Wednesday, January 19, 2011

2010 Backpacking Trip Day 1

The key to any high adventure trip in Troop 5 is that it has to be at least three nights. I have learned over the years that boys have figured out how to camp over two nights, but the third adds the little extra. You have to plan more and pack correctly.

We left from Key Elementary like we always do and actually on time. I was blessed as an adult leader to have six adults including myself to take nine scouts camping. Two of these adults were young Troop 5 Eagle Scout assistant Scoutmasters, a high school Senior and a sophomore in College. These type of young adults make the trip so much smoother, plus they have the energy to keep up with the boys.
The plan was to get to Sid Richardson Scout Ranch, divide up the gear, and hit the trail. Over the years I become very frustrated with this process. It seems that it takes forever for boys to figure out that goofing off at the beginning of the day makes the end of the day a long way off.
In traditional Troop 5 fashion, the boys took forever to divide the gear and hit the trail. This caused the crew to adjust their goal of their first night campsite to being a much shorter distance. This new crew was not hiking very quickly, but at least they were steady.
We bedded down for the night at Hermit’s Cave campsite. On a positive note, we had one heck of a fire that night.

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