New hikers , dont know what they dont know.
Your planning starts way before the hike starts, with the selection of what you will be taking on the hike.
Choosing the right gear is probably the most important part of your planning, and can be divided up into a few important areas. For our trip use what you have, as its only 2 miles to our campsite, but start to think about gear that will work for you on future trips
Places like REI will also rent gear, so you can test if not sure what you want to buy.
Backpack
Everything you take on a hike needs to go in or on your backpack. Having straps (few $ at REI and other outdoor stores) to fasten items like sleeping bag or tent on the outside needs to be something you should think of . A Backpack must fit your body size and the waist belt must be able to carry the majority of the weight of the pack, so it must fit you , both vertically as well as girth (around your waist).
An ideal MAX weight for the fully packed backpack is 30% of body weight, and this is for hiking fit people. So for our younger scouts it is very difficult to stay light enough. Question every thing you add into the pack.
For this trip , the troop will provide a backpack for anyone needing one.
Sleeping gear
Starts with shelter , tent , bivy , hammock , sleeping bag, sleeping mattress or pad -
based on the season you must choose what you will be comfortable in. Insulation from the ground is very important in all seasons, that is why a pad is so often talked about
For late summer like now, I use a Bivy and sleeping pad and fleecy blanket- but never forget my pillow. If no chance of rain I sleep in the open, unless bugs are bad. A down throw / blanket is also great at this time of year. Costco have one for $19 at present.
Dont forget to make your sleeping gear waterproof (garbage bag works great)
Eating gear
For this trip the troop will provide a stove and cooking gear, BUT you need at minimum a spoon, and a lighter. I would also add in a cup if you plan on coffee , hot chocolate tea etc. Plastic cup is lighter than a metal one. a knife is another important item to remember
Water bottle - you must carry 1 liter of water for this trip.
Footwear
Good boots are ideal for hiking, something that protects your ankles in case you step on a rock and roll your ankle. BUT DO NOT go on a hike with new boots or shoes. Trail runners are becoming the new ideal for hikers , but sneakers are just fine on short hikes like this one. Add in a change of socks.
Personal gear
Toothbrush, small towel, hand sanitiser, bug spray, sun screen, (all of these can be found in small sizes) toilet paper (leaves are not comfortable , I promise you)
Change of underwear and socks. First aid kit, whistle, head lamp, and a windproof jacket / rain jacket. A poncho works well for raingear.
Emergency blanket ..... I recommend adding one into your pack , just like I always carry about 25-50 ft of paracord, as well as dental floss- it can be used for so many things including fixing your pack.
NOTE On clothing , if you cannot wear everything you are taking at one time, then you have too much packed. and again think light weight.
A dry fit shirt weighs about half a cotton shirt, so a long sleeve dryfit plus a short sleeve dryfit, gives you two layers for the weight of one cotton shirt.
Food
Think about carrying snacks that are both lightweight and high energy, for your main meal.
Ramen noodles are a great easy meal , dont forget to add in a protein like fish or chicken, and packet soups also make a great dinner
Also think about a comfort food that you might want to add in, like a pudding or cookies.
also pack your snacks so they are easy to get to, like a side pocket. For drinking - water is best. le
For breakfast I like Bagels and cream cheese, or Granola with long life milk (you can eat it dry too)
Hiking poles are nice to have when you have a trail that has lots of hills, they can also substitute for tent poles too.
Have a great weekend planning for your hike, and remember to bring all your gear to the meeting on Tuesday.
Here is a great link for light weight planning
http://www.adventurealan.com/appalachian-trail-gear-list/
Friday, September 9, 2016
Monday, May 16, 2016
2016 Canoe Trip
This year we will change it up a bit...
We will leave after work on Thursday night +- 5:30pm , its 2 hour drive so we will be in camp by 7:30pm. We are camping in the Mill Race Group sites , so no portage across the river this time.
Friday Morning we will have an early Breakfast , and head UP River , and do the short haul from the Austinville Boat Ramp back to Foster Falls , this takes about 3.5 hours, so we will be back by lunch time.
This gives us the afternoon to swim , tube down the falls, and fish (need a Va Fishing License)
A very hearty dinner will follow (Patrols will be given a meal task)
Saturday we will paddle down river from just below the campsite all the way to Allisonia , about 6- 7 hours on the river
We will leave after work on Thursday night +- 5:30pm , its 2 hour drive so we will be in camp by 7:30pm. We are camping in the Mill Race Group sites , so no portage across the river this time.
Friday Morning we will have an early Breakfast , and head UP River , and do the short haul from the Austinville Boat Ramp back to Foster Falls , this takes about 3.5 hours, so we will be back by lunch time.
This gives us the afternoon to swim , tube down the falls, and fish (need a Va Fishing License)
A very hearty dinner will follow (Patrols will be given a meal task)
Saturday we will paddle down river from just below the campsite all the way to Allisonia , about 6- 7 hours on the river
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Chicken Dinner Fundraiser April 23
Ticket sales started last night.
Tickets can be bought from our scouts or online
Online Ticket Sales
Online Ticket Sales
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Chicken Meal Fundraiser- April 23rd
We have agreement from all parties to go ahead to raise money for High Adventure and Outdoor activities, by holding a Chicken Dinner fundraiser on April 23
Lots of work is needed before this time though. We will need all families to help the troop make this a success.
The decision has been made to only pre-sell tickets for this event, and we will even have some online sales through Eventbrite . By pre selling it gives us a clear goal of what we have to do on the day. I believe we may have a few meals for sale on the day , but very limited in qty.
Expectations We would like all scouts to sell at least 10 tickets, and as each family should buy 3-5 for themselves , this should not be a difficult goal at all. With 25 Scouts , that is 80% of our goal of 300 meals. Our stretch is 400 meals and a max cutoff will be 500 , as we feel this is our capacity.
We will need to make bulk Potato salad, and Bulk Sauce too, and this will need all the families to help us.
We now have a new Facebook page for friends and Family to follow us and we will also use to drive some fundraising : https://www.facebook.com/groups/476382029236814/
This is public so please share with all your friends and family .
What does a meal consist of ???
Half chicken , scoop of potato salad, and two dinner rolls - all for $8
We can also sell sauce in bottles for an additional $2.50
The Church will allow the selling of tickets and also putting up a banner to advertise the fundraiser so we can reach the bigger community with this fundraiser. We will embrace the future by selling tickets after Church and accept Credit Cards too.
Work to be done :
Creation of tickets
Advertising and setup of Eventbrite for online sales
Purchasing of supplies - Meal boxes, Sauce bottles, Bread rolls,
Cooking and making Potato salad
Making of sauce
Purchase of Chicken from Hopkins Poultry (they will deliver on the morning)
Building of new cooker (Drum is sourced and Rick will lead)
This is our long term goal :
Local scout troop have been doing this for over 30 years, they did 2600 half chicken meals this last November , and raised a substantial $$ amount for their troop
I'm a great believer in using real charcoal and brickets , because of the superior flavor it gives to the chicken.
On the outbound side ,
we will need help:
putting the meals together after the chicken is cooked,
manning the pickup lines
and we will also do drive through pickup.
Obviously the Scouts will help manning the fires, moving cooked chicken into where the meals will be prepared and the biggest task , the clean up afterwards.
The aim is to start cooking early Saturday morning, with first pickups starting at 10 or 11 am with a 4 hour window.
We suggested that the ticket stub would define first or second pick up ie 11am till 1pm and 1pm till 3pm
A small sub committee will meet this Friday after work 5:30pm at a local place on New Garden rd
Please contact Rick if you would like to be part of this effort.
Lots of work is needed before this time though. We will need all families to help the troop make this a success.
The decision has been made to only pre-sell tickets for this event, and we will even have some online sales through Eventbrite . By pre selling it gives us a clear goal of what we have to do on the day. I believe we may have a few meals for sale on the day , but very limited in qty.
Expectations We would like all scouts to sell at least 10 tickets, and as each family should buy 3-5 for themselves , this should not be a difficult goal at all. With 25 Scouts , that is 80% of our goal of 300 meals. Our stretch is 400 meals and a max cutoff will be 500 , as we feel this is our capacity.
We will need to make bulk Potato salad, and Bulk Sauce too, and this will need all the families to help us.
We now have a new Facebook page for friends and Family to follow us and we will also use to drive some fundraising : https://www.facebook.com/groups/476382029236814/
This is public so please share with all your friends and family .
What does a meal consist of ???
Half chicken , scoop of potato salad, and two dinner rolls - all for $8
We can also sell sauce in bottles for an additional $2.50
The Church will allow the selling of tickets and also putting up a banner to advertise the fundraiser so we can reach the bigger community with this fundraiser. We will embrace the future by selling tickets after Church and accept Credit Cards too.
Work to be done :
Creation of tickets
Advertising and setup of Eventbrite for online sales
Purchasing of supplies - Meal boxes, Sauce bottles, Bread rolls,
Cooking and making Potato salad
Making of sauce
Purchase of Chicken from Hopkins Poultry (they will deliver on the morning)
Building of new cooker (Drum is sourced and Rick will lead)
This is our long term goal :
Local scout troop have been doing this for over 30 years, they did 2600 half chicken meals this last November , and raised a substantial $$ amount for their troop
BUT
This is where we will start , with maybe 3 or 4 cookers like this one , with the ability to cook about 120-160 portions at any one time (across the 4 cookers), with a cooking time of 90-120 minutes in open cooking or 60 minutes with a closed lid system. This cooker can cook about 50 pieces at a time
I'm a great believer in using real charcoal and brickets , because of the superior flavor it gives to the chicken.
On the outbound side ,
we will need help:
putting the meals together after the chicken is cooked,
manning the pickup lines
and we will also do drive through pickup.
Obviously the Scouts will help manning the fires, moving cooked chicken into where the meals will be prepared and the biggest task , the clean up afterwards.
The aim is to start cooking early Saturday morning, with first pickups starting at 10 or 11 am with a 4 hour window.
We suggested that the ticket stub would define first or second pick up ie 11am till 1pm and 1pm till 3pm
A small sub committee will meet this Friday after work 5:30pm at a local place on New Garden rd
Please contact Rick if you would like to be part of this effort.
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
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