Troop 300 started off the scout year with a 20-mile hike at the Ghost Town Trail near Nanty Glo in early September.
Nine scouts working on the Hiking Merit Badge spent over seven hours hiking on the trail in Northern Cambria County. This Rail to Trail is most interesting because the Scouts were able to see the impact that the careless coal mining earlier in the last century still has on the environment today.
The scouts hiked past many abandoned “slag piles”, piles of rock and coal that were left behind as the premium coal was hauled away to the steel mills. The scouts also saw a demonstration project in Vintondale, how nature is able to purify the polluted water by using the limestone, cat tails and aeration.
The hiking merit badge is a rather difficult merit badge to obtain. Scouts must complete five 10-mile-hikes, and one 20-mile-hike. Scouts must also be knowledgeable in safety, first aid as well as map and compass.
On September 11-12, the Scouts planned a canoe campout, but Hurricane Frances caused a quick change in plans. The boys decided to take a backpacking trip to Camp Anderson instead. The scouts worked on map and compass skills, no-trace camping, one-pot food preparation, and water purification. The scouts also used bear bags to keep their food away from the critters. The food is suspended in the trees at least 10 feet off the ground to keep the animals out of the provisions.
On October 2-3, the scouts were planning their annual canoe campout at Lake Raystown. Five inches of rain from Hurricane Ivan collected at the lake causing the closing of all the boat launches, as the normal pool reached 13 feet above normal. The scouts moved their canoe trip to Black Moshannon State Park and camped in the organized group tent area. The scouts loaded the canoes with all of their gear and launched from the west side boat launch and paddled to the shallowest end of the lake. The scouts enjoyed their tour of the lake and learned about beaver lodges, bogs and aquatic plant life.
The scouts headed to the campsite, got set up and prepared their lunch. The scouts headed back to the water and fine-tuned their paddling skills that were taught at summer camp. After much one-on-one instruction, the Scouts raced their canoes up and down the lake, and spent the rest of the afternoon paddling in this beautiful state park.
After preparing their supper and cleaning up, the scouts headed off to bed, and for once their legs were more rested than their arms!
