Updated: September 7, 2007

Mount Monadnock Camping Trip
November 18– 19, 2006
by Graham Sinclaire

This year was our third year climbing Mount Monadnock . We kept up the tradition of going in mid-November so that we could get a cold weather camping experience and an invigorating hike all rolled into one trip. This year it was warmer than it had been the past two years, as it did not enter the twenties or below during the night. The troop met at the Scout Locker at seven o'clock on Saturday morning, and left by quarter of eight. We had a large group this year, with lots of kids and perhaps more gear than we really needed, so it took five cars of varying size to carry everything. The drive was over two hours long, one car arrived first close to ten minutes before the next one, with all the others arriving in short intervals after that. The first car checked in and went to the two sites next to each other that we had been assigned, to find one of them underwater. Upon returning to the entrance and talking to the rangers, the troop was allowed to swap for two other, water-free sites. Once all the cars had arrived and driven up to the campsite, everyone gathered what they needed to hike, and after a brief talk on map orienteering and hiking safety, we headed up the mountain. The troop was faced, as in the past two years, with two trail options for the side of the mountain we were starting on: the White Cross Trail, and the White Dot Trail. We chose, as we had on our previous ventures, the White Cross Trail for our ascent, being the harder of the two, and the White Dot Trail for the trip down. We hiked together, stopping fairly regularly, and made it to the top in a little over two hours. We had lunch up there, and after a quick photo opportunity we started our descent, breaking up into groups based upon climbing speed.

It took close to an hour and a half for the first group to reach the bottom. As they arrived, scouts went about setting up camp, pitching tents and taking troop gear needed for cooking out of the cars. We started dinner once everyone had made it down, eating in patrols. One patrol had beef stew with peach cobbler for dessert, while the other had chili and had forgotten to bring dessert. Luckily, there was enough peach cobbler to go around. Tired, the younger scouts started to go to bed at nine o'clock . Some of the older scouts stayed up for a bit longer before heading off as well with the adults. In the morning, the Senior Patrol and Patrol Leaders woke the scouts shortly after seven. Even though the young scouts had received the best sleep, they were still unwilling to get out of bed. Many of the adults were already up, and everyone took down their tents immediately. Both patrols had oatmeal for breakfast. After we had all packed up and inspected the campsite, we loaded into the cars and began the trip back to Cohasset. At the Locker, the cars were unloaded of all troop gear, scouts and adults were given their personal equipment, and everyone departed for their homes.

Wheelwright Maintenance Trip
October 14 – 15, 2006
by Graham Sinclaire

While planning the Fall Calendar, it was brought to the troop's attention that there was a considerable amount of clearing that needed to be done to the trails in Wheelwright Park . After a short discussion, it was decided that we could make a trip out of the work that needed to be done because two scouts needed service projects for the rank of Star, and most of the younger scouts needed a couple of service hours to reach Second or First Class. We planned to have two groups, the two patrols we have in the troop, work on different areas so that we could maximize efficiency. Patrol and Senior Patrol leaders would have cell phones and walkie-talkies for communication. Our Senior Patrol Leader, who is just finishing mapping the park for an Eagle Scout Project, went into the park and marked trails which needed clearing on his map, color coded based on priority, so that we would know exactly what we needed to work on.

We met on a Saturday morning at the park entrance, divided up tools among two wheel barrels, and the two patrols set off. We worked much faster than anticipated, and had made substantial progress by lunch. We stopped work before four, completing everything we wanted to do. The troop set up camp, and started dinner. We ate hamburgers, hot dogs, baked beans, and had smores for dessert. After an eventful, and perhaps a little hectic, evening things settled down around nine and taps was played by quarter to ten . The Senior Patrol and Patrol Leaders, nixing a night hike to look at the work of the day, went to bed not long there after.

In the morning, the Senior Patrol and Patrol Leaders got up shortly after seven and revelry was around seven twenty. To hasten our camp cleanup, all scouts were required to have their tents down before they were allowed to eat. Breakfast consisted of pancakes and bacon, with instant oatmeal available to those who wanted it. While Patrol and Senior Patrol Leaders cleaned up from breakfast, younger scouts were taught fire building skills and reviewed saw, axe, hatchet, and knife skills. When everyone was done, and camp consisted of bags, packs, and containers piled up next to the road into the site, the two patrols headed out on hikes around the park. These hikes were an attempt to complete several Second Class requirements for the large number of scouts who needed them. Unfortunately, time was not on our side, and we were unable to get five mile hike and animal and plant identification requirements finished. The two patrols ate lunch at spots in the park of their choosing, and then met at the main entrance for the conclusion of the trip. All gear had been moved to the parking lot there by the Senior Patrol while the hikes were in progress. Overall, this trip was very beneficial to the park itself and helped everyone touch up on their brush clearing skills; plus there are many scouts who are now quite close to becoming Second Class.

Camp Squanto
June 30 – August 5, 2006
by Graham Sinclaire

Camp Squanto is one of the best experiences for a Boy Scout. Surrounded by an atmosphere of fun and camaraderie, scouts work on Merit Badges of their choosing over the course of a week. This year we had thirteen scouts at the beginning of the week, which is a relatively large number for our small troop. We also had two adult leaders who stayed with the scouts at our campsite for the whole week. Several other parents and a recent Eagle Scout came to stay for a night or two at a time. We all arrived on Sunday afternoon, our personal gear was trucked to our site and then we handed in our medical forms and medication. Since we would only be using less than half of a site, we shared with Troop 39 from Halifax as we have done in the past. The Troop 28 trailer is brought to the site by adult leaders before we arrive and they set up a large tent shelter above it to provide protection from the elements. This year, we were one of the last troops to be brought in so by the time it came to hand in our forms the check in line was gigantic. However, we were able to sit down while waiting making it easier on everyone. After we were finally able to hand in our forms, we then went to our site, set up our bunks and prepared to take the Swimming Test. When everyone was ready, we headed down to the waterfront and after a lecture on waterfront safety; we took a test to gauge our swimming ability. Depending on how well you are able to swim, you are allowed access to different areas of the waterfront, and allowed to take out more advanced watercraft than those of a lower level. Watercrafts which can be taken out on the pond include: boats, kayaks, canoes, and rowboats, among several other things. It is stressed that everyone goes swimming with a buddy; in fact you are not allowed to go swimming or do anything on the lake without one.

After the swim test, we had time to relax before we went to Colors on the Parade Field, followed by dinner. Before breakfast, lunch, and special events, there is a ceremony in which news is given to all scouts, flags are raised and lowered, etc. All meals are served cafeteria style and one site is picked to clean up during and after meals by emptying trash bags, sweeping, and washing tables. On the first day, camp staff handles clean up; however a list is given out after that point of randomly assigned meals for sites and all the troops staying in them to clean. After dinner we had an Open Areas period of an hour in which all areas of camp were open for anyone to use. After this all scouts returned to their sites for a short time before everyone headed to the Parade Field. After all troops had arrived, we were all taken to the Amphitheater for the Opening Campfire. On the first and last night of the Camp Squanto week, there is an Opening and Closing Campfire, respectively. Campfires involve the camp staff leading songs and acting out skits around a large fire. The skits are found to be more enjoyable than the songs for many scouts, though sometimes skits and songs are mixed for entertaining possibilities. After Opening Campfire we headed back to our site and prepared for bed.

A typical day at Camp Squanto is an easy day. Scouts awaken around seven or earlier if required by their troop, and begin to prepare for their day. Next, troops head to the Parade Field for Colors at seven forty-five , which is followed by breakfast. Morning Merit Badges start at nine o'clock and end at noon , followed by lunch. Lunch is followed by an hour long Siesta in which scouts can take showers, do any homework they might have, or just relax. At two, classes start again and end at five. Evening Colors, also on the Parade Field, is at five forty-five and is followed by dinner. Dinner is succeeded by open areas or a special event at seven depending on the day. The rest of the evening is basically free; however open areas ends at eight and scouts are expected to stay around the campsite after that unless there is another, later event. Taps is at ten and though younger scouts often try to get away with talking late into the night, more experienced scouts know that they will feel very tired the longer they stay up and make sure they get to bed as soon as possible. Scouts select their own Merit Badges classes, which are typically only an hour long; the day allows for a total of six. Nevertheless, three is recommended for new scouts, and there are Merit Badges that can last for two or three hours, and even one that lasts all day.

There are numerous special occurrences that take place in the evening, either during the time allotted for open areas or after that ends. These include: Opening and Closing Campfires on Sunday and Friday nights respectively, Theme Night on Tuesday, the Apache Relay and Family Night on Wednesday, and the Order of the Arrow Callout Ceremony on Thursday. On Monday is troop pictures; after a troop finishes lunch, it has pictures taken in the Pine Grove before heading back to its site for Siesta. I have previously explained the Opening and Closing Campfires, which are basically shows performed by the staff. Theme Night contains several events which are all based around a specific theme. This year it was Superhero Night, and troops dressed up, competed in tug of wars, showed off super powers, pongo board raced (pongo boards are like skateboards however they allow tilted movement; one tilts backwards to move forwards, etc), and the Scoutmasters Chili Cook-off returned under the guise of the Kryptonite Chili Cook-off. Theme night is not well announced beforehand, and though we knew it was going to be Superhero Night shortly before we went to camp we were not told of any of the events making it impossible for us to prepare realistically. This year we had one scout who was not having a fun time at camp and left on Tuesday, probably due to homesickness. It is not uncommon for scouts to miss their family and home, we try to do our best to help them have a fun time but we do not always succeed. In this case, the scout tried to have a good time, and did for a while; however he couldn't make it the whole week and went home during Theme Night activities.

The Apache Relay is a large relay race around camp in which we have teamed up with Halifax for the past several years. This year, Wednesday was very hot and so the Apache Relay was postponed until Friday night. The waterfront was even opened up during Siesta that day to try to help scouts and adults “beat the heat”. Usually Family Night is during the relay so that parents can come down to see their kids participate. Parents Night was not called off, so parents ended up seeing more of their kids than they would have if the relay had taken place because scouts are extremely busy during it. During the relay this year, we came in second to last, which was the same position from the year before. During both last year and this year's relays, we had similar problems. Last year we were doing very well until it came time for a team of two to canoe across the pond from a beach on the far side back to a beach at the camp waterfront. Both years Halifax teams have been in charge of that section of the race, last year our canoe went to the wrong beach and this year it was just a bad choice of paddlers who could not keep up a steady pace. The rest of the race went almost flawlessly, with excellent performances on all counts. However, with our number of scouts and an almost equal number of scouts attending camp from Halifax 's troop, not everyone from both troops had a part in the race. Next year, if we have more scouts from our troop attend; we can have our own Apache Relay team, and maybe even our own campsite. Lastly, the OA Callout Ceremony is an event in which scouts who were elected by their troop during an election earlier in the week are “tapped out” and given the opportunity to join the Order of the Arrow. New scouts find the ceremony to be boring; however those who have been to camp several years, especially those who are in the Order, know it really isn't that bad.

The camp week finishes on the following Saturday. We were unlucky enough to have to handle clean-up from breakfast on that morning so we had to rush when we got up to try and get everyone to pack. One of the adults who stayed the entire week brought his truck up to the campsite and we attached the trailer to it and then we piled everyone's gear into the back of the truck and onto the top of the trailer. When it was time for us to head down to Colors, he drove the truck out into the parking lot so we could pick up our bags from there when camp ended. After breakfast and our cleaning duties ended, we went back to our site where we made sure we had picked everything up and that we had left the site in good condition. Finally, it was time for us to head down to the Parade Field for the Closing Ceremony. Awards were given out, information on how many Merit Badges were completed by each troop was read off, and final words were said. We had thirty-two completions and ten partials, which was an excellent job on everyone's part. After the ceremony ended, we met by the trailer, scouts grabbed personal items and everyone was given a copy of the troop picture from the week. In closing, I would like to thank all of the adults who spent time out of their week to come down to camp and help watch over the scouts, and I would especially like to thank Nelson Pratt and Dr. Reel for staying with us the entire week and making sure that everything went smoothly for the scouts.

Whitewater Rafting Trip
June 17–18, 2006
by Graham Sinclaire

The Whitewater rafting trip is a yearly event and one of everyone's favorites. In the past, we would leave on Friday nights and drive north for hours, making stops that were longer than they needed to be and arriving in Maine after midnight . Rafting would be first thing in the morning on the Dead River , which was very fun and anything but dead. A lazy afternoon would follow, and the company's adult oriented attitude was made clear by the bar used to fill it. All the scouts always had fun, but the drivers never liked the late nights. The adult leaders decided this year the troop needed a change.

This year we used a new company, Adventure Bound, and went on a new river, the Kennebec . Adventure Bound was much more youth friendly with many more activities for kids. We left early on Saturday morning and arrived, after a roughly five or six hour ride, at the location around one o'clock . It was a large series of buildings with relatively big cabins for us to stay in, and we were interested to see exactly what was offered to us for entertainment. We had two cars going up, and the first car which I arrived in inspected the facilities while waiting for the other. We immediately noticed the indoor climbing wall, the pool, the arcade game room, and the pool tables. We ate lunch when the second car arrived, were fitted with harnesses, and went off to complete a ropes course. We did four of the different challenges, the first two testing teamwork at heights about thirty feet off the ground. The second two were more for exhilaration, the first involved jumping out and grabbing onto a bar about thirty feet off the ground, and the other was a large swing. The swing was no ordinary swing; a person was attached to a rope, pulled about thirty feet off the ground in one direction, and then released, causing them to swing back and forth. We finished those within an hour and went off to Moxy Falls , which is a yearly tradition.

Every year we hike in and go swimming at the bottom of the large waterfall named Moxy. The bugs are bad but the water is surprisingly warm each time. Afterwards we returned to “base camp” and had hamburgers and hotdogs for dinner made for us by the Adventure Bound staff. We hung around after dinner for the indoor rock climbing wall, which had eight routes up the roughly thirty-five foot wall. The grips were painted making them slippery, and lots of sweaty kids from other troops who were also staying there made the hardest climb impossible for some of our troop's experienced climbers. The combination of sweat and smooth surfaces made certain key grips unusable all over the wall. Afterwards, we found ways of amusing ourselves either with movies, games, swimming, or an assortment of other options. A group of us watched a movie that ran later into the night than the suggested bedtime, but being older than some of the other kids going rafting we figured we could manage. We finally all got into bed and after having some trouble with squeaky cots were able to fall asleep.

We woke up and stumbled in for breakfast at about six thirty. After several safety speeches, the acquisition of any wetsuit equipment we needed plus an assortment lifejackets, paddles, and helmets, we all filed onto a bus. The ride to the dam at the top of the Kennebec where we put in was about a half an hour to forty-five minutes long and filled with anticipation. We met with out guide when we got off the buses and carried our raft down a long set of stairs to the river below. We had the first aid kit in our raft so we were the last to put off into the river. After going over some of the various maneuvers with us that we would need to use at our guide's instruction on the river, our guide told us that we seemed to be one of the best rafts she had ever gone down the river with and so she would try to get us on some of the bigger rapids. In total the portion of the Kennebec which we would be traveling was twelve miles long, the first half containing most of the rapids. We set off on a thoroughly enjoyable trip down a river which most of us had never traversed before. My personal favorite and I'm sure many others' favorite as well was the rapid called Magic. It was a portion of the river in which it reaches a sort of cliff and suddenly drops off about five feet depending on how much water is being release from the dam. Upon finishing the rapids section we stopped and our guide and two of us went up a flight of stairs, retrieving the food for our lunches and a small inflatable kayak for later use. Not long after returning to the river we stopped again, this time for about a half an hour. The guides prepared our lunches and we hung around until it was time to eat. We had chosen the day before whether we wanted steak, chicken, or one of two other meals. All the choices were excellent and after cleaning up and hearing a safety lecture on the uses of the now inflated kayaks, we set off again.

We proceeded down the rest of the river lazily, using halves of laundry detergent bottles to heave water at other rafts and ourselves. We even went swimming when our guide told us the river was deep enough for it to be safe. Only one person was particularly interested in the kayak, however the rest of us had fun flipping it over while he was trying to escape our grasp. Too soon the end of the river came and we helped unload our raft, partially deflate it, and then load it onto a flatbed truck where other guides deflated it further. We then filed onto the bus again and when all the rafts had been pulled out and their occupants were loaded onto the bus as well we headed off on the ten minute ride back to camp. There, we returned any borrowed wetsuit gear and the rest of our equipment, then changed into dry clothes and loaded up our cars for the trip home. We didn't leave right away however; we stayed to watch the slideshow and movie that were taken of us as we passed certain points on the river. Happy with the fact that they ended the film with a fight we had staged between three of our guys, we left around four o'clock on the long ride home. Making few stops, we returned around nine at night and the drivers drove their passengers to their homes and dropped them off there. The trip is always something to look forward to even though it involves a long ride, for those who haven't gone yet don't know what they are missing!

Memorial Day Parade
May 29, 2006
by Graham Sinclaire

Every Memorial Day, Troop 28 participates in Cohasset’s Memorial Day Parade. This year we had a good sized turn-out with over a dozen scouts participating. We met at the Music Circus where the parade starts and set off with the rest of the procession. We all marched down the parade route and had two flag bearers, one carrying the American flag and the other carrying the troop flag. Our course took us down Sohier Street onto Jerusalem Road by way of Ripley Road. From there, we marched down to Joy Place Cemetery where we paid our respects to soldiers buried there, and then headed back up to Jerusalem Road and onto North Main Street. Next, we turned onto Elm Street and marched down it to Veterans Memorial Park next to Kimballs by the Sea where the parade ended. It got to be a little hot this year, though not as hot as it has been in the past. It was an enjoyable experience all the same, and not something to be missed.

At the end of the parade, speeches are given by retired service members. This year, we had a soldier recount his experiences in Iraq from which he had recently returned. Unlike many of the other speakers, he was not an officer but just a simple soldier. He spoke of how our support for our troops assists in keeping them fighting and to pull them through tough times; helping them continue to survive through the different difficult dangers they must face. Memorial Day is a great way for us to show support for our troops, especially those who make the ultimate sacrifice to defend our country. In effect, scouts who take part in the parade are helping to support our troops and to give them courage to continue to defend our country, which is a noble purpose that no scout should let pass them by.

Canoe Trip
May 20–21, 2006
by Graham Sinclaire

This past May, Troop 28 went on a canoe trip on the North River. It’s a troop tradition, though we have missed one or two times in the past five or so years. We met at the locker in the morning, packed and ready to go. After selecting our lifejackets from the troop’s large supply, we headed out. We used a dock closer to the mouth of the river versus a clearing where we usually put in, which we hoped would make for a longer, better canoeing experience. However, when we got down to the river we found that both the tide and the wind were going out, the opposite the direction to which we had to travel. Undeterred, we waited for a little while to see if the tide would change directions, but after about a half an hour we decided to just go for it. What followed was a long and difficult, but very fun voyage up the river. We were using six canoes, all of which belong to the troop. One car drove with our equipment and other gear up to the campsite ahead of us. Upon the canoes’ arrival at the campsite several hours later, we discovered that another Boy Scout troop, from Hingham, was already there. They had planned to use a spot further down the river however someone else had taken it. Our campsite, the one we always use, is very large and can fit more than one troop, so we decided to share the site.

We set up camp and did a little advancement work for a younger scout who needed it. The younger scouts who were on the trip began to go fishing, and everyone else relaxed for a while. Another scout and I went out in a canoe alone, planning to go upstream a little ways. The tide had shifted by this point and we figured it would be relatively easy. Unfortunately, just as we were a good distance from camp, we were yelled to, saying that dinner was going to be started immediately, ahead of schedule. The two of us paddled down a ways and checked some little paths in the woods to see where they led, then hurried back to camp. We arrived just in time for the first round of dinner to be ready. There were hamburgers and beans for the scouts and steak strips for adults, though everyone was allowed to have some of everything. The troop hung around the campsite after that, with some more fishing, until it was time to make smores. We were able to make them without any of the difficulties we were faced with on the last campout, as I described in my last scribe writing. Since we planned to canoe out early the next morning, and everyone was tired, the whole troop went to bed at ten o’clock.

In the morning, we had pancakes and bacon for breakfast and cleaned up camp quickly. Upon getting out in the river with the canoes, we found the tide to be with us and the trip was much more enjoyable and relaxing. It took us roughly a half an hour to get down the river back to the docks where we had started, which was much quicker than the trip up. We loaded the cars and went back to the locker, where we dropped off the troop gear and departed for our homes.

Advancement Weekend Campout
May 6–7, 2006
by Graham Sinclaire

Over the weekend of the 6th and 7th, we had a special campout to work on advancement for new scouts in Wheelwright Park. We recently had a large group of scouts crossover into Boy Scouts and the troop thought it was imperative that they have a fun campout in which we do as much work as possible to get them to Tenderfoot. Tenderfoot is the first rank in scouting, and we wanted to give them the opportunity to receive it at their first Court of Awards. Several of the older scouts arrived early to help with some preliminary setup, and were greeted by an assortment of trash and beer bottles and cans scattered around our campsite, along with the remains of burnt wood heaped around the fire ring. We quickly cleaned up, keeping the bottles and cans for the RTF (so, in a way, it was almost like whomever it was paid us to use our campsite). The new scouts soon arrived, and after we set up our tents and put our personal gear away we dived right into advancement.

For a Second Class requirement, I took a couple scouts on a five mile hike around Wheelwright, arriving back at camp several hours afterwards. Other older scouts worked with the new scouts on First Class and Tenderfoot requirements, including going on other hikes, making an orienteering course, going over first aid, and a whole range of other things. After we adjourned the work for the day, the older scouts built a flagpole next to a large rock formation near our campsite, which we used later on in the evening in a flag ceremony before awarding the new scouts with their Scout Badge, making them official Boy Scouts. For dinner, we had excellent hamburgers and beans made by a large assortment of chefs who needed to cook for advancement. After dinner, Mr. Arthur Lehr gave us an informative history of Boy Scouting in Cohasset, from when Troop 1 Cohasset formed in 1916 up until the present. For dessert, we attempted to make smores, however the marshmallows had all melted together and I had to pull gobs of marshmallow out of the bag and assemble them into something that looked edible for everyone. A nice taps ceremony at ten o’clock rounded out a thoroughly enjoyable evening. Unfortunately, several of the new scouts talked in their tents until late into the night which disturbed the sleep of some of the other scouts. However, it was quite understandable because this was, for many of the new scouts, their first campout in the woods and was hopefully an exciting experience. In the morning, we had pancakes for breakfast and cleaned up camp, having one last flag ceremony before leaving around ten-thirty as we had very much hoped we would.

Merit Badge University – 2006
March 25, 2006
by Graham Sinclaire

March 25th marked the end of Merit Badge University 2006. At Merit Badge University, scouts pick three Merit Badges from a large selection which they can take in a classroom like setting over a three Saturday period. This is extremely helpful when it comes to earning some of the harder Merit Badges; especially the Eagle required ones such as Citizenship in the World. Many Merit Badge requirements are done in class, leaving the scouts with a minimal amount of homework which usually involves noting things around the house, keep a record of how often something is done, or answering questions about information that is in the Merit Badge Handbook for that particular badge. Some classes have field trips to help complete requirements; for instance the Aviation Merit Badge goes to an airport and has everyone in the class get hands on with an airplane, possible even flying one. Classes have a set size limit and fill up fast so forms need to be handed in on time. This year we had a relatively small attendance rate from out troop, only four scouts. However, I believe that everyone tried very hard and got most of the Merit Badges they took. Merit Badge University is a great experience, especially for the younger scouts, because it creates a good environment and assists scouts in obtaining more Merit Badges which are necessary to advance to the higher ranks.

Klondike Derby – 2006
January 28, 2006
by Graham Sinclaire

After being absent from it for a year, we returned this year to the Klondike Derby, held annually at Camp Squanto. The Klondike Derby is a series of courses which teams of scouts go to and perform various tasks, from burning a string a certain distance of the ground to crossing a mock river. Scouts bring sleds which they use to carry their gear in. This year we had two sleds, one “leadership” sled which had two veteran life scouts, three non-life scouts which had been before, and a couple first timers, while the other one was a “scout” sled with two scouts who had been on previous trips to the Klondike Derby and three scouts who hadn’t. The stations we had to compete in were: First Aid, in which a “victim” was taken off into the woods and the rest of his team had to find him and treat him as fast as possible for various injuries, River Crossing, in which everyone on a team and their sled had to make it across a mock river, String Burning, in which we had to burn a string two feet of the ground, Map and Compass, in which we had to demonstrate how to properly use a map and compass, Measurement, in which we had to measure objects using paces and other measuring techniques, Wilderness Survival, in which we had to build a shelter which the entire team could stay a cold winter night in, Cooking, in which we had to cook a meal over a fire and eat it, Nature, in which we had to identify various leaves and animal tracks, Camping, in which we had to set up a mock campsite, and Knots and Lashings in which we had to show that we could tie various knots and lashings. We were also scored on whether we had the proper equipment in our sleds for the different tasks. Sleds can earn a maximum of fifty points for each station. In the end, when everything was said and done, the leadership sled came in sixth out of the sixteen leadership sleds with 491 points and the scout sled came in eighth out of the sixteen scout sleds with 456. We usually come within the top ten in whichever categories we participate, and in fact several years ago we came home with third place in the scouting group. Due to the fact that our knowledge in some areas seems to be lacking, specifically First Aid and Nature, the older scouts, including myself, are making it a point to work extra hard on everyone knowing those topics and we will hopefully do excellently in those two stations and all the other ones next year.

Mount Monadnock Camping Trip
November 19 - 20, 2005
by Graham Sinclaire

The trip to Mount Monadnock was a great campout. Though not as cold as last year, possibly for the better, it was just as fun and just as rewarding. Within a short while of arriving, we hit the trail on an ascent that would take over two hours, and be filled with many steep inclines littered with large rocks and boulders that we needed to scale. Finally, after several exhausted stops and some tough work, we arrived up at the top to be met by a great view, stretching for miles in all directions. We had a slightly hurried lunch, hunkered down behind rock outcroppings to escape the constant wind that made the temperature seem to be much lower than it really was. After a little work to find a geocache that is supposed to be somewhere on the top of the mountain, we decided it was time to head down and began our descent, taking a different trail then the one we had used to get up. This proved to have as many or more steep rocky slopes that we were forced to go slowly down, with some dangerous ice on the rocks though not as much as last year. The trip down took less time than the trip up, but was in some places just as strenuous. Upon returning to camp, we scurried to start dinner and to set up any tents we hadn’t been able to set up earlier, trying to get as much done before dark completely set in. We failed, and compounded with some slight troubles with getting a fire to stay lit, there was some unhappy running around in the cold, with an increasingly dark sky. In the end, everything went well, with a nice dinner of beef stew followed by peach and pineapple cobbler. Thoroughly satisfied, we relaxed and made an attempt to have some smores over our now large the fire, however the marshmallows had been completely frozen together and some people soon quit. The rest of the night was uneventful and most people slept well, though a few of us were quite cold no matter how prepared we were. The next morning, we had a nice pancake breakfast and packed up camp, leaving slightly later than we wished but still at a fairly reasonable hour. Hopefully, if we go on the trip next year, it will be as great an experience as the past two years’ trips have been.