After finishing installing the benches in Riverbay, we arrived at the Shawme-Crowell State Forest at 1pm. We setup our tents at group site 2 and then spent the rest of the day exploring camp, playing ball and manhunt. A few scouts brought bikes and rode around the campground. Other scouts walked over to the scout store. The weather was terrific which was extra enjoyable.

We could hear distant traffic noise from Route 6 during the evening especially. Also there were a few families in the group site next to us who played a radio, had barking dogs and did loud shouting games that kept some of us awake well past the quiet hour. The campground was less than half full, so it was unfortunate to be next to the one noisy area.

The campground had nice, clean “comfort stations” with running water. The playground was also nice and new. There’s a one mile path to go to the Heritage Museum but we didn’t have time for that. Besides these, the campground doesn’t have many other activities.

The scouts cooked hot dogs, burgers, beans and popcorn for dinner. For the breakfast, the scouts made eggs, sausage, bagels and hot cocoa. Our campsite had a fire ring with a grate which we used for cooking. We were able to find plenty of wood from around our campsite.

This trip combined our troop with some cub scouts. We drove up to New England Base Camp (NEBC) at 10am and then setup our tents at the Loon campsite. The camp provided large wheelbarrows to move our gear over. We made hot lunch on mac-n-cheese with ham and carrots with hummus.

After lunch we hiked to the top of Great Blue Hill which has a stone tower with views of Boston and the South Shore. Scouts practiced using map and compass to navigate the many different trails in our route on the 6 mile hike.

When we got back to camp, we went over to the NEBC activity area and did archery, BB guns and tomahawk throwing. They also had a long rope bridge that was fun to cross.

Back at camp, scouts made dinner of beef burritos with rice and lots of toppings. We had a campfire and smores. Scouts played manhunt. It was cloudy all day with slight occasional rain.

Overnight it rained fairly heavily but fortunately the rain tapered off by morning. Scouts made breakfast of bacon and oatmeal with toppings. We packed up camp and headed out before 10am.

We visited the Kennedy Presidential Library. After watching the film about John Kennedy, we toured the exhibits. Besides the learning about Kennedy, it was a good chance to dry off and warm up.

Then we drove over to Fenway and got into the ballpark with time to find our seats and get lunch before the game. Our seats were in center field and there were many other scouts around since it was Scout Day. The weather was drizzly like being inside a cloud and this kept the crowd away with the ballpark about half full. It was a close game with the Red Sox scoring late and winning 7-1 against Cleveland. After we got back to our cars, heavy rain started as we drove home.

A winter storm was moving through on Saturday morning. So we delayed our start to 8:30. South of Boston, the storm was rain, and then it turned to all snow at the NH border. The NH snowplows were on top of it and had the roads cleared as soon as the snow slowed down. We stopped for lunch at the Hooksett rest area. By the time that we got to Sandwich, NH, the snow was light. Even the side roads were well plowed and we arrived at the trailhead about 1pm. There was over one foot of fresh snow on top of a few feet of snow from storms earlier that week.

To hike to the camp, we used snowshoes and a sled to carry extra gear. Once we got to camp, we dug out a path to the cabin door and then used shovels to build our snow trenches.

When it started getting dark, we moved into the cabin and started a fire in the stove. The stove warmed up the cabin and dried our wet clothes. We also boiled water for our Mountain House dinners. It took a surprising long time for the water to boil. For an extra nice treat, Mr. Baker brought beef jerky which we heated up on the stove.

After dinner, the scouts played cards until 10pm and then settled into their snow caves. Overnight, the wind was calm and there was a light snow and the temperature wasn’t too cold, in the upper 20s. Everyone made it through the night in the snow caves.

In the morning, we packed up and hiked out. We stopped for breakfast at Dunkin and drove home.

For this trip, we rented a Ford Expedition from Hertz in Orleans so that we could all travel in one car which worked out very well. It was just enough room to fit 5 scouts, 2 adults and our gear.

We went to Squanto for Klondike Derby. It was cold enough for snow but we didn’t have any snow on the ground. The scouts pushed the sled around to the different event stations including log pull, raise sled, and BB guns. The wait at the BB guns took a very long time. Then we didn’t have time to do the fire building station. The camp served lunch of hot dogs, chicken soup and cookies. Between events, we toured the scout museum. After we were done with the stations, we played a football game on the big parade field with the scouts vs adults. It was a game until the 1st touchdown which was super quick because the scouts had the 1st play and completed a long pass for a touchdown.

We got an early start at 6:30 to drive up to Crotched Mountain ski resort in southern NH and arrived around 10am. It was busy since it was the best ski conditions so far this season. There were a couple good snow storms the week before and the weather was good for our ski day. It was in the lower 30’s with low wind. It took until around 11am to buy our tickets, rent our gear and get suited up. All the scouts got downhill skis except one who got a snowboard.

We did one run before taking an early lunch break. This first lift line was long and slow. And then lunch was crowded but the staff helped us out and gave us extra two tables that were reserved for a later group.

After lunch we got in a lot of skiing. The lift lines got shorter as the day went on. We split up into groups going on different level trails. The snow conditions were very good except for some icy spots near the top of the mountain.

We stopped for dinner on the drive home and arrived home around 9pm.