Death Valley

I spent a glorious weekend out at Death Valley with the Boy Scouts. This was my first visit. Death Valley gets an average of about 2" of rain a year, but by the end of this week they expect to have 3". I'm fairly certain I got a rare experience. Though there was plenty of rain, it really didn't cause many problems.

We arrived Friday evening with just a few sprinkles while we set up camp. The camp site had room for lots of campers, but hardly anyone was there.

We spent Saturday morning on the Mesquite Sand Dunes. The sand was damp, so it did not behave the way the boys expected. It was funny watching them run and jump and NOT slide down the hill as they expected. We covered a lot of ground though and managed to climb the highest dune. The boys went in a bee line from peak to peak, down then up. I circled around a bit to follow the crest lines and avoid the steeper climbs.

Mosaic Canyon was incredible. The walls of the canyon are smooth marble-like rock. It was like walking through a naturally carved marble bathroom. Since it had been raining, the rock could be quite slick, but I didn't hear about anyone from our group falling.

It started raining fairly hard about dinner time, but our cook managed it. We ate a fabulous dinner of trout, green beans and rice. Another family brought home-made fudge that was so good I would have happy eaten it until I got sick. Most of us retired to our tents to stay out of the rain. The following morning there was a nice stream running behind our camp site. A few light sprinkles fell.

We visited several locations including Badwater, the Natural Bridge, Artists Drive and the Borax works. We stopped in at the general store and visitors center in Furnace Creek to buy a few souvenirs. Badwater is the lowest point on land in the Americas, at 282 feet below sea level. The cliff behind it had a sign showing sea level - very cool.

http://picasaweb.google.com/Troop1201/DeathValley02#

Home from Kilimanjaro

My son came home from his Kilimanjaro trip with Boy Scout Troop 1201. After almost a week, I still feel like we have scant few details. He did bring the camera home filled with over 700 photos and video clips. I'll upload a bunch of them to Picasa a little later this weekend.

Here David is getting ready to head up the mountain.

And here is his arrival at Gilman's Point at the top of Kilimanjaro.

David off to Kilimanjaro

My son David left for Kilimanjaro yesterday afternoon. He's going with the Boy Scouts. I can't possibly keep up with all the details my wife has on her blog, so take a look there.

The picture on top includes (from left to right) William, Alec and my David. They all started scouting in the same cub scout den in Pack 234. We moved to Fullerton and David joined the other two in 2nd grade. They are all great kids, and I am glad they have shared scouting for so long. And now the three of them will share an experience of a life time, climbing Kilimanjaro together. They are the youngest three on this outing, with my son being the very youngest.

My wife fretted over the packing but she easily got the duffel bag under 50 pounds as required by the airline. We did have one minor incident just before leaving - the zipper of the duffel came apart on the other side of the latch. I had to force the latch back and re-zip it. We tried securing it with some bungees, but the airline made us take them off. I am really hoping that it stays together during the flight. We don't want him to loose important gear before he even gets there. No matter, I am sure he will make do with whatever he has left.

Temporary Troop Location

Last year our Boy Scout Troop was informed that they would need to relocate while the First Presbyterian Church of Fullerton did some major construction work on their building. The date for the start of construction hadn't really been set, but was expected to be soon. The troop decided they should relocate before the end of summer. So in August 2008, the troop began meeting at the Sunny Hills Church of Christ, which is on the same street, just a few blocks down.

The new location offered several nice features including more parking, a nice outdoor area and plenty of places for meeting and activities. Part of Coyote Hills is right behind the building with access from the street just a short walk away. Court of Honor was held in the auditorium with plenty of seating and a projection screen available. Parent Meetings were also held in the auditorium away from the kids. Patrol Leader Conference meetings for planning troop activities were also scheduled monthly outside of troop meetings.

This last Monday was the last time the troop met at our temporary location. Construction at First Presbyterian is nearly complete and they are ready for the troop to return. I'll admit this was a little bitter sweet to me. I have been opening and closing the building weekly almost every Monday this last 11 months, ensuring everything was as it should be and locked up before I left. Arriving early and leaving late. It is nice being relieved of that duty. I am glad to have helped the troop find a temporary meeting location and particularly pleased that the Sunny Hills Church of Christ building would serve and facilitate the Boy Scout organization (not for the first time, either).

A special thanks goes out to Donna Delgado for being particularly kind and helpful in arranging access and providing resources when needed and to Ellen Murphy for coordinating the calendar and ensuring we had a place to meet on a regular basis.

Columbine Springs Backpack

My boys and I went backpacking with our Boy Scout Troop 1201 this weekend. We went to Columbine Springs camp. The trail head is in Angelus Oaks, just below Big Bear. We had a grueling ascent of about 2300 ft. On the way up we had an incredible view as we climbed about the clouds. The peaks across the valley showed like islands in the clouds. Very picturesque!

At the top of our climb we traversed a saddle between peaks. The relatively flat bridge was covered in manzanita. There was lots of other shrubbery, but the manzanita has smooth bright red bark, making it very unique. I understand that it is protected. The saddle looked like a meadow.

We then made a sharp descent of about 500 feet to our camp area. We had seen plenty of day hikers, but this trail was not used very often and we were completely isolated down in our camping area. Other than a few planes it was very quiet.

The temperature dropped to quickly and went down to 39 degrees over night. We all turned in early to get out of the cold. It is probably just as well, since the boys made up a game involving tying each other up, which the adults nixed in the end.

The next morning we ate breakfast, packed up and made our ascent up 500 feet back to the saddle. Thank goodness the rest was all down hill from there!


Every trip we hand out a camp gadget; something small but very useful on backpacks. This trip we handed out bandanna's with the US flag on them, in honor of Flag Day. Our Scout Master even brought a flag to post in camp - a first for me on a backpack trip!

I am sure I have left out many interesting details and I may come back and edit some in. More pictures are available at the Troop 1201's picasa web album

Storage Shed Service Project

About a year ago our Boy Scout Troop had to temporarily relocate to a new meeting place. The church that charters our troop started a major remodeling project. Not only did we have to find a place to meet, but we also had to find a place to store all of our gear since the remodeling project would involve all three sheds/closets that the troop tucked gear into. But all that is coming to an end as construction is nearly complete.

This morning a number of people from the troop met to rebuild our shed. We have a fancy new room to store our gear with finished walls and a lot more space. It even has a window. There is enough space that all of our gear can be consolidated into the one room.

One of the first tasks is to rebuild all the shelving and storage. So we spent the day working. The boys made six dollies so that their patrol boxes can be rolled in and out of their storage slots in the new shed. I helped supervise that process. While the dollies were not the finest of construction, they turned out very serviceable and should last a number of years. The boys learned some good wood working skills too.

The men who have carpentry skills spend the day putting up shelves and cabinets in the new shed. I expect we will be adding lots of hooks and other aids for storage.

I can't wait to see the finished project!

Flags for Memorial Day

My wife, daughter, two sons and I got up early Saturday morning to put out flags and religious emblems on the graves of veterans for Memorial Day. My oldest son was invited for a service project as part of his membership in the Boy Scouts of America Order of the Arrow. My daughter needed another service project for her membership in the National Honors Society. The rest of the family came along since we like doing things like this, and have put out flags for veterans numerous times over the last 6-7 years.

Memory Garden is a much smaller cemetery than we have been used to working. We expected it to take all morning, but it didn't take long at all. We arrived around 7:00 A.M. and we finished around 8:30 A.M. We finished up the morning with donuts and coffee.

Scout-O-Rama

The Los Amigos District Scout-O-Rama event was held this weekend. Scout-O-Rama? What's that you say? I wondered the same thing when I heard about it many years ago when my oldest boy had joined a local cub scout den. If I had attended it back when I was a boy, I do not recall.

Scout-O-Rama is a special annual event where all the units in the district come together to display scout skills. I'll say that it is something like a carnival/fair. Every unit (Cub Scout Packs, Boy Scout Troops and Venture Crews) get a booth or display area. There is a nominal admission fee of $10 per family which mostly covers rental of the grounds and insurance, and there is typically a parking fee charged by the facility owner which was $5 this year. A few vendors are invited to supply food and beverages, the scout shop sets of a store, but otherwise there are no additional fees to participate in anything. An excellent deal, but it get's better!

There are several hundred booths manned by the units each year. The booths cover all areas of interest, including:

• Some cook and serve food (typically camping style) which you eat at your own risk, though most of it is from very safe recipes. Food includes stews, muffins cooked over open fires, dutch oven cobblers and desserts, solar cooked wienies and even pizza. I never have a need to buy food from the vendors.
• Scout built bridges, towers and climbing walls, as well as a regular attraction of a scout built May-Pole swing that seats about 10-12 people per turn. The swing often has hour long lines to get on.
• Booths to earn Cub Scout Belt Loops, Webelos Pins, and Boy Scout Merit Badges. These usually entail completing a number of requirements. The units usually provide the materials needed to complete the tasks.
• Crafts and art booths. In the past, the pack my sons belonged to provided materials to build pine cone bird feeders, a very popular activity. Cheap peanut butter spread on pine cones collected from local parks then roll the pine cones in bird seed and add a string to hang it.
• A few booths specialized in providing shaded resting places or misting stations or cold drinks.
• Many other things I am probably forgetting including panning for gold or fancy rocks, mazes, displays and exhibits.
  

My son's Boy Scout Troop 1201 has traditionally run a canoe event. We brought 6 canoes and provided canoe rides. My sons and I worked the booth from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm and I have included a picture of my younger boy helping me unload passengers I just took around the pond. This is a very popular booth that has had two hour lines in the past. It is great advertisement for our troop. We even won an award this year. We only had one incident during the day where a canoe tipped over and dumped the passengers. Accidents happen, and the life jackets we make everyone wear is a clear indication that unexpected dips in the pond are a distinct possibility. With that one exception, I think everyone else had a nice time.

I have to say that the location of this years event was by far the best; much better than the two other locations that have been used in past years. There was lots of shade and parking was good, taking less than 15 minutes to get in and out. I hope the district will be able to use this same location in coming years.

Order of the Arrow

My son David was nominated for induction into the Order of the Arrow, a Boy Scout National Honor Society. He had to be elected into the order by his fellow Boy Scouts in his troop. He will have to complete some additional tasks, include his Ordeal, before he becomes an actual member. His Ordeal will involve staying in the wilderness alone overnight. Adults will be in the area to ensure his safety, but he will only see them if significant danger threatens. I am glad he was nominated, and I am very proud of him.

Camporee

I worked at Camporee over the weekend. I was part of the Citizenship station. I played the administrative role. Each scout patrol would come and present themselves to me. They would show me their flag and give their patrol yell. I would prepare their score card and give them their first points based on presenting their flag and reciting their yell. Only one patrol came to me without a flag, while two others got partial points because they did not present their flag to me. I would then direct the patrol to meet with ASM's who would judge the boys on their abilities to correctly handle a U.S. flag - unfolding, presenting and refolding. They also had to answer various questions regarding their rights and responsibilities as U.S. Citizens. Afterward, they would return to me to have their score for the event calculated and be presented with a ribbon for first, second or third place, based on their score. It was a long but productive day.

It has been just over a year since I was a Webelos Den Leader in Cub Scouts. One of the things I enjoy about Camporee is a chance to see some of my cubs. I got to see Jimmy and Michael this year. Their picture is shown to the right. I noticed Jimmy immediately. To be honest, Michael had changed so much that I didn't recognize him right off. They told me that Ryan and Zachary were still in Boy Scouts, but had not come to Camporee this year.

Camporee itself had some interesting aspects this year. We were on the bank of Irvine Lake. Across the lake was a punk band concert. I understand it was 23 bands playing from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM. Unfortunately, some of their language was a bit colorful.

Telescope Knob

I have been waiting weeks for this little gem. This is the focusing knob to my telescope. I can now use it. Maybe I will drag it out tonight if the sky is still clear. Thank you Dr. Winston!

Canoe Trip

My son and I went on a week long canoe trip with Boy Scout Troop 1201. This was the lower river trip. We went on the lower trip last year as well. The year before that my son went on the upper river trip.

We traveled about 84 miles down the river. We started in a nice camp site at Blythe, CA that is kind enough to let us launch our canoes without paying a launch fee. We pack up about 45 sealed buckets of food, 6 ice chests and two large patrol boxes, along with all our personal gear - tents, chairs, sleeping bags, cots, cloths, etc.

Our first stop was a small sandy beach just a few miles away from our initial launch point. Since we start the day so late, we can not go far. This also gives the boys a chance to get the feel for the canoes loaded down with all the gear.

Our next stop was about 12 miles further down the river at Camp McIntyre. We sleep up on a grassy knoll. Not my favorite site, but it does have bathrooms. We have to share the beach with others. There is a store on site and plenty of people and activity. Just a bit too civilized, I think.

The following day we went about 8 more miles to Sandy Cove. On the way, we stopped and let the boys jump off a piling structure that is about 15 feet high over the water. The water was barely deep enough underneath, so the boys kept dredging up nasty smell mud with each jump. Sandy cove is an undeveloped beach with an small inlet. They boys can swim in the inlet and mess around with the canoes without worrying about the river current. Lots of the Arizona locals also drive into the beach. We had some youth from town that we could have done without this year. We also had a minor accident with one of the boys.

Our next stop was in the Piccacho camping area. We traveled about 26 miles to arrive at the 4-S camp site. This was one of our layover spots, so we spent two nights there, with one full day of no canoeing. This site is fairly remote but did have bathrooms on site and some tables with coverings. Unfortunately, the layover day was pretty windy, and kicked up a lot of sand. This was where I spent my birthday.

We had some cell phone coverage and discovered that a storm was heading our way. Normally we would travel another 8 miles or so and stay at the main Piccacho camp site which is typically mosquito infested and not particularly pleasant. To avoid the storm, we chose to skip Piccacho and see how far we could get.

Another long day of paddling of about 28 miles got us to our final camp site on Squaw Lake on Thursday afternoon. We set up there and weathered the storm that arrived on Friday afternoon. This site is well developed and I had a chance to shower and get cleaned up for our ride home.

We were picked up Saturday morning and arrived home around 5:00 PM. We made a stop at Carles Jr for our first civilized meal in a week. I've posted some additional photos on Picassa. My wife has a few blog entries as well.

Los Amigos District Dinner

I was invited to a District Dinner last night to receive an award. This is the second dinner and award I have received, but my first was from before I blogged. This dinner was at the all new Outdoor Education Center inside Irvine Park in Orange. The facilities were very nice.

Here are the awardees from Troop 1201 in order: Scott Allan, Lisa Vaughn, Irene Rassmussen, David Ahia, Kim Messbarger and Steve Herbets.

I received the Extra Mile Award. I am not sure who may have nominated me and for what service in particular, but I am grateful for the nomination and recognition. I think the Scouting Programs (both Boy and Girl Scouts) offer tremendous benefits to our youth and I am proud to support the organizations.

Along with the award, I received a VERY nice coffee mug. On one side is the Boy Scout emblem and on the other side is the Scout Oath. The Scout Law is shown in bands around the top and bottom. Click on the pictures for a closer look.

Kilimanjaro Gear

My son David has signed up for a trek to the top of Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa. We had been putting it off, but we could put it off no longer. We had to buy gear for his trip up the mountain. Here in sunny California, winter gear is often only available during the winter months, and we were running out of time. So, Saturday was spent at the local REI getting the things he will need to climb the mountain. The bottom of the mountain is arid, but he will be climbing through tropical forest with daily rainfall until he reaches the top which is covered in an ice cap. He will need to be prepared to travel through all the environments.

His gear includes a thick pair of thermal underwear designed to wick moisture away from his body so that he stays dry and warm. The next layer is a set of insulating jacket and pants. For additional warmth, he will have a vest that he can add over the jacket. Finally he has a set of rain gear - jacket and pants. For his head, he will have a balaclava and a beanie to put over it. He will have liner socks and three thickness of hiking socks, so he can move to thicker layers as he moves up. His gloves have a liner so that he can take them off and do tasks without completely exposing his hands.

While trekking during the day, he will probably get warm and remove layers as he goes, but as they stop to camp each night, he will have to add a number of layers to stay warm. We are hoping he adds the layers before he actually starts to get cold.

We have other gear he will be taking, and some of it we can purchase later. Not pictured is a zero degree sleeping bag.

We have a lot of concerns about his trip and neither of us will be with him. We will be relying on the adult scout leaders to ensure his safely and comfort. I'm sure I'll be blogging more as his departure nears.

See my wife's entry on the subject.

11 Mile Skyline Hike

I went on an 11 mile hike on Saturday. We met at 6:00 a.m., so I had to get up at 5:00 a.m. to get ready. We drove to the location of the hike, registered and had our photo taken, then sat in a bus for about 30 minutes to be taken up to the trail head.

Our hike was along the Skyline trail starting just above Rio Hondo College. Some of our group went 6 miles, but I chose to do 11 miles with my son. The hike follows a line of local foothills and had a number of ascents and descents. The last mile or two was a nice downhill slope.

The day was very overcast with occasional light sprinkles here and there. Never any real downpours. Wonderful for hiking. We even had a touch of sun come out a few times.

I was pretty tired by the time I was done. Stiffened up on the ride home. I had some errands that I had hoped to run in the afternoon, but decided it would be best for me to cancel them. I lounged about most of the day, nodding off regularly in front of the TV or computer. Finally I gave in and went to bed at 8:00 p.m. Today, I am still sore, but getting better. I even managed to hobble after my wife when we went Christmas shopping.