We backpacked to the campsites at Sandy Neck. Since it was late Fall, we practically had the beach to ourselves and were the first to leave footprints in the sand. Scouts spent the afternoon making sand castle cities and one scout was brave enough to go for a swim in the ocean. At our beach campfire, we had a flag retirement ceremony. In the morning, it was very windy with some light rain. We hiked out the trail on the marsh side of the dunes to have some shield from the wind.

We backpacked into Mt Washington State Forest in the SW corner of MA near the NY/CT border. It was a wilderness experience in that we were outside of cell phone coverage. During our nighttime campfire, we saw stars and a satellite passing overhead at which a scout asked “Can we connect to wifi now?”.

After setting up camp, we hiked to the ridge with views of the Hudson river valley, and Catskill and Taconic mountain ranges. It had rained earlier which made for some wet trails.

Troop 71 sent 11 scouts to Camp Squanto for the week of July 23. The camp had nice facilities especially the waterfront. Scouts earned merit badges including swimming, archery, search & rescue, rowing and first aid.

The camp sure has a full day of activities starting at 7am and going to 10pm. Scouts like having “Siesta” for 1 hour after lunch. One morning a scout said “Don’t camp days seem long?” (in a good way). Another replied “I can’t believe it’s only Tuesday morning.” Our scouts really enjoyed the free swim this afternoon. On Monday, one scout caught 5 fish.

The food is good. In fact, scouts were saying “This is the best food ever … expect for mom’s.” The Trading Post is a big hit too, especially for slushies.

We went to Camp Greenough over Father’s Day weekend. Scouts did a timed orienteering course and played manhunt at night. We had a campfire and had baked banana boats after dinner (bananas stuffed with chocolate and marshmallows).  In the mourning, scouts made breakfast with French toast and bacon for the dads.

We had a great time at the Highland Games on Nantucket the weekend of May 5. We took the Friday afternoon ferry with hundreds of other scouts and then walked through town to Camp Richard. We wore kilts with the color of our clan. The games on Saturday included traditional Scottish Highland games of caber toss, stone put, sheaf toss, battle axe throw, archery, farmers walk, bucksaw, cairn construction and Welly toss. Dinner was a pig roast plus Dutch oven dessert contest which was followed by a bonfire. Weather was sunny and mild.

We camped out in Acton, MA with a bunch of other troops for a Patriot’s Day jamboree. The weather was cold and wet. It was the coldest April 16 on record, breaking the previous 1880 record. It was colder than our Winter camping trip and our Klondike Derby earlier this year. The scouts still managed to make a delicious dinner  of chicken alfredo and have fun playing catch. The troop from Concord helped us setup camp and invited us over to their campfire.

The sleet and wind were strong overnight and we woke up to a coating of ice all over. Everyones tent held up.

The plan for Monday morning was to walk the Issac Davis trail from Acton to the North Bridge in Concord and watch the reenactment. But the reeactment was cancelled and with heavy rain coming soon, we decided to pack up camp early and head home.

On March 3, we camped below the Sandwich Mountains in NH. We hiked with our backpacks for about 1 mile to a cabin by a stream. The snow was 1 to 2 feet deep and compact enough that we didn’t need snowshoes. After setting up camp and having lunch, we hiked 6 miles to Beede Falls. It was mild in the mid 40’s and many of us overheated on the hike and took off coats. We cooked dinner on the stove in the cabin and then had a big campfire. Overnight it didn’t get too cold, only down to 31, but still cold enough for some cold feet!

We skied at Crotched Mountain in southern NH on Feb 24, 2018. Mild temps in the mid 40’s and some sun made for comfortable conditions but a bit slushy in spots.

Klondike Derby was held at Camp Squanto on Jan 27, 2018. Mild temps meant for no snow. Our new sled is nice and light but needs more clearance to get over the pine needles and bumps. Competing with troops from around MA, our troop did very well in a series of challenges including bowline rescue, bear bag toss, turkey shoot, etc.