For our campout on Strong Island, we used 8 single kayaks and 4 tandem kayaks. We headed out from the town landing at Strong Island Road at 2pm Saturday. The conditions were sunny with wind about 10 mph. The paddle was about a quarter mile over to the beach on the north side of the island.

After bringing our kayaks ashore, we explored the island including walking the trails across the island and going along the beach on the east side. We decided on camping on the beach on the northeast. So we walked back to our kayaks and then paddled over to our camping area and setup our tents above the high-water line.

Chatham Conservation Foundation gave us special permission for this campout. In appreciation, we did trash pickup on our walks, and we were glad to find only a little trash. We also did a tree density survey on the island.

After setting up camp, scouts had time for fun on the beach and swimming. For dinner, we made burritos on a gas stove. We collected fallen dead wood for a campfire and made smores while watching the sunset. After sunset, the scouts played manhunt and watched the fire which we had setup below the high-water line so that the tide would wash away the fire debris. High tide came up and over our fire around 10pm. The top logs of the fire kept burning as the bottom of the fire was underwater. Also, we saw a very bright and long shooting star.

We got up early and saw a beautiful sunrise. After a quick breakfast of pastries, we packed up and headed out. We did this early start because the weather forecast increasing winds. The wind was about 15 mpg on our way back which was strong enough.

It was a great trip. We enjoyed camping right on the beach and having the island to ourselves and experiencing the peace and quiet of only hearing bird songs and the beautiful landscape that felt like we were walking inside a painting.

We hiked out on Saturday afternoon along the beach trail. The weather was mild and calm. Something new this year was that the park rangers don’t sell firewood. Instead, you can bring your own and they will drive it to the campsite. We didn’t bring our own firewood but when we got to camp, we found that there was firewood available in the bin.

After setting up camp, the scouts played on the beach. Another difference this year was that a couple of vehicles were out along the beach. In previous years, the vehicles were limited to the first part of the beach. Perhaps vehicles are allowed on the outer beach during this time in May.

Back at camp, the scouts made spaghetti dinner with garlic bread. Then we went back to the beach for the sunset and campfire with smores. Scouts played manhunt after dark.

On Sunday morning, we made egg breakfast sandwiches. Then the scouts went to the beach where they built dams from rocks to hold back the incoming tide. The weather was beautiful and sunny for our hike back along the marsh trail.

Our troop did the Minuteman Pursuit Trail on Patriot’s Day to mark the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Lexington and Concord. We got up in time to leave at 4am and arrive at the Concord courthouse by 6am. There were over 100 scouts from several other troops on this hike. Some of them had camped overnight next to the courthouse.

We walked from the courthouse into Monument Square and the Mason’s Lodge where they had a hot breakfast for us. Then we hiked over to Old North Bridge and then followed the back roads to Meriam’s Corner like the minutemen did to ambush the redcoats. From there, we hiked along battle road which was mainly a dirt road through the countryside with some historic sites and markers. Then we crossed over the highway on a bridge into Lexington and walked along sidewalks into Lexington Green. As we passed by the Lexington community center, we got to hear some of the outdoor concert being given by the Boston Pops.

We stopped at the Lexington Academy on the green to raise the first American flag. Then we went to Rancantore’s for ice cream which hit the spot. Next we walked along the rail trail into Arlington and then picked up Massachusetts Ave to our sit-down lunch at Menotomy Grill.

Then we walked through Cambridge to our final destination at Prospect Hill in Somerville where the American flag was flown for the first time. There’s a tower on the hill that was opened for the scouts. We arrived around 6pm and then had to wait our turn to get to the top. There are nice views of Boston from the top.

Next we walked a few blocks to Union Square to pick up the T into North Station where we got the commuter rail back to Concord.

 

For our second warm up for Minuteman hike, we did a 10-mile hike to Coast Guard Beach. We started from the National Seashore Visitor Center and hiked along the salt pond, marsh and cedar woodlands trail to the beach. Then we hiked south along the beach until reaching the opening to the bay. Then we hiked north up to Nauset lighthouse. Next we walked along the shore road back to the Coast Guard Beach parking lot and then on trails back to the visitor center. We stopped at Doane Rock and climbed it.

To warm up for the Minuteman Hike and to work towards hiking merit badge, we did a 10-mile hike around the perimeter of Nickerson State Park. We started from the soccer fields at Freeman Field and then hiked counterclockwise. Besides the scouts, we had 3 family dogs on the hike. The weather was cool, cloudy and windy, but we were protected from the wind in the woods. Most of the time we hiked on dirt paths but also hiked some on the bike paths. Besides some views of ponds, the trail had some scenic parts in the woodlands.

We drove up to East Madison, NH on Friday evening. We left Chatham at 4pm and stopped for dinner at Chick-a-fil in Hanover, MA. We stayed in 2 rooms with 4 beds each at the Tecumseh Lodge. There were only a couple other guests, and we had the lodge lounge to ourselves for playing board games.

On Saturday morning, we ate a simple breakfast at the lodge with food that we brought. Then we got to King Pind Ski by 8am for getting our ski rental gear and lift tickets. Most of the scouts took a two-hour ski lesson since it was their first time skiing. After lessons, the new skiers did many runs on the bunny slope.

We went for an early lunch at the ski lodge. The temperature was a cool 30 in the early morning but warmed up to 50 by the afternoon. The snow conditions were good.

After lunch, all the scouts, even the first timers, wanted to take the lifts up the mountain. Their first few times down the slopes were slow with some wipeouts. But after a few runs, all the scouts were doing well and trying out all the different lifts. The skiing was not crowded, and we were able to take many runs.

On the drive home, we stopped for dinner at Wild Willy’s Burgers which have the best burgers and fries in my opinion.

We went to Klondike Derby at Camp Greenough. The weather was wintry with temperature around 30 and some snow on the ground. We made grilled ham & cheese sandwiches for lunch.