Brian McDonald is an Eagle Scout

Mr. Bales congratulates Brian on his Eagle Scout.

Congrats to Brian on attaining the rank of Eagle Scout.  His Board of Review was held on last night and earned Scouting's highest rank.  Great Job!


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Grayson Berdofe ~ Eagle Scout Court of Honor

Congratulations to Grayson Berdofe.  On August 24, 2011, Grayson earned his Eagle Award.  During his court of honor, that award was presented to Grayson. 

Troop 448 salutes Grayson.  We are proud of your hard work and dedication to scouting and Troop 448.

Summer Camp at Bear Creek

This year, Troop 448 decided to go to Bear Creek Scout Reservation near Kerrville, Texas. As the SPL for this camp, I would say this camp was a success. All of the scouts had a great time and accomplished something at camp. We had people that participated in the Ranger program, the COPE program, and people who earned awards in their Merit Badge areas. I can only think of one thing that we can improve on, and that is wearing boots so we don’t hurt ourselves on uneven trails. I would like to thank all of the ASPLs and patrol leaders for being a great help at organizing people. I would also like to thank the adults who helped keep our troop in one piece and for organizing our camp. And thanks to everyone else for giving me a great experience as an SPL. I hope next year’s camp will be just as great as this year’s.

District Adventure Weekend 2011

DAW was a great time for many people, whether they were backpackers or base campers. At base camp, Saturday morning’s schedule consisted of the patrol games, which were 30 minute stations like Leave No Trace Fire Building and Signaling. In the afternoon, there was a lot of free time and a game for troops to compete in. Also, the backpackers came back in the afternoon. At night, there was a campfire where many skits were performed for the audience to enjoy. During the campfire, the Order of the Arrow tapout ceremony was conducted. It was an amazing experience to watch and participate in. Congratulations on all who were tapped out.

April 2011 Court of Honor

This Court of Honor was a great time for everyone. A lot of people earned rank, merit badge, and participation awards for going to certain campouts. There were a lot of new scouts who received their Scout Rank award. Dylan did a great job as MC. Good job, scouts!

April 2011 Court of Honor

This Court of Honor was a great time for everyone. A lot of people earned rank, merit badge, and participation awards for going to certain campouts. There were a lot of new scouts who received their Scout Rank award. Dylan did a great job as MC. Good job, scouts!

Camping/Backpacking 101, 2011

This year, we had countless crossovers attend Camping 101 at El Rancho Cima. We also had many of the older scouts attend Backpacking 101.

Camping 101 was a great experience for the Dynamite, Thunderbird, and Nacho patrols. They learned many great skills such as how to safely start, maintain, and put out a fire; how to properly use various tools like the pocket knife and an axe; and how to tie different useful knots. These skills covered the requirements for the Totin’ chip, the Fireman’s chit, and some requirements for Tenderfoot and First Class.

Backpacking 101 was a great experience for all the scouts that attended. We covered around 2 or 3 miles in trails. One of the things we learned was how to adapt to the situation you have after we took a wrong turn. We hiked up to One Tree Hill after a long hike around camp that included a long, steep stairway. After we spent around 30 minutes at One Tree Hill, we hiked back to the main campsite.

After the backpackers got back to camp, they and the younger scouts attended a small campfire ceremony with many hilarious skits. All of the campers had a great time whether they were hiking or learning.

Thomas Crain, Historian

Varsity Team 448: San Marcos River Kayaking Trip, May 2011

This was a busy weekend for our troop with several different activities going on. For Varsity Team 448 we went on a kayaking trip down the San Marcos River between Fentress and Luling--a distance of about 20 miles.

We started our trip at the Fentress Bridge and went downstream for one hour arriving at the Leisure Resort Campground where we spent the night.

This was another trip to practice our kayaking skills in preparation for our trip to Northern Tier this summer.

A scout named Travis from Luling that is also going with us to Northern Tier came along and his parents had hamburgers and hotdogs waiting for us when we arrived---and we enjoyed our visit with them. Two weeks earlier they gave us a tour of Luling and the Zedler Mill and also treated all of our team members to a delicious BBQ lunch after that day's trip.

On Friday evening a big thunderstorm arrived with rain after we had gone to bed---but we were happy to finally have some rain to help with the area's drought conditions.

On Saturday, Mr. Wilder cooked eggs and pork chops for breakfast---and then we set-off down the river for our eight hour trip.

The first few hours were pleasant---although the kayaks bottomed out in some locations where the water was low.

The wildlife was beautiful including the turtles and fish, and the entire way down we seemed to be following a blue heron as it fished for its food.

Later-on there were more obstacles and debris in the river with many fallen trees in the way. Each kayak wiped out (tipped over) about three times, but the water felt good, and added to the fun. On one of the rapids I was coming around a corner, and didn't see a tree until it was too late. My kayak went into the tree sideways tipping me over---and I lost my glasses. Then my paddle started floating down the river. Fortunately some guys training for the Texas Water Safari retrieved the paddle for me---and I was back in business.

When we got to our stopping place for lunch our sandwiches were wet from the kayak tipping over but still tasted great since we were starving.

Finally around 4:30 PM we reached Luling, near the dam---and we were totally exhausted. It was a great day, the river was pristine and beautiful and we were very impressed with how well the river is being taken care of.

So we're looking forward to our next kayak adventure and also to our Northern Tier trip coming up later in the summer!