Riding to summit of Pikes Peak

The air at the summit will be thin, containing about 60% of the oxygen available at sea level.  It will also be quite chilly, rarely higher than 40 degrees.  Hopefully, they will remember to wear warm clothing.

After lunch, they’ll head to La Junta, CO, which is about 2.5 hours southeast of Colorado Springs.  Tonight, they will see a performance by the Koshare Dancers.  Interesting to note is that the members of the Koshare Dancers are all members of either Boy Scout Troop 232 or Venturing Crew 2230 of the Rocky Mountain Council, Boy Scouts of America.

Eagle Dance

After the show, they will spend the night at the Koshare Kiva.  This building is the largest self-supported log roof in the world.  Six hundred and twenty logs, weighing over forty tons, span across a room sixty feet across and the roof is self-supporting.

The Koshare Kiva

Garden of the Gods Park

Later, in the afternoon, Whitewater Rafting was on the agenda!

Whitewater Rafting

Our Scouts have had this on their list of things to do for many years now, so I’m particularly pleased that they are getting this opportunity!  Hmm…  I wonder how many of them fell out of the raft?  I can’t wait to hear the stories when they get home!!!

After a hearty breakfast prepared by Annette McHugh, our Philmont contingent boarded the bus at 6:30 AM headed for the airport.  I must say, they all looked quite spiffy in their uniforms!  I just spoke with John Howe, they have cleared security at the airport and are waiting for their plane.

They  will be landing in Denver, CO around 12:30 this afternoon (Denver time).  From the airport, they will head over to the Air Force Academy for a tour.

Picture of the Air Force Academy Chapel

May 17^th was troop 603’s first shakedown hike in preparation for the High Adventure trip to Philmont. The troop was broken into three crews, the Scorpions, the Billy D. crew, and the Roman crew. The hike on Saturday was originally only supposed to be 10 miles but due to some creative changes in the route which we traveled some crews hiked anywhere from 11 to 14 miles. Those of us who were in the Roman crew just loved hiking so much we went two miles in the wrong direction just for the sake of going two miles in the wrong direction (yeah). After we got back to where we started and moaned and groaned a little Mr. McCann inspected our back packs to show us how much extra weight we were carrying. Then we made our way back to camp where you could find us either playing football, digging holes, collecting fire wood, moaning, or a combination of them. Sunday morning we had breakfast burritos

Our next fund raiser has the potential to be a big one, if everyone gets out there and sells tickets.  Keep up the good work!

Calling all those who get lost in the woods (Mr. Sharkey…), mark April 29th and May 13th on your calendars!  MAJ Trunzo from the Delaware National Guard will be conducting Land Navigation Training for our crews.  Just in time, too, since our first shakedown will be at Wharton State Forest in May.

Finally, don’t forget that this weekend is Eastern Mountain Sports “Club Sale”.  Might be a good time to stock up on some gear…

That’s all for now….

Our first “Shakedown Hike” is in May, at Wharton State Forest.  The terrain is flat, and we won’t have to carry all that much.  Everyone will need a backpack, but that doesn’t mean that we all have to go out and buy anything…  The troop has a couple “loaner” packs that will do just fine for the first shakedown.  We do, however, need to know who has access to a backpack and who does not.   For those that don’t have access to a backpack, we’ll work on finding one.

A big, huge THANK YOU to Mr. Howell for taking notes!

You should not be carrying more than a 1/4 of your weight. The presenter who is 160 lbs only carries a 12 to 15 lbs pack.

A wide padded hip belt that fits above the belt line is important to distribute the weight properly

Internal frame pack will cause you to sweat more unless you buy the expensive ones with a fabric screen and special poles between you and the bag

External frames transfer less weight to your hips making it harder to support on your shoulders

Shoulder straps should fit snuggly on your shoulders

Small folks may want to get a junior or womens pack

Body measurement for your pack is from the point on the spine where your neck bends at the shoulders to the point on the spine opposite your belly button.  This torso length should match the torso length stated on the pack

The presenter had a bag he got on the Internet.  The brand was Granite

Gear, he mentioned other good brands Osprey, Gregory,and of course EMS.

He suggested EMS for growing boys who will grow out of their bags quickly.

When talking about size he spoke in volume 70 liters or 4500 cubic in. is more than we will need.

In his pack he lined it with a trash compactor bag. He used his sleeping pad as an outline then filled inside of that.  He packed trekking poles as tent poles.  He used a chemical water treatment kit(aqua meera) don’t know about spelling.  He said it was the same as Newark water.

In his bag he also had sleeping cloths, cooking kit, food bag with rope, first aid kit, fire lighting tool, water bottle

Sleeping bag – he had a 40 degree down or synthetic bag that collapses into about 1ft by 6in pouch.  He also packed a silk liner for colder nights.  He said that would add 10 degrees to the bag. Tyvec ground cloth, store sleeping bag when not hiking in a cotton bag not compacted for longer life

For shoes he suggested steel shank hiking boots, they were heavy. He said if you are carrying over 35 lbs this is important. Otherwise he said light hiking boots suggested brands were Vasque Breeze, Garmont Flash

We can receive a 15 % discount if you mention that you belong to troop 603

April 18-19 20% off

 March 9, 2008:  Backpacking clinic at Eastern Mountain Sports

 March 29, 2008:  Pancake Breakfast at Kingswood United Methodist Church

Our fund raising efforts have started, and we are off to a good start!!! Thank you, Mr. Sharkey! The next stop on the fund raising express is a Pancake Breakfast on Saturday, March 29th. Sell those tickets!

Don’t forget, on Sunday, March 9th Eastern Mountain Sports has agreed to conduct a “backpack clinic” for us. Need directions? Click here.

Interested in seeing the awesome Power Point presentation that was created to introduce this trip?  Click here.

That’s all for now.