HIKES
2020 - 2021
October Hike Autumn arrives
Despite both mornings being grey & gloomy (BUT w/o rain ☺) the group had a great 2 days.
Adult Leaders were Ronak Chawda + Mike Clifton ( down from college in Troy for the hike ) + Howard.
Adult guest for his first backpacking of his lifetime was Santo Vincenzino who now realizes what he has been missing all these years. 😉
Scouts were Henry B, Tom Mancini, JPM, Nick Racette, Sal V., AJ & H
I had taken a drive up to Harriman the week before to assess the " drought like conditions "...and it was BAD. With that knowledge I had warned the group that the mileage would probably be greater than usual. AND it was Saturday we covered a full 5 1/2 miles & Sunday was 4 including climbing over Letchworth Mt. on the way to the parking lot at Silvermine. We were so far back in the woods that we only saw a handful of hikers over the 2 days ... BUT the Silvermine Parking Lot which usually has a dozen to 20 cars had about 100 on Sat & easily 200 on Sunday !!! Never seen anything like it as we were not the only ones to use the jewel that is Harriman to get into the outdoors & breathe some fresh air !! As planned,masks in the car up & back, social distancing on the trail & by the campfire. For sleeping we brought double the normal tarps & the Scouts slept in opposite directions == thus everyone slept well beyond "social distances" + as usual all of them slept with their heads inside their sleeping bags ( " like turtles" ). Tom Mancini benefited us all with his sharp eyesight as he caught a Red Eft & a Wood Frog. [ Fact: when freezing weather arrives, the wood frog pumps glucose around its body to survive as it totally freezes for the winter. AND its heart even completely stops for the duration of the freeze !! ] Tom & Henry led us in a brief Campfire sing preceded by the Great Escape up the hill behind our campsite. Following the Campfire was a lengthy review & critique of movies seen by the group over the recent decade ---- most of which I had never heard of. 🤔😱
November Hike
"Over Hill & Over Dale !!! "
November Hike
This month our hikers ( Scouts, fathers & Alumni ) took on a challenging section of the Long Path. [ The "LP" begins at the GW Bridge, goes north through Harriman Park , the Catskills & terminates in the Adirondack Park near Albany ] We hiked up & over a 900 foot ridge , then up & over an 860 foot ridge, then up & over an 1100 foot ridge --- all this was made extra challenging underfoot as the normally loose leaves on the escarpments were extra slippery from the rains the prior week.
At the campsite 3 Scouts accepted the challenge to start their fires. Senior Scout David M. took first place, Preston B. came in second & Dylan B. was commended for his perseverance as he applied Alumni suggestions & ultimately became successful.
The forecast had improved during the week so while the weather dipped to freezing at night, the predicted rain did hold off until Sunday night.
January Hike
A nice 2 days on the trails ---Daytime in the low 30's & at night dipping to 20 degrees as forecast. The good news : no wind at night so we all slept quite well.
You can tell by the smiles at the pickup on Sunday that Troop 4 skills made for a nice weekend experience for our lads ( Tom M., Koichiro S.,JP & David M. ) & the alumni (Ben, Ronak & Mike & Howard) [ Ronak is photographer]
" We keep the outing in Scouting "
PS : masks are off for the picture... we follow CDC guidelines in the field
March Hike --- away from the masks & pandemic restrictions :o)
After the February hike was cancelled for crummy driving & hiking conditions ( inches of freezing rain on top of accumulated frozen snow ) the gung-ho Troop 4 hikers were now raring to go. We followed a trail that was originally used by the colonists during the Revolutionary War ...then bushwhacked to a fantastic campsite at a deep clear stream that was somehow never put on published maps. We were rewarded with 2 days of awesome weather with sun & clear skies ... nightime had the stars & constellations putting on quite a show !
Adventure Day --- April 2021 [ a welcome Troop 4 event done each decade ]
Early morning & the group began the task that had been practiced the prior weeks at the Troop meetings == assembling the buckets of hemp ropes that would form the "Monkey Bridge"
Present were Henry, Preston & Dillon, David & J.P. & Sal.
Adults were Ben, Ronak & Howard
If you were uncertain of knot tying before, after today everyone could tie two half hitches with their eyes closed.
After lunch in the picnic spot by the River, it was time for the afternoon activity which entailed setting up a zip-line from the hilltop behind the Scout Cabin down to the parking lot. Helmets, harnesses , pulleys & carbiners & 3 levels of rope did the trick ...
David
