Historian

09/20/2008 – 09/21/2008

By 1:30pm we had reached Marconi beach, where we stopped for lunch.  This was about halfway on our Day One ride.  Altogether we biked 35 miles on Saturday. Back at the campsite, Julien, Brodie, and Robbie were our cooks and they made Sloppy Joes for dinner.  We were able to have a campfire, so we made “smores” for dessert.

The next day our cooks made excellent egg burritos for breakfast.  We had packed up the campsite before breakfast, so after eating we were off on our bikes by 10am. We made record time to the end of trail, however we experienced a series of problems on the way back.  Some of our difficulties including Andrew’s gear problems, Hugh’s flying potato chips and Mr. McCarthy’s exciting stopping method.

We were back in the campsite by 12pm and so all we had to do was eat lunch and get the bicycles on the trailer. We arrived at the Scout Locker at 2pm on Sunday and everyone was back home and safe by 2:30pm. Everyone agreed that the bike trip was a lot of fun because we biked a total of 50 miles, had great weather and plenty of food.

Respectfully submitted,

Derek A. Benson, Troop 28 Historian

11/18/2006 – 11/19/2006

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.

10/14/2006 – 10/15/2006

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 thereafter.

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.

Respectfully submitted,

Graham Sinclaire