West Point

I made all the purchases & arrangements for this. Even did the grocery shopping. For my very first event, it went okay.





Drove to Camp Bullowa on Friday night. Advance party was supposed to be Matt, Paul, & Sara, but Matt had house trouble and Sara had a surprise Dr appointment so I had to get the boys out of school quickly and get on the road. Because of that, we didn't arrive before dark which made setup difficult. We never even deduced if we were in the correct camp site or not.

 The game was a blow-out and we were late arriving which meant late for tours, etc... It worked out okay, but could have been better. I fell short on the arrangements - no water supply and I didn't gather info on how to sign up for tours, where the scoutmaster activities were, etc... I could have done better.

After the 3rd quarter the scouts decided to visit the West Point Museum which was cool. But it was closing soon after we arrived - started late because some scouts were in the bathroom / food lines. After the museum we had to walk briskly back around the stadium and luckily caught a bus to take us back to our parking site. Then we were in the dark, AGAIN, trying to make dinner - frozen hamburger foil packets.

Boys were exhausted on night #2. That's why Brian is wearing his winter jacket in the second tent picture.

Cycling Merit Badge

5 Mile bike ride to start the Cycling Merit Badge. Brennan was a little unsteady at first with the big bike, but he got comfortable and made the trip. Brian did fine - I didn't see him most of the time. That night Brennan had terrible pains in his leg while Annie & I were out - Allison did a solid job taking care of him with an Epsom salt bath. It was difficult to see.

Camp Brule Camporee

One night affair. Drove down Saturday morning, set up camp, made chili, the scouts set up their catapults / trebuchets, and then there were a bunch of night-time activities, including a ropes course. Both boys did great. Brian was able to do the ropes course, but Brennan was too young & too cold. Boys slept in the half-dome tent while I stayed solo in the Lunar Solo. It got down to 25 degrees at night! It was a good time, but exhausting.

Scout Camp Week

Brennan's first ever week of camp. Brian's 3rd week (year). Great week and can't wait to return. Warm, but not too hot. Bugs weren't bad until Wednesday night. Chicken BBQ dinner on Friday was not so good I thought, but Annie was pleased. Need to bring our own plates & flatware next time because the paper plates are weak.

Brennan took FYRE, Birdwatching, Fishing, and Leatherworking. Brian went with Shotgun, Astronomy, Emergency Prep, Pioneering, and Game Design. They also both did the Frontiersman badge which required some extra effort, including a 1-hour service project where they had to use shovels to clear some ditches on the sides of a trail.

**** The troop earned the spirit stick ****

They consistently did great on their inspections, site improvements, and Happy Hour.

BSA Brian 7/8 - 7/13

Brian: Sleep system was great: Outdoor Research Bug bivy, Sea-to-Summit Comfort Light SI pad (2"), Kelty Bestie blanket, and Cocoon Travel pillow. Even worked well overnight at Hilltop. Didn't use a sleeping bag once.

Brett: Used my Sea-to-Summit 4" pad atop the cot mattress. I didn't sleep great, no surprise, but it wasn't that bad. The Walmart camping blanket left something to be desired, but I survived. Mosquito netting was fine, but the bugs weren't too bad this year. Hanging the netting - bring a rope and clothes pins - the only horizontal tent pole is at the apex and goes front-to-back. I saw one rig where a rope was tied round each end and loose so the netting would fit down to the cot.

BRING JACKET & HAT FOR COOL NIGHTS & COLD MORNINGS
It got very cold overnight and fortunately I had extra winter hats in the car. The only jacket I had was my EMS lined wind-breaker. It must be 20 years old.

WATERPROOF the shoes if they don't bring 2 pairs of shoes because of the morning dew. Brian wore wool socks so this wasn't much of a problem, but it could have been. He didn't wear his hiking boots at all.

DAYPACK is crucial to avoid trips back-and-forth to camp and avoid losing items. If you wear your jacket in the morning because of the cold, what do you do with it when it gets too hot by 10? Brian left his water bottle at stations constantly until he started using his backpack as his daypack. Nice to put hats, jackets, water in. Also will be good for Brennan & his wet swimming clothes.

See BSA blog for other notes.

BSA Boston Trip

Drove up to New England Base Camp in Milton, MA. With me & Brian were Seojun and Will Stetter. Great group to travel with. We left at 9:32am Friday, 5/25 and arrived at 16:42. Stopped twice for about 20 minutes each plus an emergency 2 minute pee on the side of route 88 near Oneonta for Brian.

Sleep system: Coleman air mattresses, sheets, sleeping bags, real pillows. My mattress kept deflating. Brian had an accident on his the 2nd to last night. And because it was so hot during the day and we were so active, it was a horrible time to not get enough sleep! But we powered through and made some nice memories. Fortunately I had purchased an air pump that recharges so I didn't have to have electricity because the camp site was hundreds of feet away from the nearest outlet.

Food: cold cereal, sandwiches, campfire pies, bag lunches, etc... Once or twice Brian & I ate out, but not much. It wasn't the healthiest of times, but it was fun. Although we had camp stove & cookware, we didn't use it at all. Larabar supply was completely consumed - love those!!!

Water: Gregory 3L bladder was key for me & Brian.

Ozark Trail day pack was very uncomfortable. And not having side-pockets to stash stuff quickly was a huge pain.

Clothes: Always bring jacket & winter hat in daypack! We went to Fenway to watch Red Sox and it got so cold they sold out of blankets! I bought us some hats and it was just enough for us. We weren't comfortable, but it wasn't miserable either.

Crazy weather! Wicked hot Friday & Saturday (90℉). Very chilly & windy Sunday (55℉). Rained Sunday night before we left Monday morning (67℉). A little of everything except snow.

Scouts @ Kiwanis

Someone said it got down to 24℉ last night and I believe it! Brian had my 0℉ bag and I had my 20℉ Kelty Tuck. We were in the REI Half Dome. No rain. He was on a Therm-a-Rest and I had a Big Agnes inflatable. Got here at 5:30pm, bet at 9:30pm.

I heated water & gave Brian some freeze dried spaghetti while I have rice w/ lentils from home. I slept well until 11:30 but saw my watch every hour until 3:30 when Brian woke to pee. I hadn't wanted to wake him but I was holding for 2 hours myself! At that point I grabbed a fleece liner and put it around my wind pants & coat. We then slept until 7.

My pad made a lot of noise every time I moved until I put a liner around it.

We again slept on a slope and slid down all night. Brian did great and was warm enough. I'll need another 0℉ bag I think!

Oatmeal for breakfast since the rest of the scouts weren't up yet. Love the new cooking system Annie & the kids got me for my birthday and it was only $27.

It's 10:30am and the scouts are just cleaning their breakfast dishes. Pete Reif is making chili for lunch, but I may stick with my mashed potatoes. Need to leave by 3pm to get ready for Easter Vigil fire.

Scouts at Kiwanis

Boy Scouts overnight w/ Brian. Made mountain pies on the fire which were nice. Went to sleep at 10 after playing cards in the tent for a few minutes. Didn't play w/ the other boys at all. Rained much of the night and the REI Half-dome - 16 years old - finally sprung a leak right above my head. I need a better air mattress due to my hips. Didn't sleep much - ran 2 soccer matches Friday just before going to the camp.

It got down to 46℉ in the morning, probably colder in the night. We had my phone for white noise so at least Brian slept okay. When he woke, he didn't want to stay for breakfast & I really needed a bathroom so we left.

Can't believe it, but I left my sleeping bag at the house. There were extras so I got lucky. Definitely can't use that tent in winter without a better sleeping bag than the summer-weight one they loaned me.

Green gate for the camp is 1.38 miles up Kerrick Hollow Road on the R.

Green down jacket & winter hat were perfect. Even though I was in shorts it was good. Also glad to be wearing hiking boots & thick socks.

Family Ski Event

Thanks to cub scouts, took everyone skiing at Swain on Jan 22. It was 39 degrees but there's was enough snow to get in some lessons. I couldn't ski due to my knee, but it was great seeing them all get out there and go. Alli was a natural and Annie got up the big hill a couple times too. Brian was determined after seeing Allison advance and he eventually did the big hill twice. Brennan was disappointed but had fun as well. Admission was complaining during the ride up that she wasn't going to do it, but with less than half the lesson, she was going by herself up the lift. It was a good day.