Backpacking Trip

The troop recently went on a one night backpacking trip at Enchanted Rock State Park, a great area around a large dome of pink granite. We hiked in on Saturday morning, had a quick lunch, and started our trek to the top of the dome. When we got to the top, everyone had a fun time exploring the cave that was near the peak, admiring the view, and chasing after objects that were blown away in the strong wind. We hiked back to camp, and cooked diner in our special lightweight stoves and went to bed. In the morning, we all woke up late, packed up, and left.

Varsity Team 448: Lost Maples Hiking Trip, November 2010

This weekend (Nov 19th-21st) the troop had three different hikes going on.

For Varsity Team 448 we went to Lost Maples State Natural Area:

We left Austin on Friday night and arrived around 11:00 PM at Lost Maples.

On the trip down several deer ran in front of our car--and also what appeared to be a giant 400 pound wild boar. We were fortunate not to hit anything because I have been on other trips where folks damaged the front of their vehicles on deer in that same area.

After arriving, we hiked-in the one mile to the nearest camping spot under a nearly full-moon that illuminated the late night nocturnal landscape as a lonely owl called in the distance. The silence reminded me of a long-ago Longfellow poem.

The next morning we hiked back to the ranger station--and then set-out on East Trail and hiked the loop around the mountain and back down to the pond again. We stopped to enjoy the multiple scenic outlooks after enduring the grueling hike up the mountain.

After a short nap--we set out on the West Trail going up the mountain again and eventually arriving at Campground #H. The first couple of hours the boys were cranky---but by about 1:30 in the afternoon were getting into the swing of things and trying their best to outpace us.

For supper we had dehydrated camping food (chili-mac) that we heated on the stove--and then an assortment of other ready-to-eat provisions. It's surprising how good a low-life granola bar looks when you've been hiking and you'll eat almost anything.

Because it was dark and everybody was exhausted we went to bed around 7:00 PM as a cold wind began to blow.

The next morning the boys woke us up at around 5:40 AM. A giant cloud had descended on the mountain top bringing a wet winter like mist that reminded me of a Harry Potter scene. Droplets of water were blowing from the trees and the flashlights and headlamps created a silver-lined halo in the distance. As we descended down the mountain top even the best pair of hiking boots found the rocks to be quite slippery in the pre-dawn fog and several times we almost lost our footing.

As we reached the West Trail sunrise was beckoning and we continued down the trail across the frequent small stream crossings eventually reaching the parking lot area.

On the way home we stopped at a restaurant in Kerrville frequented by deer hunters in camos because we figured they might be used to customers like us that hadn't had a shower recently.

Overall a great weekend which I will always remember and I thank the scouting organization and all the folks in the troop that taught us the skills we got to try out on this trek!

Cyberbully presentation

Christopher Frasquieri’s Eagle COH

Christopher Frasquieri had his Eagle Court of Honor on Saturday at the Texas Capitol. Chris received his Eagle Scout rank at the end of a large ceremony. Guests had barbeque before, and cake after.

BTSR Summer Camp 2010

This Year's summer camp took place at Buffalo Trails Scout Ranch in the Davis Mountains. Over 70 people from our troop attended the campout, along with many kids from other troops, which amounted to over 300 people in base camp, not counting mountain man and calvacade. Everyone had a great time, even though we got rain every day for hours at a time. On thursday we visited the McDonald Observatory and learned things about space there, but with the rain, we couldn't see the telescopes.

Everyone had a lot of fun at BTSR

Climbing Campout at Lost Pines

What a great campout! There was lots to do with climbing, kayaking, pioneering, advancement and plain good fun. I hope to see more posts from the scouts about this campout.

Here are my photos and a video:

DAW Games

Here is a short video about Troop 448's participation in the Troop Games at DAW 2010:

District Adventure Weekend

Last weekend was the District Adventure Weekend, a day when scouts from all over the Thunderbird District teach each other various skills. Scouts participated in activities such as learning how to make a bear bag or a cat hole, or learning how to make a leave no trace fire. The event was held for the first time at Griffith League Scout Ranch, which is a leave no trace area. In the evening, we had an Order of the Arrow tap-out ceremony.

At the ceremony, 5 scouts and 2 leaders were

"tapped out," or were accepted into the O. A.

We all had a lot of fun at this year's District Adventure Weekend, and are looking foreward to the next one.

Phoenix Patrol's First Campout

This year, we had 9 new crossovers attend Camping 101 at El Rancho Cima as the Phoenix patrol.

On Friday, the scouts learned how things worked, like how we setup troop gear before our personal stuff. They also learned 2 other things-
-Setting tents up in the dark is tricky, and
-They should get used to setting up in the dark!

On Saturday, they woke up and had breakfast. Everyone pitched in for a quick and easy clean up. After that, a few of them participated in a flag ceremony. They then proceeded to the three stations, where they earned their Totin’ Chip and Fireman’s Chit. They also learned some very important knots. In between the second and third stations, we had an easy lunch of sandwiches, preceded by a food safety talk. After the stations, we relaxed, played some games, and worked on the Tenderfoot fitness requirement. The scouts also earned their scout ranks! We ate a dinner of hot dogs and chili. We also had a campfire made up of hilarious, almost made up on the spot skits, which were followed by smores.

On Sunday, we packed up, ate, met the older scouts, and did thorns and roses.
Then, we left.

A short summary:
The scouts had fun, earned some awards, and had a great experience at their first Boy Scout campout

-Thomas Crain
Phoenix patrol leader

taco sale

Today we had the taco sale fundraiser.we ended up selling 350 breakfast tacos and raised $525. we had a great time and lots of scouts came, it was a big success

Camping 101 2010

This year, camping 101 was held at El Rancho Cima, near Wimberly. We welcomed the new Phoniex patrol into the troop, and new scouts earned their Totin' Chip, Fireman's Chit, and also learned some knot-tying skills. Most of the older scouts went backpacking on Saturday through Sunday, and the whole troop had a lot of fun.

Also, a new scout hung his older brother's

pants on the flagpole at camp. Since the

scout who's pants were hung was out

backpacking,they stayed up until sunday,

at the "de-panting" ceremony.

Pike’s Peak: Summer Camp 2009

Many of the scouts and adults who went to the 2009 summer campout in Colorado went up on a cog train to Pike’s Peak. Since one group of scouts was running late, and missed the first trip, the scouts traveled there in two main groups. The first was met with rougher weather than the second, with temperatures below zero degrees with wind chill. In both groups it was cold, cloudy, and very windy. The view of the mountains from the top was spectacular, though. Everyone I talked to loved it, and I've heard no complaints from anyone who went.