed in the Quadrathlon (rock climbing, archery, running, and swimming), and the Staph hunt.

It's amazing the Scouts found time to keep the campsite up and cook all their meals but they did.  Not only were they terrific cooks but for the first time ever at Read they managed to cook and clean all their meals quickly and efficiently and had tons of extra time because of it.  

Almost every morning the Troop was fed and cleaned up with an hour to go before the start of the day.  The decreased levels of stress for the adults associated with not having to push or rush the scouts so they didn't miss the start of the day or evening activities can't be overstated.

For the complete photo record of our time at Camp Read please check out out photo album at:

https://picasaweb.google.com/114081196567743974684/CampRead2015?authkey=Gv1sRgCMD9gL7u2ZPtYw

2015 West Point Invitational Camporee

6,600 plus Scouters, 200 plus Cadets, West Point's Lake Frederick Training ground, and again great weather made for a fantastic weekend.  Our campsite (Jump Zone) was one of five different sites spread out around Lake Frederick.  Each with its own water truck and sanitary facilities.

The Cadets start organizing for the Camporee in September and manage to pull this enormous event off each year on their own.  It's hard to believe that these young men and women are only 3-5 years older than our oldest scouts.  And a group of nicer people you will never meet.  After working long hard days entertaining the Scouts they were pleasant and cheerful and friendly to the end.  They all still had their end of term papers to complete and finals to study for but they gave 110% to make the Camporee memorable for all who attended. Most are former Scouts themselves so I guess that isn't too surprising.

Our two Cadet hosts for the weekend were Bill Pogue (L) and Sumner Ogrydziak (R).  Bill and Sumner spent time with the Troop when they weren't busy running one of the stations during the day.  Bill and Sumner arrived out our Camsite at 6:15am Saturday morning to get our Scouts "in the mood" for the day ahead by leading us In 30 minutes of vigours physical training.

After breakfast it was off to the parade field for a demonstration by the West Point Jump team.

After the opening and the jump demonstration we hit the trail. Most of the activities were centered around things that required teamwork, physical challenges, leadership reaction, scouting skills and military themed challenges.

Cole was a good sport during the camo painting challenge. 

Teamwork was a theme running throughout the day's events.  Most challenges were presented to the Scouts in a way that made them work together. 

Prôbably the most fun was had in the mud.  The Scouts had to "rescue" a comrade by crawling through a pit of mud.   To make sure each scout who participated was muddy enough the cadets continued to add water throughout the day.

The final results were magnificent.

After a long day on Saturday the Cadets hosted a bonfire and DJ to entertain everyone.

Most of our scouts were in their tents and out before the end of the party, including our SPL and Quartermaster who we had to get out of bed to go attend the Scout's final leadership briefing.

The next morning it was time to start breaking down the campsite and cleaning up.

Then Sumner and Bill arrived to take our Troop to the parade field and prepare them for the presentation of the Troops to the Commandant of West Point in a parade of all the Scouts.

Finally, it was time to hike back out and end the weekend.  Through a mix up on Friday one of the trucks was parked at Lake Frederick and we were able to load all our gear and drive it out saving us a lot of time and effort packing it out.  The morning was hot, and the climb out was steep.

For the complete photo record of the weekend please check out our Troop photo album on the web at:

https://picasaweb.google.com/114081196567743974684/WestPointCamporeeMay2015

Clear Lake Campout

I knew that our newest scouts would be great campers, but I also now realize that they are good luck.  Three outdoor outings in a row since they joined and each was a nicer day than the one preceding.  I am not sure that has ever happened to us.

Clear Lake Scout Reservation also known as Durland Scout Reservation is our nearest Westchester/Putnam owned Scout Camp.  1,400 undeveloped acres, with 2 lakes, 18 miles of hiking trails, orienteering courses, geocaching courses, archery range, rifle range, and just 45 minutes away.  If that's not enough its adjacent to Fahanstock State Park making the Camp feel even deeper in the woods.

Our hike in went off without a hitch.  Most of the Scouts packed too much and the Patrols brought too much, but neither proved excessive enough to cause a problem.  Everyone was amazed we were able to hike in the mile to our campsite as quickly as we did.  It bodes well for our three mile hike in two weeks.

After breakfast on Saturday the new Scouts and some of our second years spent the morning in the Campsite working on the core outdoors skills that are part of the first few rank advancements.  They are eager learners and we even caught a few of the Scouts reading up and studying on their own during free time.

After lunch we completed the Tote N Chip requirements and all Troop 4 Scouts are authorized to use knives, saws, and axes on Boy Scout sanctioned activities.  Campsite 43 is now littered with once mighty sticks reduced to near toothpick size.

The older Scouts spent the morning canoing and were joined later by the scouts who stayed in camp to work on advancement.

After lunch our boys decided they didn't want to go for a hike.  They can be seen here conspiring with their leaders to plan their coup.  What they didn't fully realize was what we do is up to them, the original agenda was built by the Scouts.  What isn't acceptable is to not have an alternative plan, doing nothing is not an option.  So we sent the Scout leaders back to the Troop with instructions to come up an alternative that was appropriate to our time and place.  They eventually settled on going back to the waterfront and taking out the kayaks instead of taking the hike.

Meals and cleanup went off without any drama, and everyone shared in the clean up, preparation and cooking of the meals.  Each Patrol took their meals together.  The Batmen went a little upscale with a chicken fried rice recipe that I think will end up in their meal plan rotation.

The Flaming Eagles won our best campsite competition as judged by our SPL and two ASMs using the campsite judging criteria the Cadets will use at West Point.  Hopefully this dry run will make it easier to pull off a quality site inspection in two weeks.

After a long day and Troop campfire filled with songs, skits, and some stand up comedy everyone retired to their tents to either go to sleep or play some cards before bedtime.  I am certain they all slept well Saturday night.

For a complete photographic record of our camping trip please check out our Troop photo album at:

https://picasaweb.google.com/114081196567743974684/ClearLakeApril2015