December Update

Snow cancelled one of our regular meetings this month but we continue to work on the communications merit badge and working on the dining hall table and benches for gerber scout camp. We have completed the structure on the table and benches now our attention turns to the finishing.

Next month we will begin work on the family life merit badge and we have a winter camp planned.

November Update

So far in November we have had a number of good activities and projects.

On November 4 we began working on the communications merit badge. The boys learned to make an short introduction of themselves.

On November 6 we worked on our table service project, completing one bench.

On November 7, we attended a merit badge fair with other troops in the stake. All the boys who attended made good progress on a number of eagle required merit badges. We had William, Chase, Jaxon, and Dylan there.

On November 11 we completed troop leader training and made patrol flags.

We are planning a fund raising drive to raise money to put a flag on the flag pole at our church. We need $100 for the flag and another $100 to put a solar power LED spotlight on the flag. Our first effort on this front will be to offer hot chocolate and donuts at the ward thanksgiving "turkey bowl" activity." We hope to raise over $100 in donations at that event.

We plan to spend another friday night working on the table project this month.

Update on October activities

We have had several sessions of troop leader training and a productive weekend activity to work on the table that we are building for gerber scout camp. The table is structurally complete however we still need to finish the benches and then begin finishing the work.

We also began the communications merit badge October 21. This merit badge will take a lot of home work. We will continue this merit badge on November 4.

Troop Leader Training

As we start the new school year we will be updating our troop leadership assignments and we will begin a three part course in leadership training. We will also kick off our 100 years of scouting celebration and take a look at the calendar for the coming program year.

Stake Court of Honor

We enjoyed a very successful summer and this was evident at our court of honor this week in cooperation with the other units in the stake. Every boy in our troop earned at least one rank advancement. Every boy earned at least two three merit badges.

We are turning some of our attention to the eagle required merit badges that the boys will need to progress towards eagle.

Gerber Summer Camp

WELCOME BACK FROM SUMMER CAMP.

We had a great week at gerber scout camp.

Thanks to all the parents and friends who made this possible.

We completed five rank advancements, 8 complete merit badges and 8 partial merit badges.

Pictures are posted on the album. Apparently I deleted the pictures from the first half of the week, so I don't have pictures of swimming, playing volleyball and other fun things. But I do have the flag ceremony and the climbing tower.

Pictured rocks Backpacking trek.

We enjoyed our 50 mile trek through the beautiful pictured rocks national lake shore this week. Here is a day by day summary.

Sunday night:

Jaxon and Gabe slept in my back yard so their mothers would not have to get up at 3:30 a.m. to get them out the door on time. Chase and Matt planned to ride over together in the morning with Bro. Berg. Bro. Allen was also planning to arrive in the morning with William.

Monday:

We departed at 4:00 a.m. from Bro. Oliver's house. Bro. Allan was driving his large van. Bro Allan, Bro. Oliver, Matt B., Gabe, Chase, Jaxon, and William were in attendance.

We ate breakfast as snacks as we went. The weather was cool and misty across michigan as we traveled. We arrived at the Grand Sable visitors center just before noon on monday. We obtained our permit to stay in the back country and ate our lunch. After making final adjustments we left the trail head around 1:00. The mosquitoes were thick and the weather was cool and wet. The rain was not actively falling but everything was wet. In the first few miles our pants and shoes got wet from the grass and plants. We had to check our map and compass after a few miles to get ourselves oriented because there was no sun. It felt like we were traveling north east but we were really traveling west (which was the correct direction). We hiked about 9 miles before arriving at Au Sable point camp site. We were cold, wet and tired. We set up camp filtered water from lake Superior, cooked dinner and skiped rocks on the beach until about 8:00 then headed for bed.

Tuesday:

We woke up late and made a fire. All the wood was sopping wet. To get the wood to light we had to use some of the alcohol fuel from Bro. Oliver's stove. We tried to dry out our boots without much luck. We had a 12 mile hike this day. We passed the Au Sable light house and started the hike down 12 mile beach. The trail ran along the top of the dunes for most of the way. The weather was wet and cool again. Gabe struggled on this day, moving slowly and not feeling well. He collapsed several times along the trail and left Bro. Oliver and Bro. Allan worried about him. When we arrived in the area of our next camp site around 4:00 we had some trouble finding the site. We had to hike half a mile off the Lake Superior shore to the shore of Trappers Lake where the camp site was located. We set up camp in a misty rain and cooked our supper. Our water filter failed at this point. We managed to filter a few liters at a very slow rate (10 minute per liter instead of the 2-3 liters per minute we expected). We treated some water with iodine tablets but after neutralizing the iodine and adding a propel drink mix the water was undrinkable.

Wednesday.

The weather was wet and cold again. We did not have to move our tents so we were able to leave Gabe at camp to rest. We left william and Bro. Allan to keep an eye on him. The rest of us hiked south of beaver lake along the edge to the beaver basin wilderness area to little beaver lake. We were able to fill up our water bottles at the drive-in camp ground there. We returned to camp by hiking up to lake superior and along the lake superior shore to our camp. The weather was so wet and cold that we spent the evening in our tents keeping warm and dry. Gabe was very discouraged and wanted to go home. We did not have any way of sending him so he had to press on.

Thursday.

We broke camp early, around 8:00, in the misty rain and got on the trail headed to the Coves camp ground. We expected to meet up with Bro. Smith sometime in the morning. He would be starting from Little Beaver Lake Camp Ground and joining us. We would use his car on friday to get Bro. Allan's van to the end of the trail. We started out on the Beaver lake trail for a few miles before heading north to the Lake Shore Trail. We met an other group of hikers at the Lake Shore Trail who told us Someone looking to meet up with us had passed by and was headed for Seven Mile Camp (about 4 miles past the junction where the trail to trappers lake splits off). We continued on, Bro Smith knew where our camp was supposed to be so he would find us eventually. We only had to hike 6 miles and Gabe seemed to manage ok. We finally reached the end of 12 mile beach and started along the section of the lake shore featuring the rocks of Pictured Rocks. We reached camp about lunch time and set up tents. Several scouts were out of water again so we took another trip to little beaver lake camp ground. This time a 6 mile round trip. We kept an eye out for Bro. Smith along the trail. Chase and William made the hike with Bro. Oliver while the others came part way and then returned to camp to wait for Bro. Smith. The weather seemed to dry out a bit and we were able to build a decent fire and dry out some sleeping bags, shoes, tents an clothes before heading down to the beach for a bit of fun. We returned to camp and headed to bed around 8:00.

Friday.

We started out around 8:30 for our last day's hike. Bro. Allan headed to Little beaver camp ground to get Bro. Smith's car and use that to get his van to the point where we would exit the trail. The rest of us headed out. The weather was dryer and somewhat warmer. A cold wind blew off the lake until lunch time. While we ate our lunch the wind died down and we enjoyed some time along the lakeshore in the sun for the first time all week. The cliffs were more impressive as we went along. Many stunning views and overlooks. Gabe was much stronger, strengthened by the promise of heading home by the end of the day. We reached miner's castle, our ending point, around 3:30. We wearily loaded into the van and drove back to Grand Sable to get Bro. Smith's car. The drive home took us until just after mid-night.

The boys had a good time and learned several good lessons. They all finished the trail, even though it was wet, cold and muddy.

Friday

Wednesday June 24

This week we finished preparations for the backpacking trek. We will leave bright and early next monday. Anyone who wants to can stay sunday night in my back yard so that your parents won't have to get up quite so early.

Good luck on your final preparations.

Keith

Progress report on tables

attendance was pretty low for our table building night. We will have to follow up again. Look forward to an invitation for a special work night.

We are two weeks out from our backpacking trip. The details are falling into place. We have added one more night of backpacking instruction. June 24 we will be learning about light weight backpacking stoves.

Next week

Next week we will finally be working on the table and benches for gerber scout camp.  We will Meet at the Berg's house.  we can review any backpacking questions you may have.

This week we had a 2 mile warm up hike today.  We also looked at packs.  The boy's gear ranged from 20 lbs. to 40 lbs.  The leaders gear was a bit heavier.  Below is a guide to help with packing.  Some of these things can be shared, others will be necessary. If you have any questions ask me.

Description	Contents
Essentials Kit	Matches and/or lighter Compass Space Blanket (for emergency) Pocket knife or multi tool Vaseline, sunscreen, lip balm, insect repellent 2 meter's nylon cord (rope) headlamp / flashlight toilet paper, diaper wipes, & Kleenex Hand sanitizer  medications
Clothing	5 pair socks either hiker socks or non-cotton athletic socks 1 athletic long sleeve shirt 2 athletic t-shirt 2 pair athletic shorts 1 pair athletic nylon pants 1 hat 5 pair Underwear
Rain Gear	Poncho or rain suit.  Breathable is better
Shelter	Tent sleeping bag Sleeping pad Small pillow or a pillow case (stuff with clothes to make a pillow)
Cooking	Stove (with wind screen) Small pot, 3-4 cup fuel bottle (full-Know how much fuel you need) Sierra cup / mess kit Silverware (spoon/fork)
Hydration	There will be one or two water filters the boys can use.  They work best with a 1 liter wide mouth lexan (nalgene) bottle 2 L worth of water bottles
Food packed so that it is easy to put into a bear box.	5 dinners (pack one extra of each just in case) 5 breakfasts 5 lunches 10 trail snacks
First Aid	Basic first aid including moleskin,
Toiletries	travel toothbrush, tooth paste, & body wash, lightweight towel

Plan B for May 13

We have made a change in the schedule for this week.  We had planned to work on a table and benches for Gerber Scout Camp but we have moved that to June.  This week we will start the backpacking merit badge.  

May 6 meeting

This week we began the personal fitness merit badge.  The boys tested themselves at running, sit-ups, pull-ups, and push-ups.  We will re-test in July.  be sure to work-out so that you can improve.  Each boy has a list of the book requirements.  They should make some notes on each of the book requirements and contact Bro. Openshaw to meet with him and discuss those requirements.

We also helped teach the cub scouts first aid.  It was a good review for the boys as well.

Next week we are planning to go to Bro. Berg's wood shop and work on a table and benches to give to Gerber Scout Camp to replace tables that were destroyed when their dining hall collapsed last winter.  We have back up plans if Bro. Berg is not ready for us to work on the Table this week.  We will provide transportation to and from the Bergs for those who want to meet at the church.

 

Upcoming Activity

May 6 we will be starting the personal fitness merit badge.  We will be doing exercises so come dressed appropriately.

We will also be helping the cub scouts learn some first aid.  This should be fun for everyone.

Court of Honor on April 29

Thanks to everyone who attended our court of honor this week.  We gave awards to most of the active scouts.  Several boys were only a few short requirements away from additional awards.  Keep up the good work.

Minutes from April Troop Committee meeting

We held our monthly troop committee meeting this week.  Here are the important items we discussed.

We will continue to use e-trail-to-eagle for tracking the advancement.  Christy will renew our subscription.

Garrett is planning to work the flag fund raiser with Jaxon.  Any boys who would like to join them are welcome to.  They will distribute flyers to the homes in the neighborhood across the street from the church on May 13 and then visit the neighborhood door to door on saturday May 16. (we discussed May 20 but that would be too close to memorial day).  The money from this fund raiser can be used to cover the cost of Gerber scout camp, the  50 mile backpacking trip at pictured rocks and any of the expenses for the monthly meetings.  Part of the money helps the troop with equipment costs.   

We have William, Jaxon, Chase, Gabe, Matt B. down for the 50 mile backpacking trip to Pictured Rocks.  We have sent in our request for our campsite reservations.  We may be able to add additional boys if others decide to go with us.

Commitments for Gerber Summer Camp are Due by May 1.  Money can follow by June 1 but we need numbers by May 1.

Joe is planning to start the personal fitness merit badge with us on May 6.  He is also looking for a 5K race for us to participate in later in the summer.   

Carl is getting us ready to build a table and four benches for the new dining hall at Gerber.  We will be working on them May 13.

We will work on the backpacking merit badge in June and complete the merit badge on the 50 mile trip.

We have a court of honor April 29.  

Report on tree planting service project

We had a good time and did a lot of hard work at Bro. Morse's Oldfield property Yesterday (april 18).

William, Jaxson, and Dylan spent the night and got an early start planting in the morning.  Gabe joined us shortly around 9 o'clock.

All of the 1000 pine and 350 oak trees were planted, matted, staked and tubed by 2:30 when we headed for home.

For breakfast we ate instant oatmeal as a warm up for backpacking breakfasts.  The unanimous opinion on the oatmeal is that we can make better oatmeal if we mix our own oats with sugar, instant milk, creamer and dried fruit.  

Flag Fundraiser

Since we have two fun summer activities coming up we also need to consider the cost of the events.  We will start our annual flag fund raiser next month.  Be sure to let me know if you plan to participate so we can plan accordingly.

Gerber Summer Camp

It is time to make summer plans.  

The troop is going to Gerber Summer Camp July 26- August 1.  They have an excellent program and it is a good chance for the boys to earn a few merit badges.

We need commitments before May 1.  Late registrations may be available but there will be a late fee.  If you make a commitment and then need to cancel, not all of the fee is refundable.  please check your calendars and let me know.

Backpacking trip Commitments

June 29-July 3 we will be backpacking at pictured rocks national lake shore. We will hike just over 50 miles.

We need to make reservations so please let me know by April 19 if you plan to hike with us.

Camping this weekend

The Troop is going up to the Morse property to help with the tree planting effort this weekend.  We will leave from the church at 6:00 p.m.  Please eat dinner before we leave.  We will get up to the property at about 7:30.

Plan for all weather conditions.  We will be planing trees rain/shine/snow.

We will arrive back at the church around 5:00 saturday.

Activities for April 8

This week we will be continuing to learn about backpacking and
orienteering.

We will be planning our scheduled camping trip for april 17-18.

We will also learn about backpacking food, cooking, and cleaning
cooking gear. We will see and use several types of backpacking
stoves and talk about advantages and disadvantages of each type of
stove. We will talk about ways to save weight without jeopardizing
health and safety.

There will be more fun and games as well.

Minutes from Meeting on 4/1/2009

Item 1)

we counted the food items collected in the scouting for food drive this year.  Our total is 253 items.  Thanks to everyone who donated and to the cub scouts and boy scouts who helped distribute bags, collect and count the items.   

Item 2)

We discussed our backpacking trip planned for June 29-July 3.  We plan to leave very early on June 29.  We will start at Grand Maria in the mid afternoon and hike 7.1 miles to the Ausable East camp ground.  Tuesday we will hike 14.6 miles to the Coves camp ground.  Wednesday we will remain at the coves camp ground and make a 12 mile round trip around beaver lake. Thursday we will hike 12.8 miles to reach the Cliffs camp ground.  Friday we will hike 6.4 miles from the Cliffs out to the Munsing falls visitor center.  We plan to take a shuttle bus back to our car and drive home that night arriving late.

Item 3)

We practiced orienteering skills around the church parking lot to find the package of cookies which we enjoyed for treats.

Next Week:  We will continue making plans and learning backpacking skills for our backpacking trek,  we will also plan our April 17-18 overnight trip to help Matt Morse plant trees.  We will also get information about summer camp July 27-Aug 1.

Assignments: we need firm commitments from boys for both the backpacking trek and the summer camp by the end of the month.

Our Next court of honor is scheduled for April 29.

New Troop Blog

Welcome to the new troop blog.

This is a tool to help Troop 318, Based in Wyoming MI, coordinate, plan and discuss our activities.