Troop 28 Historian

01/24/2009

Troop 28 fielded two sleds for this year’s Klondike.  It was the first time however that both Troop 28 entries were “leadership” division sleds.  The day was overcast and cold and the Camp Squanto trails were ice-covered.  Tucker who led one of the sled teams felt that this slickness made the sleds easier to carry.

The competition began at 8 am and both sleds were finished by 3pm. There were 10 sleds in the “leadership division” and many, many more in the general competition.  Christian headed one team that included Robbie, Evan, Max, and Brodie. Christian’s sled did well in the river crossing exercise which is one of the harder stations, receiving a 48.

Tucker led the other sled team which consisted of Andrew, Hayes, Jack T. and Sasha.  Tucker felt “this was one of the best Klondike’s that I have been to.”  Scores for Tucker’s team sled were: 45 in first aid, 50 in cooking, 50 in knots and 38 in measurement.

In an interesting quirk of the judging process, both teams prepared the same meal in the “cooking” competition, but because each team was scored by a different judge, one team did well but the other team got slammed!  Life isn’t always fair.

The “string burning” competition was another area where neither team excelled.  We just couldn’t get our string to burn!   The team leaders felt that we needed lots more practice in string burning.  In addition, both Tucker’s and Christian’s sled teams had trouble with the “nature” competition because the judges asked obscure questions about identifying animals.   Mr. Reel felt that the teams did well in “wilderness survival” and “camping” and he was pleased that both teams completed all of the stations.  Our teams also did fairly well in “knots”.

So despite one team coming in 10th out of 10 and the other ranking 9th, both teams stayed upbeat and had a good time.  Everyone considered this a learning experience.  Special thanks to all of the adult drivers and adult leaders, including Mr. Hillman, Mr. Reel and Mr. Ackley.

Go to the photo gallery on our website to see the shots taken by Mr. Ackley.

Respectfully submitted,

Derek A. Benson, Historian

11/15/2008 – 11/16/2008

Mt. Monadnock in Jaffrey NH is the 2nd most climbed mountain in the world (next to Mt. Fuji in Japan). Mt. Monadnock is 3,165 feet above sea level, and is 1,000 feet higher than any other peak within 30 miles.  The mountain is also known as “Grand Monadnock”.  The word monadnock is used by geologists in referring to an isolated mountain formed by exposure. On a day like Saturday November 15, the isolated nature of Mt. Monadnock and the weather combined to provide a memorable hike with treacherous wind gusts at the summit.

Sixteen scouts and adults left Cohasset, arriving at the National Forest camp site at 11 AM.  There were two other scout groups in the area and other hikers planning to climb Monadnock that day.  The word passing around was that it was blowing 95 MPH at the summit!   Our group — leader Tucker Oddleifson, Alec Hurd, Hayes Keniley, Adam Benson, Julien Geyer, Jack Thomae, Brodie Jackisch, Jack O’Brien, Christian Quebec, Graham Sinclair, and Morgan McCarthy and myself along with adults Mr. Oddleifson, Mr. McCarthy, Mr. Thomae, Mr. Quebec,  and Mr. Jackisch was ready to be put to the test. We first set up our tents at the campsite and secured our gear.  Then we began our ascent, battling fierce winds and rain all the way.  Partway to the top, four of our group turned back.  It seems that Hayes could not find his rain gear and it had really started to pour. Because of the Boy Scout guidelines of “two deep leadership”, Hayes needed to be accompanied down the mountain by two adults — Mr. O and Mr. T.  Julien offered to descend with Hayes.

When 9 of 12 remaining hikers finally reached the summit, the rainwater flowing down the mountain was getting blown up in the air by the wind gusts! Graham and Christian were almost blown off of their feet as they approached the peak! The hike was a wet one with rain pouring on us almost the whole way but at least it was a relatively warm 52 degrees.  We stopped to eat lunch about halfway down.  When we arrived back at the campsite, we received a warm welcome from Mr. O, Julien, Mr. Thomae, and Hayes.

The rest of the afternoon went fairly quickly and by the time it was dark, we hadn’t even had dinner. Tucker quickly got the two chefs, Adam and Hayes, cooking and soon we were eating the best food I have ever eaten on a trip — spaghetti with meat sauce.  We received a call around 6PM from a concerned parent (thanks, Mom!) saying that tornados and lightening were headed our way but it seems that weather never made it to our area.  Everyone was in their tent and asleep before 9:00 PM.  Tucker got everyone up at around 7 AM  on Sunday and after breakfast, we were in the cars at 8:30 AM ready to return to Cohasset.  We arrived at the locker around 1:00 PM and everyone was at their home with lots of wet and dirty clothing for the laundry by 1:30 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Derek A. Benson, Troop 28 Historian

10/11/2008 – 10/13/2008

Each year the scouts of Troop 28 head to New Hampshire for a backpacking and hiking trip in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains. The group of nine included Christian, Robbie, Evan, Greg, Andrew, Jack, Mr. Hillman, Mr. Berube and Mr. Ackley.

On Saturday, the scouts left Cohasset at 6:30 a.m., arriving at 11:00 am. They backpacked all of their food and gear up to the Appalachian Mountain Club’s “Mizpah Springs” Hut 3 1/2 miles away where they set up their camp near the hut.

On Sunday, they broke camp at dawn and hiked over 12 miles of mountain trails, to the summit of Mount Pierce (4,310 feet). Then they went above the tree line along the Crawford Path across Mount Eisenhower to the summit of Mount Franklin (5004 feet). From Mount Franklin, the scouts ascended Mount Monroe (5,372 feet) and agreed that the best views along the trail were at this peak.  From Mount Monroe, the trail descends to the AMC’s “Lakes in the Clouds” hut. The hut was closed but the scouts rested there for lunch. After lunch, the scouts climbed to the summit of Mount Washington (6288 feet). After a brief stop at the top, the scouts returned along the trail, skirting the peak of Mount Monroe and returning to camp at dusk.

The weather was ideal for hiking – clear and cool, with occasionally stiff breezes. The views from the peaks, and from the trail above the tree line, were spectacular. On Monday, the scouts broke camp and packed everything that they brought with them, following the Boy Scout’s “Leave No Trace” guidelines. The return trip with full gear, descending nearly 2,000 feet, was difficult, particularly after the previous day’s hike, but the weather remained clear and the hike was a success.

Respectfully submitted,

Derek A. Benson, Troop 28 Historian