Troop 132 made their first backpacking trip this past weekend. We drove up to South Mountain State Park Saturday morning, 11 scouts 3 ASM’s. The park offers 40 miles of trails, an 80’ waterfall and elevations up to 3,000’.
We off loaded the bus, geared up and set out . . . .
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Short walk, then
UP the mountain.
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The first climb took a lot out of a few of the scouts and we had to stop often. Walking someone else’s pace is HARD! Funny thing though, every time we put the slowest scout up front, he out walked everyone else.
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Took the High Shoals Falls trail to the top of the waterfall, dropped packs and walked the steps down to the base of the falls, (up to go down then back up). Back tracked a little to get to Upper Falls trail, hiked along Shinny Trail, to H.Q. trail and our campsite, around 6.5 miles.
This is where the boys have a blast. Setting up tents, hammocks, and tarps, dragging out bags and pads and FOOD, playing in the creek forgetting about the pain and discomfort of the last few hours.
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After darkness arrived, it didn’t take long for the scouts to start disappearing into their tents and hammocks, and I wasn’t far behind them either.
The next morning I was up at daybreak. Someone somewhere suggested Starbucks instant coffee for the trail, THANK YOU! Pretty tasty stuff and after three cups, well I was ready to GO.
It was just over a mile to hike out to the bus, mostly flat or down hill. For some reason it was a quiet ride home. I did well with the exception of my hip joints feeling like they needed to be greased . . . .
As a troop we decided we’re not quite ready to do any long distance hikes. But the boys want to keep packing and camping, so we’ll keep working our way up to bigger and better trips.
Thanks, to everyone here who shares their knowledge with those of us who have soooo much to learn . . . .