Newport Dunes February 2011

So, after going snow camping last month, we decided to go to the beach! Only at the campground on Newport's back bay there are no waves. But there is a heated pool and so we can cause a little havoc before camping on the sand of the bay

And, of course, it wouldn't be an official Scout trip without a camp fire. It's kind of good that there isn't anything flammable on the beach. We sometimes have a hard time keeping the fire in the ring.

We spent some time Saturday morning experimenting with a diet coke and Mento rocket. We weren't real impressed but we did get it to blow up a little.

Daniel and Devin and Jared went out canoeing and then decided to go for a swim. The water was a little cold so they didn't stay in long. There was a lot of whooping and hollering and they left the canoe out in the bay so the other canoe had to go get it. We had a good lesson on why we wear PFDs and bring extra BVDs.

Canoeing in the OC wilderness.

Blue Ridge SNOW CAMP!!!

Here's the crew ready to load onto the chair lifts

TannerJeffRobbieKylerCodyTannerDevinJaredJerLoganBrighamScott

After a sucessful ride up and a short hike we set up camp and had dinner.


Jer

Jared

Scott and Jeff

Fire!

CodyTannerQKyler

Thier tent broke so they slept "under the stars"

DevinTannerBRobbie

BrighamLogan cookin' taters for breakfast

TannerQ made his famous french toast

Logan&Jared sledding... or crashing.

Devin on the downhill

Robbie and Devin

Ready to ride the lift back down. These boys got a lot of attention. Most were pretty impressed that they had camped over night in the snow.

At the bottom after a great trip.

Next month: Newport Dunes!

Checking out the snow

Snow camp is coming up January 14/15 so since Di was with the Laurels in Oceanside on the 8th, I decided to go up and check out the snow. Here is the start of Accorn Trail. Somebody's been here already!

I followed snowshoe tracks for about 1/2 of a mile. I think I need to get some of those. If I stepped out of the tracks (and sometimes within them) I would sink down to about my knees.

About 1/2 mile up the showshoes turned around. It was getting pretty steep. So I put on the crampons and went about another 1/2 mile. It was steep and deep and a lot of work to kick step in snow above my knees. You can't see how steep it was in the pic, but it made the geezer wheeze. I don't think I'll get in trouble for cutting switchbacks in the snow.

No tracks above me here. I'll let someone else break the trail. Not good to go much higher/steeper when solo.

SNOW CAMP

This Friday, meet at the Church at 5:00pm

Gear check Tuesday night at Scouts, bring your pack for inspection (you can leave it at the Church till Friday)
You need:
Sleeping bag
Sleeping pad (closed cell foam is best)
Warm clothes (snow clothes, jacket, gloves, hat)
If all you have is jeans, you must bring a second pair.

Snow boots! (No tennis shoes this year, please)
At least 3 pair of socks (wool or synthetic is best)
Personal items (tooth brush, TP, etc)
(Buddy up for)
Tarp
Tent
Camp stove
Patrol food (we'll cover your choice of menu Tuesday night) Dinner, snacks, breakfast Remember, you must carry this in!
WATER (It takes a lot of fuel to melt snow for water)
Mess kit, fork/spoon, cup... whatever it takes to cook and eat your food
See Bro J if you have questions or need gear

$5.00 to ride the chair lift to Blueridge campground (then about a 1/2 mile hike)

YOU MUST be able to carry all your gear AND a bundle of firewood and any snow toys you want to bring on the lift and on hike to camp.

YOU MUST pack in your food and equipment AND PACK OUT your trash and equipment.

Should be down about 12:00-1:00 ish

We must have 2 (two) signed permission slips/releases. One for Scouts and one for Mt High. (See email)

If your Scout is going to stay at the mountain and ski/ride, please note on form, otherwise we will bring him home!

Scout On!

SNOW CAMP!!!

What's next? Snow camp on Jamuary 14 -15.

This is going to be a fun one. More details will follow shortly. So save the date and get out your snow gear. You will need snow pants, boots, layers of sweatshirts/jackets. And a dry change of clothes might be good. That's enough to wet your whistle, we'll give you more info as we get it finalized.

Calico 2010

I have asked Scouts several times what their favorite camp out is and every time they say Calico!

We set up a little shooting range and the boys try to hit some targets.

This is desert camping. One boy said "not much grows out here does it?"

And he was surely right!

But that means you don't have to worry about starting a forest fire!

I think this was a kid from the neighboring campsite.

We had some adventure 4 wheeling.

And exploring.

The December camp out to Crystal Cove was rained out. Not that the rain would have bothered us that much, but the campground closed. I guess they don't like wet campers. I told them we had Scouts and the rain didn't matter to us, but the reservation lady said we would get wet, so we couldn't go.

We'll try again in January. If we have snow, we'll do a snow camp. That is if they don't close the campground because we might get snow on us. If we don't have snow, we'll go to plan B. Which I don't remember what it was. But we'll let you know!

Check your email for an invitation to view all the Scout Albums on Snapfish.

Fifty (50!) Mile Bike Ride October 8-9, 2010

Heading out early from Hwy 2 down Hwy 39.

This was the fun part, 25 miles downhill!

Regroup for a picture at mile 12.

On the road again.

At about 20 miles. Stopped at the wrong parking lot... bike riders don't look at maps!

50 miles! Santa Fe Springs Park, at about the 5 & 605... it would be 15 more to the beach. Anybody up for that?

Too tired to ride around to the entrance... it was over the fence, bikes and all.

Waiting for all the rides.

Bro. Willmott and his chase truck.

Aaron, Robbie and Brandon took the chase truck to the beach for a dip.

Logan and Jared (and Jared's dad, Bryan) were the only ones who rode the bikes all the way to the beach...65 miles!

The final reward.

To see all the pictures of the 50 mile bike ride on Snapfish, click HERE.

Cabin Flats Sept 10-11, 2010

We hiked in to Cabin Flats in the evening. While we were hiking down the 3 mile trail, it got dark. We took a break and looked down and there was a pile of bear scat. Then we hiked a little quicker.

We made camp and had hot dogs for dinner. Our scoutmaster said since we saw evidence of a bear, we should hang our food up in a tree in a bear bag. But instead we just left stuff all over camp. We figured that if the bear had plenty to eat, he would not eat us. He didn't come around so we didn't get to test our theory, but my guess is we'll try it again on the next trip. Here is Mt. Baden-Powell in the morning. We climbed this last month.

Tanner Q is famous for his french toast.

It's a lot to carry on a backpack trip, but it's sure good to eat.

Here's the crew. Brigham, Logan, Robbie, Tanner, Garrett, Cody, and Jared. We're all here because the bear didn't eat any of us. Maybe Buck scared him away like he scared Ken Quinn. Ken hiked down with us in the evening and had to hike out late at night so he could work on Saturday. He met Brigham hiking in with Buck and saw Buck first. Late at night, in the woods alone, with no moonlight, and evidence of bears around, Ken was a little nervous. Then Buck shows up with glowing eyes and coming right for him. At first Ken thought it was a wolf, then realized there are no wolves in the area... so after a little shot of adrenalin, Ken saw Brigham and figured it was just his dog. Nice to have a friendly dog around instead of a wild animal that wants to eat you.

So, we did a little camping merit badge, capture the flag and then got ready to hike out.

And we chased Buck around a bit.

In 1997 a fire went thru here and burned the outhouse... it was called The Charmin Fire. Anybody else see the irony in that?

So, the thing about a 3 mile downhill hike in, is that you then have a 3 mile uphill hike out. We didn't think this was the funnest part of the trip.

And it pretty much looks like some of us need some backpacking gear for Christmas.
Click here for the deal of the day!

So, this ended up a pretty good trip. Not quite as good as climbing a mountain, but it was green with a nice stream, and wild animals around.

And we get to tease Ken about the wolves, so that's cool.

Court Of Honor is Tuesday, September 28, 2010 at 7:30pm right after Scouts. Make sure you are there, it could be interesting and we have lots of badges!

Click HERE for all the pics of Cabin Flats on Snapfish.