Trip Report: Biking the C & O Canal

How much can Troop 325 fit into a three day weekend?
How about 10 Scouts, 6 leaders, 2 support vehicles, 15 bikes, and 60 miles of cycling through the beautiful Allegheny Mountains. Oh yeah, plus 732 miles of driving to get there and back. This was an awesome trip.

We left HBBC around 8am Friday and arrived in Hancock, Maryland around 2:30. It was 84º and partly cloudy. Hutch, our outfitter from Cumberland Trail Connection, (highly recommended), met us at the Western Maryland Rail Trail in Hancock with 15, brand new, Specialized bikes, helmets and emergency tool kits. After a brief familiarization with the bikes, ten scouts, and four leaders hit the trail. The back up bike went into the equipment van driven by Mr. Pendergraft, while Mr. Allikas drove his SUV/Field Kitchen.

The first 12 miles were on the Western Maryland Rail Trail, a paved greenway type trail that took us past low mountains on the left and sheer rock faces on the right, winding through forests and abandoned farmsteads. We then linked up to the C & O Canal for another 5 miles. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, runs parallel to the Potomac River for 184 miles. Over three days, we biked the northernmost third along the towpath that mules originally used to pull barges upstream.

Friday night we camped at Little Orleans Campground, about a quarter mile from the Potomac. Unfortunately, we turned right instead of left, and had a nice little one hour ride for about a mile straight up. Once we realized our error, we had a 3 minute ride straight down. It almost made the climb worth it. By the time we got to the campground, Mr. Pendergraft was already unloading our gear, and Mr. Allikas was preparing dinner for the adults. This was our method for the weekend; support vehicles leapfrogging ahead, and tired bikers pulling into a camp that was already partially set. Nice.

Saturday morning we were on the trail by 8am. Predicted high of 78º and partly cloudy. This was our long haul day, 32 miles. With the Potomac on our left, and the canal on our right, we set out. We stopped at many of the locks, some still having the original lockkeeper's houses. We passed a couple other Scout troops, a black rat snake, and an Eastern Hog-nosed snake, who did a good impression of a hissing cobra. About every 5 miles there were large old cast iron hand pumps to fill our water bottles. Unfortunateley, there was so much cast iron in the water that within a few minutes the clear water you just pumped into your bottle looked like orange Gatorade from all the rust. About 6 miles in, the rear derailleur broke off of Davis's bike. This is the device that moves the chain from one sprocket to another. Not having a spare, we had to remove it, shorten the chain, and improvise a shim of three pennies to keep the rear wheel on the frame. By 11am, we reached the Paw Paw Tunnel. Completed in 1850, the tunnel is over 3000 feet long and lined with six million bricks. It's pretty cool. And dark. And wet. Less than a mile later, we met up with the support vehicles for lunch at the park where the original Lock/Tunnel Master's house still stands, and swapped Davis's rigged bike for the spare one. Back on the trail, we had about 20 miles to go before camp, passing many more locks and the confluence of the North and South forks of the Potomac. By the time we reached Spring Gap, the sky was pretty ominous. Thankfully, the support crew had already erected most of the scouts' tents before the bottom fell out. The adult leaders weren't so lucky. It rained on and off for most of the evening, but we were able to enjoy another good dinner.

Sunday morning we were back on the trail, with just enough mud and water to make it interesting. After biking through 5 or 6 miles of rolling hills, farmland, and homicidal Canadian geese, we started rolling through the outskirts of Cumberland, reaching the end of the trail around 9:30 am. Downtown Cumberland near the canal is a pretty cool place with shops, restaurants, a reproduction canal barge, and the restored Western Maryland steam train. At the outfitter's we did our best to clean up the bikes and ourselves, then hit the Crabby Pig next door for lunch. Only they don't serve lunch at 10:00 am, so we hit the road and eventually a McDonald's somewhere on the ride home.

Again, this was a fantastic trip. Many thanks to Mr. Myers for planning and leading. The idea for this trip came from his troop's outing on this trail when he was a Scout.

Also thanks to Mr. Allikas and Mr. Pendegraft for shuttling, cooking, photography, and everything else.

Trip Photos

Info on planning your own trip:

http://www.bikewashington.org/canal/

http://www.fred.net/kathy/canal.html

District Camporee Rocks! April 11-13, 2008

Falls Lake B. W. Wells group campsite was the location of the Baden-Powell District Camporee. Mr. Kerr, our scoutmaster, was in charge of the Camporee. He did an outstanding job! The weather was great - just a bit of rain on Saturday, but no one complained with a now full lake. Troop 325 had 15 scouts and 4 leaders attending. The environmental theme was the mantra for the weekend. Many of our scouts participated in the Environmental Science Merit badge program on Saturday. They covered requirements 1, 2, 3a-f, and 6 which included a history of environmental science, vocabulary, ecology simulations, air pollution experiments, water pollution experiments, land pollution activities, endangered species information, reuse and recycling activities, and careers in environmental science. NCSU, EPA, and Wildlife officials, as well as scout leaders from our district (including me) helped with this event. The scouts will need to complete their observations and ideas for requirement 4 and 5.

Mr. Stelpflug ran a woodyard to help scouts with their totem cards and patches. We had an awesome ultimate dodge ball game for over an hour on Saturday. Cooking skills were honed and stoves shared - I wonder why?? We adopted a few scouts from Troop 100 and Troop 398. The boys participated in and watched some unique skits - slooooooow moooootion beans and more!! Fried ham?? from Daniel!

Chris P., Nolan, and Will were tapped for an ordeal in an impressive Order of the Arrow ceremony. Congratulations guys! Capture the flag on the field until lights out!

Sunday brought a close to a great weekend - a traditional Bojangles stop was made!

Guest Blogger - Mr. Morris

Trip Report: Camp Charles 3/14/08

Camp Charles is located near Bailey, NC, less than an hour east of Raleigh, and first opened in 1929. Although some of the infrastructure is in need of repair, it's still a beautiful camp with big granite formations, an allegedly stocked fish pond, and a fairly good sized lake.

This was the first troop outing for our new scouts that crossed over earlier this month. After receiving instruction, and demonstrating their competency, they all earned their "Totin' Chip." This is similar to the Whittlin' Chip they earned in Cub Scouts, but allows them to safely use and maintain axes, hatchets and saws, in addition to pocket knives. The Totin' Chip card should be carried with their BSA ID, and the patch should be sewn onto the flap of the right breast pocket.

Older scouts honed their compass and navigational skills on an orienteering course. This involved finding over a dozen hidden markers about the size of a quarter, spread out over an area of roughly a half square mile. Scouts had to use a compass to shoot a bearing, then gauge distance to the marker by counting paces. This is one of the requirements for the rank of Scout, First Class.

Later that afternoon, senior scouts helped the others work on advancements, then we grabbed our fishing rods and made our way down to the pond of poor, unsuspecting fish. Highlights of our catch included the elusive Tree Branch, the mysterious Bottom Muck, and BOTH pant legs of ONE scout caught simultaneously with ONE fishing lure. If any fish died that day, they died from laughter.

Saturday night's dinners were to be prepared in dutch ovens on open coals, but the sudden arrival of heavy rains, (almost an inch in total), forced the scouts to improvise cooking methods and ingredients. Despite this curve ball, masterpieces of chicken, chili, and pork chops were produced and consumed. A late night snack of fresh homemade donuts, tall tales and corny jokes, took the edge off the cold rain.

Sunday morning found us rising from the mud like tadpoles, packing our wet gear, and breaking camp. After a blistering game of dodge ball, it was off to Bojangle's (of course) and then home.

OK, so it rained. A lot. Big deal. The key to having fun on outings is being comfortable, and that means staying warm and dry. So repeat after me.

"A COTTON HOODY IS NOT A RAIN JACKET!"
"A COTTON HOODY IS NOT A RAIN JACKET!"
"A COTTON HOODY IS NOT A RAIN JACKET!"

Wet cotton loses all of it's insulation value, weighs a ton, and takes FOREVER to dry, even in direct sunlight. A good, waterproof, breathable outer shell is money well spent. Also, wet jeans are not only uncomfortable, but they are not part of either class A or B uniforms. Scout pants, especially the new style, dry quickly and will still keep you warm, even when wet. Check the equipment closet for "swapped" uniform clothing and boots. It's not brand new, it's better. It's free. Remember, a scout is thrifty.

Trip Photos
(Thanks to Mr. Morton)

Trip Report: Backpacking the Uwharrie National Forest 2/15/08

Well, we must have done something right, because the weather turned out to be perfect. Partly sunny with temps around 27º Friday night, 63º Saturday, and 37º Saturday night. No rain whatsoever. We hiked in .5 miles Friday night and camped. After a leisurely breakfast, we were on the trail by 9am, making 3 miles by 11:30. After our lunch by an old moonshine still (?), we drew water from Wood Run creek, and started up Dennis Mountain, elevation 732 feet. After another mile, we made the top by 2pm, took a short breather, and started our 2 mile descent towards our next site, reaching it around 4pm. Sunday morning found us on the trail by 8am, taking a slightly shorter route than planned and reaching the trailhead and the vans just after 9am. After jumpstarting the new van with the old one, we headed home.

I had a lot of fun on this trip. As Mr. Kerr likes to say, “Learning took place.” I think the newer scouts learned you don’t need as much stuff as you think. And that, even with all the unnecessary weight, and despite what their legs and lungs were telling them, they learned that they could make it to the top. I’m also proud of the older scouts who offered encouragement and their trekking poles to the younger guys.

Matt Garnier offered to give a refresher on how to load your backpack at the next troop meeting. I think that would be a great idea. Hopefully, when everyone got home and unpacked, they made a note of what they never used. Paring down your gear is a continual refinement and will change somewhat based on season and duration. Some of the scouts asked how I fit all my gear in a smaller pack. The key is to lay it all out before you pack. When I got home, I unpacked, laid it all out and took a picture. This is my standard pack for 2-3 days in spring or fall. Total weight with 1 day of water, 26 lbs.