We started the rafting trip with a 5 hour drive up to the Adventure Bound facility at Caratunk Maine, punctuated with a stop in the middle where people got dinner. We arrived at 9:30 PM, and everyone set up their tents and went to sleep. People woke up in the morning, had a yummy breakfast, then we went over the safety rules and put on the wetsuits, helmets, and lifejackets. We all got on a bus and took a 45 minute drive.
We then walked down to where the boats were, and moved them into the river. The rafts started moving, and as we went through a calm patch and some light rapids, we learned about river-rapid features, such as eddies and hydraulics. We had another calm patch and some heavier rapids, and we learned a few more terms. We then went into the strongest rapids, and one Scout actually fell out of the boat at Hayden’s Hole. The Scout was safely retrieved in a few seconds.
Three times the boat hit huge large waves. Finally, the rapids were over, and we paddled to the drop off point, where we had a much shorter bus ride, and then changed out of our wet suits. We then had lunch, and afterwards the scouts did various activities, games and a climbing wall. Later we had dinner, and afterwards watched a movie, then we went to bed in our tents.
We woke up early on Sunday morning, and everyone packed up their stuff remarkably quickly. We then had breakfast and drove to a beach, from which we paddled across to the other side of a lake, where there was a particularly high rocky cliff. Then the scouts climbed and belayed up the rock cliff, and most even rappelled down the cliff. One kid ended up upside-down halfway down the cliff, but he made it down safely too, good thing for the safety line! We then boated back to the bus, and had lunch on the drive back to the facility. When we got there everyone got in the cars and had a long drive home.
I really liked this trip, especially the rafting, because it was so exciting.
Rafting and Rocks, by Mark
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Adventures on our Canoe Trip, by Mark
August 26th, 2010First, all the scouts and adults met at the church, where we got into two cars and drove to a grocery store where we got the food for the trip. We then drove down to Warner’s Pond in West Concord. We then unloaded the gear from the car and got into 5 canoes. We paddled over to the island we were going to be camping on, and landed. Everybody brought the gear out of their canoes and we set up our tents. We had a lunch which we had brought, and then some down time. Then we went out to finish moving stuff. We (the kids) got in a canoe, and paddled around for a while, which was very nice due to the good weather and many islands. Then we stopped and docked at a point closer to the tents. We then got fuel for a fire, and once the fire was large enough, we made dinner, which was rice pilaf, meat, bread, and veggies. Then we had dinner a short time later, and everybody went to bed at around 9:00 p.m. We woke up in the morning and packed up our stuff, and had breakfast, which was scrambled eggs in a tortilla. We got the gear in the canoes, and cleaned up the site. We left at about 11:00 a.m. We got in the canoes and paddled back to the edge of the pond. Everyone loaded their stuff into the cars and put the canoes back on the truck, learning the truckers knot. We then drove over to Nashoba Brook Bakery where we had food and met our parents.
Adventures on our Canoe Trip by Mark
August 26th, 2010First, all the scouts and adults met at the church, where we got into two cars and drove to a grocery store where we got the food for the trip. We then drove down to Warner’s Pond in West Concord. We then unloaded the gear from the car and got into 5 canoes. We paddled over to the island we were going to be camping on, and landed. Everybody brought the gear out of their canoes and we set up our tents. We had a lunch which we had brought, and then some down time. Then we went out to finish moving stuff. We (the kids) got in a canoe, and paddled around for a while, which was very nice due to the good weather and many islands. Then we stopped and docked at a point closer to the tents. We then got fuel for a fire, and once the fire was large enough, we made dinner, which was rice pilaf, meat, bread, and veggies. Then we had dinner a short time later, and everybody went to bed at around 9:00 p.m. We woke up in the morning and packed up our stuff, and had breakfast, which was scrambled eggs in a tortilla. We got the gear in the canoes, and cleaned up the site. We left at about 11:00 a.m. We got in the canoes and paddled back to the edge of the pond. Everyone loaded their stuff into the cars and put the canoes back on the truck, learning the truckers knot. We then drove over to Nashoba Brook Bakery where we had food and met our parents.
Freeze-out scout trip, by Mark
April 14th, 2010We arrived Friday afternoon at Nobscot and brought the gear up in several loads. By then it was dark so we set up our tents as the adults prepared dinner, which was beef and beans with chili. After dinner we hung around the fire for a while and then went to bed.
Saturday morning, several more Scouts arrived, and we had a breakfast of eggs, bacon, and various other things. We then watched the ceremony for the beginning of the freeze-out, and loaded the sled with the proper gear. We got lost at the beginning of the competition, but then we managed to get to all the events except the flag raising and Easter egg hunt. We did well in several events. We also had a bag lunch after shelter building. As we were ending with the fire building, we realized we were late and had to run to get to the sled race. We performed well, and managed to get around the track quickly. Since our campsite was where the sled race started, we didn’t have to go anywhere once we finished. Later that night we had a dinner of beef, vegetable, and dumpling stew. After that, we went down to go to the troop skits. Our troop performed the bridge skit. We then went back to camp and had a cracker barrel. We went to sleep.
On Sunday morning we got up, had some of the breakfast from yesterday morning, and started getting the tents down. We then went to the awards ceremony. We didn’t get any awards but we did our best, which is what matters. We then got all the gear into loads and began bringing it downhill. After getting everything down, we waited for parents to pick us up, and we went home.
Survival weekend 2010, by Mark
April 14th, 2010First, we got in the cars and drove down to the approximate entrance to the trail. The newer scouts were driven to base camp; the rest of us started hiking. We were making a good pace for the first two thirds of the trail, but then the first group took a wrong turn then doubled back. We then got confused as to where precisely we where, but we managed to get to base camp in time for lunch. After lunch, everyone was shown their sites, and most people started making their shelter. Some people also made their camp gadget. A group of boys also played football. It came around to dinnertime, and the older scouts made their dinner, and then ate it. After dinner, people went to the campfire at base camp, and watched and performed the skits. A cracker barrel was hosted. Then the scouts played several rounds of manhunt and hide-and-seek before going to sleep. In the morning, people woke up and briskly made and ate their breakfast. Everyone made sure to leave no trace, and brought their stuff down to base camp. We took turns bringing troop and personal gear down, and then everyone got in the cars and drove home. That was the scout trip.
