Feb. 23 meeting

The boys took apart, dried out, and repacked our tents from over the weekend. We also emptied, cleaned and rebuilt the patrol box. There were some other mundane items going on, which is a good thing. The leadership is getting there.

We went!

but didn't get to stay the night. We had been hearing about this massive stormfront moving in and how much rain it was going to dump and how windy it was going to get. The adults had coversed a few times about whether to pull the plug.

After setting up camp, which took far longer than it should have (many, many thanks to Mr. F for tamping down much of the campsite), we were having dinner. One of the boys had some very cold feet and wasn't doing so well. The other boys were great about saying they had this or that item of clothing they would be able to share to help this boy out, but after about 15 minutes of soul searching it was decided that it would be more prudent to break camp and head back home.

So we did. We got back into town around 11 pm. Even though it wasn't a complete outing, it was still successful. We learned plenty of things to better prepare us for the next time, which there will be.

We're going!

The weather took a turn for the better. I had decided to go up and have a day in the snow at least. Now it looks like we won't have any issues with too much snow bearing down on our tents. Some rain maybe, but that we can handle. I look forward to expanding not only my knowledge, but the boys as well to this new experience.

To cancel or not to cancel

I'm debating cancelling the snow camping this weekend. All the news reports say that another big storm is moving into the area and will dump a lot of wet on us. However, the NOAA web page says that it will snow, but I can't tell how much. Our tents can handle a light snow, but not anything over 1 inch or so (at least that's my guess, their 3 season tents). I don't want to put anybody into a bad situation. I also don't want to think we can do it and then have to abandon in the middle of the night. I'm leaning toward canceling.

Upcoming Snow Camping

We will be heading to the snow this weekend to try our hand at camping in the snow. We will be venturing to the Emigrant Gap area (Yuba Gap Sno-Park) and the boys will experience snow camping for the first time! We have Mr. D to thank for this. The snow park is owned and operated by the Thousand Trails organization. Mr. D has been a member for quite a few years and his membership gives us access to areas not open to the public.

We will also be holding a gear check on Friday at the VFW Post. Make sure you're there!

Feb. 9 meeting

A little iffy, but they pulled it off. Each of the patrols were supposed to have researched various aspects of winter camping and present what they discovered to the rest of the troop last night. A couple of the boys individually had done some research, but the majority of them did not. Being resourceful, some quick searching was done in their handbooks and a demonstration was able to be put together. In the future I will be looking for them to be more serious about these types of assignments.

We also had our annual Order of the Arrow (OA) elections last night. Three of the four boys that were eligible put their names on the slips of paper for the election. The results will be anounced at the Camporee in April.

PLC meeting

An easy meeting this time. The meetings were very easy to plan as we will be working on those skills that we will need to perform at the upcoming Camporee. We spent a majority of the time conversing about the troop and what is going right or wrong. We also talked about the upcoming Court of Honor and what the boys would like to see happen at that.

Cache-O-Ree

7 brave ones (4 boys and 3 adults) ventured out and tried our hand at Geocaching. Geocaching is a combination of map and companss work with a treasure hunt. The main difference is instead of using a map and compass, you use a GPS device.

You start by entering the coordinates of your 'Cache' into your GPS unit and then following the arrow. Sometimes you need to drive somewhere, sometimes you just walk to the location. Once there the real fun(?) begins.

Your cache can be any size, camouflaged to look like its surroundings, and sometimes frustrating when you can't find it. But that is the fun of it. When you do find it, a great sence of accomplishment comes over you.

I look forward to more events like this in the future. I hope you do also.

PLC meeting date changed - take 2

Remember, the PLC has been moved to this coming Sunday, February 8. I will call with the location.

Feb. 2 meeting

An easy going meeting last night. We had some poor communications and the lessons that one patrol was supposed to pass onto the troop didn't happen. We have now given tasks to the boys from each patrol to help the troop learn some winter camping ideas. As the evening that we had hoped for didn't come off as planned, the boys played some board games. They had a great time. It's always a good idea to take a break and just play a game.