Sharpening our knife skills

Troop 50 sharpened its knife skills with a variety of round-robin presentations during Monday night's meeting — a perfect topic for tenured Scouts and visiting Webelos from Cub Scout Pack 29 alike. After the troop's opening ceremony, visiting Webelos introduced themselves, and everyone divided into and rotated among the various instructional stations.

Assistant Senior Patrol Leader John discusses the purpose of and
etiquette surrounding an axe yard, and what Scouts
might expect to find in one.

Patrol Leader Vincent (right) demonstrates with Michael (left)
how to properly pass a pocketknife to someone else, as well
as the principles of a "blood circle" and other best practices.

Senior Patrol Leader William demonstrates proper techniques
of using, sharpening and caring for hand tools such as
axes, hatchets and bowsaws.

At the conclusion of the meeting, those who attended the troop's recent Gatlinburg ski trip recounted the outing, and troop leadership reminded Scouts about upcoming summer camp plans. The troop also welcomed new Life Scout Cameron, who transferred from another local troop, and presented the Totin' Chip card to Andy.

High on a Mountaintop in Tennessee

Troop 50 in Gatlinburg

Andrew lines up his shot.

      Troop 50 took advantage of the three day holiday weekend and headed to Gatlinburg, Tennessee for some fun in the snow for both Scouts and family members. Most drove up on Friday evening, arriving in the wee hours of Saturday morning. However, it wasn't long before the Scouts were up and exploring the town. A round of indoor miniature golf took us out of the cold weather for a time on a blacklighted, circus-themed course. The spirited round of golf was followed by lunch at the Pizza Hut, which included witnessing a marriage proposal in the restaurant (how overly romantic!).

      Saturday afternoon, we crowded aboard the aerial tram and headed up to Ober Gatlinburg for a turn at ice skating and snow tubing. All of the boys and the scoutmaster headed out for a turn around the ice; some with more success than others.

Snow tubing!

      While most enjoyed the skating, it was the snow tubing that was the real hit of the day. During our hour and a half time slot, we rode up the hill on the conveyor system (aka the magic carpet) and came barreling down the slides on inner tubes. Some made the round trip as many times as our time allowed. A nice, cozy dinner (for thirteen) followed at Blaine's upon our return to downtown Gatlinburg. After that, everyone was ready for a good night's sleep with the promise of a full day ahead.

Jake, John, Kyle, Andrew, Davis, & Robert enjoy a spin around the ice.

      On Sunday morning it was back up the mountain for a full day of skiing. Some of the more experienced skiers (and some who weren't) headed out to the slopes as soon as they were issued their gear.

Michael follows the directions of
the ski instructor.

Others attended the ski school to learn such unimportant skills as stopping, turning, and avoiding other skiers. The day was then filled with various ups and downs for all. Many took to skiing quite well, while others had varying degrees of success. By suppertime, about half of the contingent had withdrawn from the slopes (including the mysterious disappearance of the scoutmaster) and were ready to head back to the hotel. However, the other half were still going strong and stayed until the slopes closed at 10:00 PM.

Will, Robert, and John after a run down the slopes

       While most of Monday was dedicated to the return trip to Auburn, it also included a hearty breakfast at the Flapjack House and several turns around a go-kart track in Pigeon Forge. At the PLC meeting on Tuesday evening, the youth leadership of the troop unanimously agreed that it was a terrific trip. While they noted that there were a few issues with managing a trip such as this one, overall, it was a high point among all of the troop activities. The wide range of activities from skiing to go-karts, gave everyone an opportunity for fun.

Robert, Kyle, Jake & Trey compete for first place.

      Numerous photos are available through the online photo album.  
   

Something's burning!

With the cold temperatures lately, it seemed appropriate that Troop 50 would spend its first meeting of the new year devoted to fire-building techniques — a perfect topic to include Webelos from Cub Scout Pack 29 who were visiting that evening.

After the troop's opening, the group of Scouts and Webelos divided into groups that rotated between several stations. Inside, groups discussed different fire structures — such as tee-pee, log cabin and lean-to fires — as well as where best to locate a fire and how to extinguish it.

Outside, Scouts and Webelos tried their hand at several fire-starting techniques. These included steel wool and a nine-volt battery, waterproof matches, disposable lighter, magnesium block, and the infamous Boy Scout Hot Spark.

Following the fire-building stations, patrols divided up for some patrol meeting time, during which time they discussed new patrol flags. During the meeting's closing, Troop Committee Chair Rob Stanford and Assistant Scoutmaster J.P. Pendleton discussed the troop's summer camping plans:

• June 8-14, Camp Daniel Boone: A group of tenured Scouts will head to Daniel Boone Council's Camp Daniel Boone in Canton, N.C., where the group, under the direction of Assistant Scoutmasters Jason Smith and Keith Geiger, will participate in the camp's "Five Rivers in Five Days" older-Scout high-adventure program. The trip is $475 per participant, and there was one slot remaining as of Monday evening.
  
• July 6-12, Camp Woodruff: The majority of the troop's Scouts will travel to Blairsville, Ga., outside Atlanta to attend the Atlanta Area Council's Camp Woodruff. The camp features a strong first-year camper program, which allows new Scouts to not only make significant progress toward completing requirements toward ranks leading up to First Class, but also the opportunity to earn a couple of merit badges as well. The cost of summer camp is $350 per camper, and the contingent will be led by Rob Stanford, J.P. Pendleton, and Chartered Organization Representative Michael Tullier.

A payment plan for both trips is available. For questions or to commit to either trip, contact Rob Stanford at troopcommittee@boyscout50.org.

Rob Stanford also reviewed plans for the troop's upcoming Martin Luther King Jr. weekend ski trip to Gatlinburg, Tenn. Stay tuned for slope reports and photos coming next week! In the meantime, check out more photos from our Jan. 13 troop meeting in our online photo album.