January campout ‘for the birds’…but in a good way

Troop 50 Scouts “nested” the weekend of Jan. 22-24 at Auburn’s Chewacla State Park with a variety of activities in mind — chief among those being working on Bird Study Merit Badge. The troop’s first campout of 2021 also included work toward Hiking Merit Badge, including a five-mile troop-wide hike on the park’s scenic and backwoods trails.

Friday evening included typical activities that mark the first night of a campout: setting up patrol areas where Scouts would cook and gather, as well as pitching tents where Scouts would bed for the night. Fortunately, the day’s rain broke just as Scouts arrived at Chewacla, but was followed that evening by temperatures that dipped into the upper 30s — making for a chilly night’s sleep and an equally chilly morning on Saturday.

Mr. McGuire leads the morning's Bird Study Merit Badge discussion.

After patrols finished breakfast, the troop divided into two groups — with a majority of Scouts opting to pursue Bird Study Merit Badge. The morning session was led by John McGuire, a troop parent, certified forester, and wildlife biologist. The group discussed the basics of bird study, such as understanding birds’ importance to the ecosystem, terminology and sketching techniques, and using bird study resources like field guides and binoculars.

Scoutmaster Baird and Assistant Scoutmaster Wes Williams share their hiking and
backpacking experiences as part of the Hiking Merit Badge session.

A smaller group of Scouts worked on Hiking Merit Badge requirements with Scoutmaster Andrew Baird. It may be earned by Scouts as an alternate option to Eagle-required Swimming or Cycling merit badges. Their discussion included planning for a hike, mitigating hiking health and safety hazards, and incorporating proper guidance for attire and footwear. Both Scoutmaster Baird and Assistant Scoutmaster Williams shared about their experiences from both short hikes and multi-day Philmont Scout Ranch backpacking treks ranging from 70 to 80 miles.

The Wizard Lizards Patrol with their assigned members of the Leadership Corps.

The Gladiators Patrol, along with their assigned members of the Leadership Corps.

The troop reassembled for a group hike through Chewacla State Park — the goal being to cover five miles as part of the Hiking Merit Badge requirements. The troop departed in two groups, reconvened for a trail lunch, and then set out again for the remainder of the trek.

Scouts who were part of the Bird Study Merit Badge class head out to do a little bird-viewing.

Upon the troop’s return, the Bird Study Merit Badge group conducted a field observation of the Civilian Conservation Corps campsite. Scouts used binoculars to view the birds’ activities, and described and recorded the birds they saw in their field notebooks.

After dinner and well into the evening, the troop gathered for a traditional Saturday evening campfire. Scouts entertained each other with skits and songs — both planned and impromptu. The final element of the campfire was the retirement of roughly a dozen American flags. Most were faded, torn, or tattered and therefore ready to be retired — the term used to define the proper, dignified way of destroying United States flags that are no longer fit to serve the nation. The United States Flag Code, Title 4, Section 8k states, “The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem of display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.”

The 48-star American flag provided by the Jerome family for retirement.

One flag stood out from the rest — a 48-star American flag given to the troop by the Jerome family, which includes Jake Jerome, the troop’s first senior patrol leader, second Eagle Scout, U.S. Air Force Academy graduate, and a current U.S. Air Force pilot. The flag, more than 100 years old, would have been in circulation between the admission of Arizona as the 48th state in 1912 and Alaska’s and Hawaii’s statehood in 1959. The Jeromes decided that, because the flag had become discolored and stained, it was past its prime and ready for a dignified retirement.

Scoutmaster Baird assists Scouts with the retirement of the Jerome family flag.

The ceremony included the retirement of nearly two dozen
American flags.

This particular flag belonged to Jake’s great-grandfather who fought in World War I. He received the flag in conjunction with his service in the U.S. Army, which also included being awarded the Distinguished Service Cross — the second-highest medal after the Medal of Honor that our country awards servicemen and servicewomen.

The solemnity of the flag retirement, which concluded with the playing of Taps by new troop bugler James, and the cooling temperatures found Scouts welcoming the day’s end and the warmth of their tents.

On Sunday, after breakfast was over and everyone’s gear was packed away, the troop gathered to reflect on all that Scouts accomplished over the weekend. Chartered Organization Representative and Troop Chaplain Michael Tullier led the troop in its traditional “Duty to God” devotional service. Together, they discussed the role of pausing, prayer, discernment and wisdom in the decisions we make in life.

During the troop’s Patrol Leaders’ Council meeting the following Monday, youth leaders saw opportunities to work on Hiking and Bird Study merit badges as a good mix. They observed that the patrols worked well together, but duty assignments and “kitchen patrol” need to be improved to ensure better organization and teamwork. They also liked incorporating the flag retirement ceremony as part of Saturday night’s campfire.

The troop is evaluating camping options for February and remaining focused on the pandemic’s possible effects on those and troop meeting plans.

For more photos from the campout, visit the troop’s online photo album.

Troop 50 updates Auburn Rotarians on activities, achievements

On Wednesday, July 31, Troop 50 scouts and leaders were present at the weekly meeting of the Auburn Rotary Club to provide the troop’s charter organization with an update on troop activities during the past year. Rotarian and the troop’s charter organization representative, Michael Tullier, hosted the group.

Leading the presentation was Scoutmaster Andrew Baird, who reported to Rotarians that, in 2018, the troop qualified as a “Gold Unit” under the Boy Scouts of America’s “Journey to Excellence” program. This was in part to its individual Scout advancement efforts, which included 35 awarded ranks (of which three were the rank of Eagle Scout) and 99 earned merit badges. Journey to Excellence also evaluates a unit’s year-round activities, which for Troop 50 Scouts and leaders included 408 collective nights of camping, 154 collective miles of hiking, and 971 collective hours of service.

Following Mr. Baird’s overview, several Scouts shared with Rotarians about their troop involvement. Senior Patrol Leader Camp spoke about his progress toward earning the Eagle Scout rank — specifically his Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project to fence the McLain Garden at the Lee County Historical Society’s Pioneer Park in Loachapoka.

Camp’s younger brother James talked about his experiences as one of the troop’s newest Scouts. He noted how regular monthly campouts helping him develop new Scout skills and advance in rank. Finally, Camp and James’ middle sibling, Will, summarized the troop’s summer camp experience this past June at Camp Rainey Mountain in Clayton, Georgia. There, he and other Scouts were able to make significant progress toward earning merit badges as they deepen friendships.

Troop Committee Chair Rob Stanford wrapped up the presentation by thanking the Rotary Club for its ongoing financial support, as well as inviting Rotarians to serve as merit badge counselors. Mr. Stanford noted that anyone with hobby-level knowledge to professional expertise on a specific topic could share their subject-matter expertise as a merit badge counselor for a single Scout or group of Scouts.

For more information about Troop 50, visit www.boyscout50.org or read more about the troop's activities here on its blog.

CRM - Thursday: Free Form Expression

     Thursday at Camp Rainey Mountain is referred to as free range Thursday since there are no merit badge classes and the scouts are free to pursue different activities during various blocks throughout the day. Some troops take advantage of the proximity to several whitewater venues and head off property to go rafting. Troop 50 stayed in and the boys headed out in various directions. Due to the number of troops leaving camp on Thursday morning, the flag ceremony and breakfast were also modified. The running of the flags did not occur, which disappointed some of our more energetic scouts.

     Within our campsite, we have a couple of coolers filled with Gatorade and soda. I have already commented on the teamwork required to keep them iced. We have also been running our own recycling program for the bottles and cans, along with the occasional cardboard box. Since there is a First Class requirement that promotes recycling, we have been promoting it on campouts but we went all in for this week. We have a milk crate that serves as the single stream recycle container. When it becomes full, the boys then remove the caps from the bottles and rinse out all of the bottles and cans at the latrine before sacking it up to transport back to Auburn. This exercise has also been a way to teach them what belongs in a recycle bin and what does not. Some of our scouts have been throwing random trash into the crate in an apparent belief that all trash was recyclable.

There is an assembly line quality to the
process of cleaning the bottles and cans.

     The hike up to Big Rock was promoted to the troop as a way to meet one of the Eagle-required, Camping merit badge requirements, in which one must hike a trail with an elevation change of at least 1000 feet. The boys who did not already have Camping merit badge were eager to check off that requirement but the other (read older) scouts opted out of the hike citing other commitments such as qualifying at the rifle range, working on the Chess merit badge, or participating in a cooking competition. All of these are noble pursuits and they were excused, even the ones who actually spent the free time on the trading post porch with the WiFi. The newest scouts were doing an extended five mile hike as part of meeting a Second Class requirement so they went on the hike as part of their TNT patrols with Mr Dagg accompanying them. Mr. Chism and Mr. Lovvorn accompanied the main group from the troop to make sure that I didn't get lost again.

The hikers want to make sure I know the correct direction to go. 

     I was quite taken with the speed in which the crew hiked up the trail. They passed two other groups en route and didn't stop for a break until we reached the top of the mountain. The trail then made a steep drop down to the top of Big Rock. It has a rope line strung along one point to assist in getting up and down that part of the trail. When we got to Big Rock there was another group admiring both the view and the cell signal. We waited patiently until they cleared the top of the rock and then took the obligatory group photo.

Atop the Big Rock. 

     Once we cleared the area and got back to the top of the mountain, it was all downhill from there, so to speak. The trip down was accomplished with similar speed, although the proximity to lunchtime may have had something to do with it. We made it back to the dinning hall with time to spare, however.

The scouts following their speed hike of a thousand feet of elevation change. 

     The TNT scouts did not appear for lunch but I found out later that they not only made the hike in fine form, they cooked their own lunches of cheese quesadillas after their return to camp. Oliver and Jackson both commented on the fine quality of their respective dishes.

Johnson and Oliver seem to be enjoying their time on the mountain. 

     Following lunch the scouts went full free range. Some chose to enjoy the sunshine playing frisbee on the parade field. Some went swimming while others worked to earn some extra badges that were offered as part of the single day program. Gideon and Gordon were eager to try out the Blob. This is a large vinyl bag inflated with air that floats in the lake. One person jumps onto the Blob from a tower above, climbs out to the other end, and lays flat on the top. Then a second person jumps from the tower. This pushes the air towards the other end and launches the first person into the air to land in the water. Given the weight difference between them, Gideon was launched high into the air in spectacular fashion.

Gideon takes flight. 

Trey seems blown away by Luke's frisbee skills.

George and Rhett play frisbee along with the camp dog.

Jake, Gideon, Luke, Whit, Harrison P. and Jackson L. learn the mystical arts of chess. 

     I would be remiss if I didn't note the obligatory ga-ga ball pit at the camp. During the first three days of camp, the bottom of the pit was quite muddy. This did not stop scouts from playing ga-ga ball and getting absolutely head to toe muddy while doing it. I never saw any of our scouts in the muddy pit but I know some who seriously contemplated it. On Wednesday, a load of sand was dumped alongside of the pit and I did see at least one Troop 50 scout playing in the sand pile. Since the sand has been spread within the pit, there has been a nonstop game of ga-ga going, possibly 24 hours a day. Last night we almost had to drag one of our scouts bodily from the pit as rain and lightening  threatened. 

Johnson waits his turn to engage in the gladiatorial contest that is ga-ga ball. 

     Free range Thursday is also free of dinner in the dining hall. Some troops prefer to go to town for pizza but we decided to stick with cooking hobo meals in the campsite. The dining hall staff issued us the ground beef, potatoes, carrots, onions, and cabbage along with the foil to wrap it all up in. We used the fire pit in the campsite to ignite a giant pile of charcoal, overseen by Battalion Chief Lovvorn, while other scouts chopped up the vegetables. Then all of the scouts put their meals together in the foil packets and laid them directly on top of the charcoal. The adults opted to put the ingredients into our Dutch oven for a tasty meal of Lithuanian goulash. The meal was capped off with a watermelon. Although the foil and plastic forks could be thrown away after the meal, there was still a great deal of detritus left on the ground, including potatoes, carrots, onions, and about a hundred thousand watermelon seeds. 

The pile of hobo meals grows upon the fire. 

Tyson skillfully filets the watermelon. 

     We barely finished our clean-up before the aforementioned storm blew in. Due to the lightening, we confined the scouts to the Adirondacks until it passed. They did not seem to mind. Some went on to sleep while a card game of Exploding Kittens Uno (please do not ask me to explain that, I have no idea) raged in another. I'm also told that movie night occurred in a third Adirondack courtesy of the Nintendo Switch. The storm finally passed and thus ended the night.

     Photos from free range Thursday are available at this link.  

CRM - Wednesday: Catharsis

     We rose bright and early on Wednesday for another great day at camp. The weather continues to be comfortable in the mornings and evenings but can get quite warm in the afternoon. We have not had any rain since Monday so all the activities have all continued as scheduled.

The leaning tower of waffles.

     Breakfast this morning included both Eggo waffles and French toast sticks, which was more than enough food for the boys. Most ate the French toast sticks and began a game of Jenga with the waffles.

     Wednesday is the mid-point for the week and the point at which everyone has settled into their routine. The scouts have become comfortable with their surroundings, their classes, and their fellow bunkmates. The five Adirondacks are divided so that the youngest scouts are together in one, the next oldest group is spread between two, and the oldest scouts occupy the last two. One group of older scouts has dubiously blamed an odd smell in their shelter on a single pair of socks. I'm sure there is more to it than that but the owner did appear in a new pair of socks this morning so the issue has possibly been mitigated.

     Merit badge classes continue to be the main focus for the boys, although they do get a break on

New socks make an
appearance at breakfast.

Thursday for the opportunity for free range events of all types. More on that tomorrow. In the canoeing class, Conner and Rhett worked on the requirement that they capsize the canoe, right it, climb back in, and paddle it to shore. They successfully got the canoe upright with Connor aboard but he wound up leaving Rhett behind to swim back to shore on his own. Rhett has also been taking reptile and amphibian study, which meets at the nature lodge, but they also hiked up to a waterfall above the lake on Wednesday to search for reptiles of all sorts. The staff has claimed that there are dragons and dinosaurs as part of the nature study. However, the boys have rightly questioned the validity of this claim. There was also supposedly a sighting of a couple of snakes, which morphed into a rumor of deadly copper-headed water rattlers. Jackson M. and Justice have also been doing reptile and amphibian study and have been fascinated by the thought of these snakes.

     The TNT scouts; Justice, Jackson M., David, Oliver, and Johnson; have all been divided up into different patrols as part of their program. Each has been learning different skills each day such as compass and map navigation on Wednesday. They will put these skills to use on their 5 mile hike on Thursday. In addition to their scout skills, they have also been taking swimming merit badge in the afternoons. David and Oliver have proclaimed this their favorite activity but the others seem less than entranced by the idea of swimming in the lake.  

James works on a technological masterpiece as part of Robotics merit badge.

Whit, James, Connor, and George perfect their woodcarving skills.

  

Will seems to use every free moment to read... 

...including while eating. 

     Mail for various scouts has been coming through regularly. Some have been packages that included games and snacks while other letters have contained cash that was quickly spent. There were also two packages from Amazon to Will and James that appeared to contain books. Will is always in danger of running out of something to read. 

Hunter, Trey, and Luke prepare to be entertained. 

     The final event of the day was a skit night campfire in the amphitheater. This was the opportunity for scouts to show off their dramatic skills. While these types of events usually result in some rather well-worn skits, there were several that were quite new and inventive or contained twists on the old formulas. Our scouts chose not to put on a skit, which was just as well given the crowded field of entrants. 

One of the skits - as seen from above. 

     We have also been graced with the presence of our newest Assistant Scoutmaster, Joe Lovvorn. Ronnie is shipping out on Thursday and Joe will be with us the rest of the week. More photos from Wednesday are found here.

CRM - Tuesday: In Medias Res

     It occurred to me last night that the source of my cyber issues in the evening is the limited bandwidth of the camp's Internet connection. After dinner, every staff member, scout, and leader is attempting to connect at the same time. However, in the morning, when the staff and scouts are all in merit badge classes, the competition for WiFi is limited to a few adults. I don't know why this didn't occur to me before that point. Age must be dulling my mental acuity. So, I will hopefully post each morning with the previous day's doings.

     We are in the midst of things, We started the day as always by rousing the boys at 7:00 to be at the morning flag ceremony by 7:30. Each morning and evening ceremony involves the raising or lowering of the US flag, Georgia state flag, Camp Rainey Mountain flag, and the South Korean flag (there is an international scout from South Korea working on the staff). The ceremony also includes a trumpet and the firing of a black powder rifle from across the lake. For some reason, which may simply be the vagaries of black powder, one never knows when the shot will be fired. This always causes everyone to jump when it finally goes off and is followed by a large ejection of white smoke in the aftermath.

Hunter participates in the running of the flags on the parade field.
We don't know if this is a traditional activity or a spontaneous
act started by a single troop. It does seem to have caught on.

     Following the flag ceremonies, we also have a few announcements by the program director (although he is never allowed to use the word announcements). A staff member then leads us in his or her favorite song (which have always seemed rather maudlin, ending in the death of some animal). Another staffer provides a random and senseless quip and then someone will lead the entire assemblage in either the scout oath or law. It caps off with grace before the meal.

     The rather awkward exercise that follows cannot be adequately explained by anyone we have met. Because the camp is so large, not everyone can fit into the dining hall at the same time. So we eat in two shifts, which are interestingly known as the orange and the blue shifts. Troop 50 is on the orange shift, which means that we get to eat first. The blue shift is dismissed from the flag ceremony and then they have to hang out for 45 minutes until it is time for them to eat. That's not really enough time to go back to their campsites for any meaningful reason but there is also not much else for them to do, especially in the morning. On the other side of the coin, due to the time to takes to line up in the cafeteria line and receive our food, the orange shift has a limited time to eat and clear the tables prior to the waiters from the blue shift arriving to set up for their meal. It is simply a strange system.

Standing around, waiting for the chance to enter the dining hall. 

        After lunch, I stopped by the dining hall to fill up my water bottle and happened to catch part of the adult leader forum that was being conducted by a member of the local council executive staff. I normally skip these meetings as an exercise in obfuscation and futility and wasn't surprised to see the executive writing comments on an easily erased white board as scout leaders offered suggestions or complaints. You can easily guess that the number one complaint was the shift system for the dining hall. Several leaders had helpful suggestions or noted the systems that similar camps use (of course, council executives love to hear how other councils do things better). Another leader told me later that the camp has been using this shift system for all of the years his troop has camped here. I don't imagine anything will change as a result of anything written on that white board.

The icemen cometh.

     Miles' system for carrying the ice bags was refined by using a stave from the trailer, which would allow two scouts to carry all four bags between them. Tyson and Will were the designated icemen for the day and they carried the stave to breakfast for that purpose. We discovered one flaw to the idea, which was that the ice bearers needed to be roughly the same height. The bags kept sliding to the low end of the stick, placing more of the burden on Will and causing the bags to bump the ground. However, they quickly adjusted to carry the stick at shoulder level so that Will could lift it higher. Every staff member and adult leader we passed on the hike back to camp complimented the boys on their teamwork and ingenuity.

   
     The merit badge classes continue to go well. Because of the size of the troop, we seem to have scouts in every class and in every part of camp. Some are paddling, rowing, or sailing on the lake. Others are learning rescue techniques in Lifesaving merit badge. Still others are at the shooting sports ranges pursuing archery, rifle, or shotgun merit badges. Some are learning metalwork and welding and a few are chasing a variety of bugs, birds, and mammals in the natural sciences badges.

David's TNT group begins a scout skill exercise. 

Tyson runs a mile in the Personal Fitness class. 

The canoeing class reached critical mass. 

     The camp is ringed by mountains and one of the activities they promote is a hike up to Big Rock, which as you may imagine is a big rock with a view of the camp from above. The hike up to the rock is supposed to meet the Camping merit badge requirement of a hike that covers 1000 feet of elevation change. We have been discussing doing the hike as a troop on Thursday so in order to scope it out, I headed up the trail in the afternoon to assess the difficulty. There is a sign at the start of the trail but just over a mile up the trail, it connects to the Bartram Trail, which is a 115 mile trail system in North Carolina and Georgia. Unfortunately, there is no sign at the trail intersection to indicate the direction of Big Rock and I had to decide which way to turn. Let's just say, I chose poorly. A mile and a third later, I reached a road crossing on the far side of the mountain that confirmed my choice was incorrect. I returned up the trail, crossed the trail intersection to the other side and found Big Rock only four tenths of a mile from my wrong turn. I took a photo to confirm my presence and returned to the camp covered in shame (and sweat) for my poor navigation skill. 

The view of the camp from Big Rock. 

     Tuesday evening was also the time for the adult leader dinner. Christian, Gordon, and I attended while leaving poor Ronnie to stay with the boys. It was a steak dinner with baked potatoes and french fries. We assumed the french fries were leftover from the regular meal that the scouts ate. They also had a nice array of desserts including a generous slice of raspberry cheesecake of which I made quick work. Since the meeting with the scout executive has occurred earlier in the day we were spared that indignity as a normal part of the leader's dinner. Overall, it was a nice chance for a leisurely and quieter meal.

     The final event of the evening was the Astronomy merit badge class's nighttime observations (weather permitting) that began at 10:00 PM. Only a couple of boys were involved in the class so most of our scouts retired to their bunks (although I later discovered a clandestine huddle around a Nintendo Switch in one of the Adirondacks). Ronnie, Gordon, and I sat around talking until 11:30 with the feeling that we were waiting for Godot. We kept thinking that the Astronomy guys would be back at any moment. We finally took a look and discovered them safely asleep in bed, having returned without our notice.

     I will leave you with the photo I was finally able to get of Harrison's newly crafted neckerchief slide. I like to think of it as a dramatic metaphor for the fine work our scouts have been doing this week. Other photos from Tuesday are found at this link. 

The thunderbird of power.

Zip-lining the world's longest zip-wire course

For its May outing, Troop 50 headed to Georgia for an overnight campout and day of zip-lining and other outdoor activities at Historic Banning Mills, near Carrollton. The zip line course features nine zip segments, along with a sky bridge and tower. Although the troop only completed a portion of the facility's zip-line course, the entire course, which extends more than 39,127 feet in combined length, has remained since 2012 the world's longest zip-wire course, according to the Guinness World Records. Consisting of 135 ziplines, the entire course would take more than 12 hours to complete.

The rain the area experienced shortly before the troop’s arrival Friday evening resulted in a damp evening of overnight camping. After a leisurely morning of cooking breakfast and packing up gear, the troop enjoyed several activities at the facility, which included a round of miniature golf and a nature hike. The hike took Scouts and leaders past the enclosure where Liberty, a bald eagle billed as the newest member of the Banning Mills staff, now lives. Liberty coincidentally once resided at Auburn University's Southeastern Raptor Center (we'll forgive Banning Mills for the War "Eagles" reference!). Unfortunately, Liberty was shy during our visit and didn't come out for pictures.

Michael readies for the first leg of the zip-line course.

The troop reassembled for lunch, which was followed by a rousing round of “Happy Birthday” sung in honor of Jake’s 12th birthday — complete with celebratory Krispy Kreme donuts! The troop then headed over for the 90-minute zip-lining experience, which included a very detailed safety briefing and demonstration before Scouts and leaders took to the trees for some zip-lining fun — and even a little screaming here and there!

Thanks to the Banning Mills staff, there are numerous photos of the troop’s zip-lining experience available in the troop’s online photo album for download. And, thanks to Gideon, one of our Scouts, we have a Gideon's-eye view of the course from his helmet-mounted GoPro camera!

Our Gideon's-eye view of one of the initial zip-line segments
(as an aside, the staff member who receives him at the end of the segment is an Eagle Scout!)

Gideon makes his final descent at the end of the zip-line course.

The troop took Monday, May 20 off from its regular troop meeting, as well as Monday, May 27 for Memorial Day. At its next meeting on Monday, June 3, the troop will conduct leadership elections to fill troop positions for the second half of 2019, as well as elections for Order of the Arrow membership. It will conclude its 2018-19 troop year with a court of honor on Monday, June 10, and its summer camp trip the week of June 23 at Camp Rainey Mountain in Clayton, Georgia.

A hiking we will go...

Troop 50 headed north to the Anniston/Delta, Alabama area the weekend of April 21 to camp at the Greater Alabama Council's Camp Sequoyah and to day-hike a portion of the Pinhoti Trail in Cheaha State Park. The 339-mile Pinhoti Trail meanders through Alabama and Georgia, with 172 of those miles located in Alabama. It starts at Flagg Mountain, cuts through the Talladega National Forest, and ends in Northeast Georgia at the Benton MacKaye Trail. The Benton MacKaye Trail connects into the Appalachian Trail. The troop originally backpacked this section of the Pinhoti Trail in November 2013. This campout, however, marked the first time the troop was able to benefit from one of the small buses loaned by Auburn United Methodist Church, who began partnering with the troop in addition to the troop's sponsorship by the Auburn Rotary Club.

The troop sets out Saturday morning from the Cheaha Trail Head.

The trail-proven members of the troop's Philmont contingent.

The troop used the day-hike as a training opportunity for many members of the troop who will form the contingent for June's backpacking expedition to Philmont Scout Ranch, which will be led by Scoutmaster Andrew Baird. Those attending Philmont, including guest camper Sam from Auburn's Troop 11, donned full backpacks instead of day packs for the full training experience. The troop's six-hour excursion totaled more than 8.4 miles over rocky terrain, through trail obstacles and past scenic vistas.

Miles, Tyson and Joe enjoy lunch and a scenic expanse while on the trail.

Scouts examine the remains of one of the more famous
Pinhoti Trail plane crashes.

Although rocks, trees and other elements of nature are expected when hiking in a national forest, the remains of a plane crash are not as common. Unfortunately, the higher elevations and sometimes treacherous weather of North Alabama have resulted in several airplane crashes on and around the Pinhoti Trail. One such incident that has gained notoriety occurred in 1972 at McDill point, and since it is logistically impossible to remove many of the remains of these crashes, the remains of that crash still exist.

Rusty's birthday made him the
troop's "king of the day."

One of the best parts of a campout is the opportunity to fellowship and celebrate the milestones that occur within the troop — especially birthdays. Upon the return to the campsite following the day of hiking, the busload of Scouts and leaders burst into song to celebrate Rusty's 14th birthday. Ironically, the troop's last trip to the Pinhoti also included a birthday celebration: Scoutmaster Andrew Baird's!

The troop awoke to a wet morning Sunday after evening rains began around 10 p.m. the night before. After a very organized effort to pack up camp and ready for the return trip home, the troop gathered for its traditional Sunday morning devotional service. Chartered Organization Representative Michael Tullier led a discussion of equipping ourselves with the armor of God from Ephesians 6:10-18, and how preparing ourselves for the daily challenges of life is not much different than how our Scout uniforms serve functional purposes on campouts and at other Scouting gatherings.

At its Monday evening Patrol Leaders Council meeting, the troop's youth leadership commended everyone on the troop's overall efficiency during the campout, from pacing on the trail to packing up gear on Sunday despite dealing with rain and wet tents. They thought the availability of AUMC's bus helped greatly, and gave everyone time to socialize as a group. The youth leaders also noted that the overall quality of menu planning has been improving greatly, and several in each patrol are demonstrating budding culinary skills.

For more photos from the hiking trip, visit the troop's online photo album.