Trip report: Henry Coe – 2304, swimming!

Finally, after 8 years of Coe trips where China Hole has either been too low (and stinky) or way too flooded to get in for a paddle, April 2023 was the time: great wet winter left waters flowing well, but the April sun was still warm enough.

After having to take our boots off to ford the river on the way down, it was fabuos to cool off (following BSA Safe Swim Defense of course!). However, after cooling down, it was time to heat up again as the troop took the short-sharp path up to Manzanita for the night.

A quick walk back out in the morning has every home before lunch (which given this was pre-exam and extra homework season, was just as well).

https://photos.app.goo.gl/BoJDps5YBCTcNbMK7

Eagle Court of Honor – Allison D: 230325

“What did you do at Spring Break?”, “Got my Eagle Scout Medal – what about you?!”

We recognised Allison D today, another of our original intake of female youth, at her Eagle Court of Honor. Sibling of existing Eagle, Tristan, and accompanied by Assistant Scoutmasters Emeritus, Phil & Kathy, a great turn out of current and former scouts, adults and wider family and friends turned out to celebrate.

Needless to say, too much food was eaten.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/XQgTtP3FFxVfa27G6

March madness: CoH and Church landscaping

Couple of quick updates to share:

  • We had our March Court of Honor
  • High impact landscaping service at our Charter org

March Court of Honor

We welcomed our two newest scouts – Isabella and Emily. Great to have the join, and also for making life easy for the Assistant Scoutmasters by having the same names as current scouts 🙂

Scouts presented our in-flight plans for the summer 50-miler to Lost Coast: trip route and meal. We’ll be sure to have enough calories and great places to camp

https://photos.app.goo.gl/K4KSJ26xpXivuVZ76

Landscaping service

Our Charter organisation is essential to the Troop: we are officially a program under their legal entity; they provide space for our storage shed; use of the hall at now cost; a place to meet and hold events. In turn, it was great to be able to help them out. T260 turned up on force to make short work of some tough landscaping work, doubling the area the Church had hoped to cover in 2/3 of the time!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/aEyn5fKP8ioHvvRP9

Trip Report: Joseph Grant 230318

A cheeky 10-miler.

Delayed after having to cancel the previous weekend due to a CA state declared State of Emergency, a depleted force set-off to get those miles in. With (mostly) full packs, and a 2:1 adult:scout ratio, we enjoyed glorious spring weather as we romped around a 10-mile loop in Joseph D Grant (thanks Ram for planning). It was still very wet underfoot at parts, providing novel experiences for scouts used to hiking through extended years of drought – but strong ‘À la recherche du temps perdu’ vibes for those raised backpacking in Scotland.

Kudos to Katie for contributing to the story quote with a full slip+fall in the mud (alas, not witnessed by the rest of the Troop).

Click the photo above, or here, for the full gallery

Trip Report: Sugarloaf Ridge 2303

California after the rain – wheewee, beautiful. Although also pretty cold.

A strong turnout for what was a lovely 8 mile loop on Sunday, topped off with a short 2-3 miler on Sunday for a visit to the waterfall. The temperatures were low, made to feel colder with moisture in the air, and a gusty wind.

The green, lush hills, recently invigorated by the rain were a delight; supplemented by fresh filled streams. There’s nothing that can distract scouts as much as a nice fire – except maybe a flowing stream, and SugarLoaf Ridge delivered on both.

Enjoy the pics – and if you weren’t there, we hope you are inspired to join us next time.

Link to photo gallery here, or click above

Trip Report: Castle Rock to Chesebrough – Jan 2023

Kicking-off a new year in classic California style: cold nights, stars, no rain.

Except.

We were just coming off the back of 2-3 weeks of some of the heaviest downpours and storms in recent years; multiple trees were down; power had been out; paths were flooded; access roads closed. This required some nimble classic T260 maneuvers as we shifted from our original plan of Joseph Grant day walk + overnight, to an in-overnight-out at Chesebrough (thanks Dylan at the office for squeezing us in at late notice).

As this is coming into the second half of the activity year, we amped up the challenge a little – walking through Castle Rock SP first, before connecting to the roadside trail and down into Chesebrough. Once at Camp, we hung around until all was quiet, careful not to drink from the drowned-squirrel water, before setting up camp. Human Fusbal and some volley ball kept us moving and warm.

The Old Goats got a fire going on attempt #2 [tip: wet wood and a high sided fire ring with no air holes – avoid]. The hardy scouts that stayed up past dark were rewarded with some fire for warmth and some campstove cooked fresh brownies (eat your heat out Mark Cahn!)

We stayed above freezing, and headed back the shorter way [only ~ 6 miles] on Sunday making a total of 14 miles. Nice stamina and spirit from some of newer/less-experienced packers [Cruze and Joshua].

Click to open Album in a new tab

Mount Umunhum 2022

The troop has a tradition of going to a private range in Mt. Umunhum every fall, for a weekend of shooting and archery. I’m glad to say that this year, we got to follow the tradition of the iron chef challenge (last year, we were unable to do it, because of the stormy weather).

After a calm evening at camp on Friday, we went up to the range on Saturday morning for a firearm safety briefing. The rest of the afternoon was fantastic, as scouts were able to handle various types of firearms, with the proper guidance from range-masters (thanks Mr. Ray & Mr. Nic).

On Sunday morning, we had our iron chef challenge! Each patrol went head-on to cook a meal for scoutmaster judges, while on a short time crunch and limited equipment (shout-out to the dragon patrol, which won for their breakfast burritos)!

Click here for the full photo gallery

Trip Report: Point Reyes

Another fantastic backpacking trip with the troop!

At Point Reyes, a National Sea Shore north of the SF bay, we were able to experience everything, from lush forests to the coast to misty (and then stormy!) weather.

After a ~1mi hike to camp on Saturday, we hiked downhill to an awesome cove, where we were able to see dolphins. Even though it rained heavily in the night, the trip was filled with fantastic and variable sceneries, and everyone had a great time.

Hiking through the coastal forest- Click here for the full photo gallery

Trip Report: Portola Redwoods

Back again to backpacking, after our awesome canoe year (which ended with the Northern Forest Canoe Trail 50-miler)!

We started our 1.5mi hike to the campsite, at around 8am. The trail was extremely scenic, as we were surrounded by tall and majestic redwoods. We arrived at the campsite and set up camp around 11am…

Later in the afternoon, a group of scouts went down to a nearby stream to draw water, and played tag by parkouring around the stream 🙂. The weather during the trip was extremely pleasant, and many people decided to sleep under the stars!

Click here for the full photo album

Trip Report: Northern Forest Canoe Trail, 50-miler, 2022

We flew to the northeast for our 2022 50-miler: This time in the placid (no pun intended!) lakes of the Adirondack Mountains.

The troop voted almost unanimously for the Northern Forest Canoe Trail in New York as the location for the 50-miler, and after nights of diligent planning, the trip became a reality!

We departed from SJC on Saturday July 16th, and got to the Albany Airport motel later that day. After spending the night at the motel, we headed to the Meadowbrook campground, and received our gear. The outfitters were amazing, and supplied everything from tents to meals and snacks.

Some noteworthy experiences from the trip are mentioned below!:

Games & Concentration

The scouts had great fun playing card games and Ninja at the Meadowbrook campground. Several packs of cards got soaked after that though (because of the rain), but they still had a great time playing other group games like Concentration: The main idea was to go in a circle and name items of a certain category in rapid succession, without hesitating. This was ideal to play when it was raining outside, by a fire, or at meal stops.

Rain & sporadic storming:

On the morning of the 18th, we could see storm clouds rolling towards us. We split into two groups, and after a quick lunch at the canoe launching site, we started canoeing in the rain, on Long Lake. During the first three days, it poured on and off (Group A got especially lucky: They found available lean-to’s when the storms were at their peak, every time!).

Portages:

The portages were a feat of strength, and it was surely something to solo carry canoes and barrels up muddy slopes! During portages, we had to carry group gear like food barrels, canoes, paddles, and pfds, in addition to personal gear (dry bags). After the first portage, we learned that multiple trips, even if it may take longer, is the most effective way to get that amount of gear from shore to shore.

Green undergrowth & lush campsites:

The surrounding forest was lush, and wildflowers and fungi enveloped the landscape. Narrow passes and shallow areas were dotted water lillies and tall grasses. There were also fire pits at most campsites, which made cooking and camping even more enjoyable! Large amounts of undergrowth caused the ground to be so soft that stakes often didn’t stay in the ground!

—-

After 5 fantastic days of canoeing, we regrouped, returned the gear to the outfitters, and returned to the motel. On the 23rd, we got back to SJC (with a quick stop in Chicago), safe and sound.

A massive thanks to the planners and leadership, who made the trip an extremely special and memorable experience. The learnings, the skills that were improved, and the memories that were created will be treasured by us all.

Click here for the photo album (Group B paddling to shore)