Monday, August 18, 2014
Troop 67 calendar - revised.
Following the Troop Committee meeting last night, our calendar has been revised.
You can print out a copy for yourself using the link on our webpage WWW.troop67de.com or use this direct link: http://www.troop67de.com/documents/calendar/2014.15TroopSchedule.v2.pdf
IMPORTANT NOTES:
September 7 - Committee meeting is removed/cancel.
October 3 - Court of Honor is moved to Oct. 10th.
May 2015 - Corrections to some typos RE: Committee on 3rd and Troop on 4th.
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
2014 - 2015 Troop 67 Calendar Published
With the start of the 2014 - 2015 scouting season just around the corner, the
Troop 67 calendar of events and important dates is now published.
You can print out a copy for yourself using the link on our webpage WWW.troop67de.com or use this direct link: http://www.troop67de.com/documents/calendar/2014.15TroopSchedule.v1.pdf
Our troop's online Google calendar will be brought up to date as time permits.
IMPORTANT EARLY DATES:
August 25 - Patrol Leaders Council meeting. 7 PM
September 8 - Troop meeting 7:15 PM
Sept. 26, 27, 28 - Camping trip to Hawk Mtn.
You can print out a copy for yourself using the link on our webpage WWW.troop67de.com or use this direct link: http://www.troop67de.com/documents/calendar/2014.15TroopSchedule.v1.pdf
Our troop's online Google calendar will be brought up to date as time permits.
IMPORTANT EARLY DATES:
August 25 - Patrol Leaders Council meeting. 7 PM
September 8 - Troop meeting 7:15 PM
Sept. 26, 27, 28 - Camping trip to Hawk Mtn.
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Environ. Sci. M.B. 2014 - UPDATE
The scouts working on their Environmental Science merit badge met again to continue work toward this important eagle required m.b. Mr. Rittberg led the scouts through a testing of the creek water and the creek environment at Brandywine Creek State Park. The testing occurred at Wilson's Run which is a small creek near the main entrance to the park. Wilson's Run drains into the Brandywine River near the bridge at Adams Dam Road.
The boys were successful in finding many signs that the creek is in excellent health. At least 5 different types of fly nymphs were found. And a small cray fish too. Photos can be viewed here. Many fish were seen also. The Mayfly and the Stonefly are two species that are very sensitive and so finding them present is a good sign for this body of water. During the chemical testing phase of the investigation, the creek passed every test in the "safe" or "excellent quality" zone of each test. Besides a visual observation of he water, some of the tests included the following:
pH
temperature
dissolved O2
Nitrogen level
Phosphate level
conductivity (ions)
Mr. Rittberg's volunteer status with Stream Watch Delaware came in handy for all this testing, he had supplies & procedures from the Delaware Nature Society which the boys carefully made their scientific measurements. For a sample of the data collected, look here.
Also while in the park, the boys did a comparitive analysis of two natural habitats. One was an open meadow down near Wilson's Run and the other was a mature heavy forest up on top of the hill in the tulip tree woods area. The scouts plan to meet again late this month to do a community service project for New Castle County by eliminating some invasive plant species. Look for another update soon !
The boys were successful in finding many signs that the creek is in excellent health. At least 5 different types of fly nymphs were found. And a small cray fish too. Photos can be viewed here. Many fish were seen also. The Mayfly and the Stonefly are two species that are very sensitive and so finding them present is a good sign for this body of water. During the chemical testing phase of the investigation, the creek passed every test in the "safe" or "excellent quality" zone of each test. Besides a visual observation of he water, some of the tests included the following:
pH
temperature
dissolved O2
Nitrogen level
Phosphate level
conductivity (ions)
Mr. Rittberg's volunteer status with Stream Watch Delaware came in handy for all this testing, he had supplies & procedures from the Delaware Nature Society which the boys carefully made their scientific measurements. For a sample of the data collected, look here.
Also while in the park, the boys did a comparitive analysis of two natural habitats. One was an open meadow down near Wilson's Run and the other was a mature heavy forest up on top of the hill in the tulip tree woods area. The scouts plan to meet again late this month to do a community service project for New Castle County by eliminating some invasive plant species. Look for another update soon !
Friday, August 8, 2014
Philmont - trips, shakedowns, advice
Philmont 2015 Shakedown to Loyalsock-Link Trail in Aug 2014
1) we found that the advice on parking was not good advice - parking at World's End State Park office is the best solution. Other parking spot are marked "Permit Only" and you must need to get county approval for parking overnight now
2) the ranger at the park advised taking the Loyalsock trail out of the Park as it is very steep and hard to come down that way. We found he was correct and tired ourselves out climbing up with our hands, although we realized we had left the trail! A short bushwhack got us back to the trail, but it was still very steep.
3) we hiked about 3 miles in to the first campsite, right near a creek. There weren't many good spots to tent, however
4) the next day we hiked to a pond with many excellent campsites, where we had our lunch. Then on to campsites next to the Loyalsock Creek which were excellent. The boys got to wade in the creek and we had a nice night
5) On Sunday we planned to hike 3 miles or so to Haystacks in the morning as it had rained and was still raining lightly in the morning. We were hoping the rain would stop and the tents could dry a bit while we did the short hike. One of our scouts was really dragging, however, and said his stomach wasn't feeling well. He also was hobbling, so we stopped and found he was also getting bad blisters. A good reason to do these shakedowns early! He went back with another scout and a leader while the rest of us pressed on down a shallow slope until about a 1/3 mile from Haystacks where the trail was very steep down. Haystacks was a bunch of big "Haystack" shaped boulders in rapids. We had a short religious service there, which was nice. There is a very nice campsite there, but might be difficult with the steep path. But we realized it would be nice to camp there.
6) when we got back to the campsite, we had lunch and checked in our ill scout. The leader said his feet looked awful and that the scout was probably done for hiking. After lunch it rained more and we had already decided to just have the drivers get the cars by walking along a road. We got the cars and returned to pick up the rest of our crew just before the big rains arrived :)
In review:
Loyalsock-Link trail is an excellent loop as a shakedown. Haystacks is nice, but the campsites next to the creek near the bridge are fine and the scouts thought Haystacks wasn't worth the hike after wading in the creek on Saturday at the excellent campsites farther up. We didn't finish the Link trail, but part of it was washed out anyway and you had to take the road at that point. I had called the Natural resources for Loyalsock Forest, but they were not very informative. The Ranger came on Saturday as the sites next to the river are for only a night for backpackers. He told us that the trail was out and that there had been a bear at the houses nearby the weekend before! So bear bags are important.
Lessons learned:
1) buy food with scouts for backpacking trips - we had our scout buy squeeze vegetable/fruit bag things that weighed 4oz each. His lunch was a pound a piece. I had wondered why when I carried a tent it seemed lighter than carrying the food!
2) be prepared to change plans on the fly
3) teach the boys about how to avoid blisters BEFORE the trip. This wasn't a big problem with our crew in 2012, so it was a surprise. Apparently there are toe socks, wrapping in medical tape, vaseline and many other solutions. I found liner sock solved all my issues, but the scout had brought liner socks and was wearing them.
4) the early shakedown was good because we got 10 of the 11 people going to Philmont to attend, so we got a good feel for each other early on. With our 2012 crew, we did not have any trip where we had that many.
5) make sure scouts aren't bringing their own food. The scout who felt ill had brought packages of Gatorade which he had drunk freely of the day before. It could be he had too much Gatorade
Please feel free to add comments!
1) we found that the advice on parking was not good advice - parking at World's End State Park office is the best solution. Other parking spot are marked "Permit Only" and you must need to get county approval for parking overnight now
2) the ranger at the park advised taking the Loyalsock trail out of the Park as it is very steep and hard to come down that way. We found he was correct and tired ourselves out climbing up with our hands, although we realized we had left the trail! A short bushwhack got us back to the trail, but it was still very steep.
3) we hiked about 3 miles in to the first campsite, right near a creek. There weren't many good spots to tent, however
4) the next day we hiked to a pond with many excellent campsites, where we had our lunch. Then on to campsites next to the Loyalsock Creek which were excellent. The boys got to wade in the creek and we had a nice night
5) On Sunday we planned to hike 3 miles or so to Haystacks in the morning as it had rained and was still raining lightly in the morning. We were hoping the rain would stop and the tents could dry a bit while we did the short hike. One of our scouts was really dragging, however, and said his stomach wasn't feeling well. He also was hobbling, so we stopped and found he was also getting bad blisters. A good reason to do these shakedowns early! He went back with another scout and a leader while the rest of us pressed on down a shallow slope until about a 1/3 mile from Haystacks where the trail was very steep down. Haystacks was a bunch of big "Haystack" shaped boulders in rapids. We had a short religious service there, which was nice. There is a very nice campsite there, but might be difficult with the steep path. But we realized it would be nice to camp there.
6) when we got back to the campsite, we had lunch and checked in our ill scout. The leader said his feet looked awful and that the scout was probably done for hiking. After lunch it rained more and we had already decided to just have the drivers get the cars by walking along a road. We got the cars and returned to pick up the rest of our crew just before the big rains arrived :)
In review:
Loyalsock-Link trail is an excellent loop as a shakedown. Haystacks is nice, but the campsites next to the creek near the bridge are fine and the scouts thought Haystacks wasn't worth the hike after wading in the creek on Saturday at the excellent campsites farther up. We didn't finish the Link trail, but part of it was washed out anyway and you had to take the road at that point. I had called the Natural resources for Loyalsock Forest, but they were not very informative. The Ranger came on Saturday as the sites next to the river are for only a night for backpackers. He told us that the trail was out and that there had been a bear at the houses nearby the weekend before! So bear bags are important.
Lessons learned:
1) buy food with scouts for backpacking trips - we had our scout buy squeeze vegetable/fruit bag things that weighed 4oz each. His lunch was a pound a piece. I had wondered why when I carried a tent it seemed lighter than carrying the food!
2) be prepared to change plans on the fly
3) teach the boys about how to avoid blisters BEFORE the trip. This wasn't a big problem with our crew in 2012, so it was a surprise. Apparently there are toe socks, wrapping in medical tape, vaseline and many other solutions. I found liner sock solved all my issues, but the scout had brought liner socks and was wearing them.
4) the early shakedown was good because we got 10 of the 11 people going to Philmont to attend, so we got a good feel for each other early on. With our 2012 crew, we did not have any trip where we had that many.
5) make sure scouts aren't bringing their own food. The scout who felt ill had brought packages of Gatorade which he had drunk freely of the day before. It could be he had too much Gatorade
Please feel free to add comments!
Friday, August 1, 2014
Troop Website - Updated
Hi Troop 67 families,
I want to let you know that I've updated the website today. Our website is: http://www.troop67de.com/
Today's update includes:
1. Several important dates such as first troop meeting of fall season, first PLC, and first camping trip. These dates are right on the top of the home page for your convenience. The complete calendar will be published soon, but you can update your home calendar with these first dates for the new scouting season.
2. New eagle project workbook link. National BSA recently revised their mandatory eagle project workbook. Use this link to access the new workbook. Life scouts who began their proposal using the old workbook can follow through with the old version; however, new project proposals must use the newly revised workbook.
3. Scroll down toward the bottom of our home page and you will see our new BLOG link. This is an exciting new way that our adult leaders will be able to communicate with all members of Troop 67. Blog postings can be about camping trip reports, troop policy changes/clarifications, service project updates, calendar change alerts, etc., etc. Any time that we have something to announce to the group we can post it in the Blog. We will continue to send email blasts through Troopmaster Software when we want to confirm that every member has received important information. But the troop committee has been looking for a way to communicate more generally with our members. Hopefully this new blog will be an effective communication tool for us.
Adult leaders who want to learn how to create a Blog 67 posting should attend the next troop committee meeting. Or see our Webmaster Dean Coffin.
***Important -- you can sign up to get email alerts when a new Blog posting has been published. Here's how to enroll for this news feed service: go to our Blog (see link on website, or click here:http://wilmingtontroop67news.blogspot.com/ ). Look up in the top right corner area to submit your email address. It's that easy. Now you are subscribed and will be notified when a new blog article is posted.
We're looking forward to a great new year of scouting!
I want to let you know that I've updated the website today. Our website is: http://www.troop67de.com/
Today's update includes:
1. Several important dates such as first troop meeting of fall season, first PLC, and first camping trip. These dates are right on the top of the home page for your convenience. The complete calendar will be published soon, but you can update your home calendar with these first dates for the new scouting season.
2. New eagle project workbook link. National BSA recently revised their mandatory eagle project workbook. Use this link to access the new workbook. Life scouts who began their proposal using the old workbook can follow through with the old version; however, new project proposals must use the newly revised workbook.
3. Scroll down toward the bottom of our home page and you will see our new BLOG link. This is an exciting new way that our adult leaders will be able to communicate with all members of Troop 67. Blog postings can be about camping trip reports, troop policy changes/clarifications, service project updates, calendar change alerts, etc., etc. Any time that we have something to announce to the group we can post it in the Blog. We will continue to send email blasts through Troopmaster Software when we want to confirm that every member has received important information. But the troop committee has been looking for a way to communicate more generally with our members. Hopefully this new blog will be an effective communication tool for us.
Adult leaders who want to learn how to create a Blog 67 posting should attend the next troop committee meeting. Or see our Webmaster Dean Coffin.
***Important -- you can sign up to get email alerts when a new Blog posting has been published. Here's how to enroll for this news feed service: go to our Blog (see link on website, or click here:http://wilmingtontroop67news.blogspot.com/ ). Look up in the top right corner area to submit your email address. It's that easy. Now you are subscribed and will be notified when a new blog article is posted.
We're looking forward to a great new year of scouting!
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