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

Vine Cutting Recap

A little late, but I wanted to make sure I got this out.  We had a fantastic and productive day cutting vines and freeing trees from the death clutches of the invasive vines choking our forests.  I hope all the scouts and our non scout volunteers felt their time was useful and productive.

The volunteers broke into 3 groups and worked three different areas of the Preserve.  Over the course of the day we had 26 scouts and volunteers helping.  I would like to thank our new scouts for a tremendous effort and for getting Mrs. Tate to come out and help us.

I ran into the property steward this week and she was really impressed with our effort and said she thought she needed to rent a wood chipper to dispose of all the vine cuttings we made around the property last Sunday.

The full photo record of the day can be found on our Troop album on line at:

https://picasaweb.google.com/114081196567743974684/BaxterRoadVinecuttingApril2015

Behind the Scenes Work to get ready for Camping

Our SPL and the three Quartmaster spent their Saturday afternoon waterproofing and applying UV protection to the new Troop tents as well as the older ones and making sure they were all in good working order.

Then when they were done the Quartermasters split up and took possession of their Patrols equipment for the Spring camping season.  The Quartermasters job is to make sure that all equipment is cared for properly and is available for use on each campout.  Not the most glamorous leadership role but during a campout you know if you have a good Quartermaster or not.

If they do their jobs well you will never remember who your Quartermaster was.

Good job today guys.