Category: Announcements
Another beautiful Court of Honor with 20 rank advancements and 73 merit badges plus several other camp and national awards. It’s been a busy six months for the troop. Since our last Court of Honor, we have rebuilt the benches and a greenhouse in the Woodside High School Green Academy garden for Jenny Richter’s Eagle project. Several of our Scouts helped paint a mural at Corte Madera School to memorialize the ancient oak tree that used to mark the center of campus. That was Evyn Ellis’ Eagle project. And Nate Simon, for his Eagle project, refurbished the raised vegetable garden beds at Ronald McDonald House near the Stanford Shopping Center, then planted a salsa garden. We also planted flags on Memorial Day, as usual, to honor our fallen soldiers. We helped the Cub Scout troop, and we pulled invasive Scotch Broom in March. We have a few other service opportunities coming up soon: For her Eagle project, Camilla Khiari will build a display about aviation test pilots for the Hiller Aviation Museum. And Sloane Smith will build hamster feeder boxes for the SPCA. In other news, we had three Scouts attend the National Youth Leadership Training in June – more than we’ve sent there in years. They came back brimming with ideas and energy to push our troop forward. Another 19 went to Oljato for summer camp, where they worked on three merit badges, each, swam, hiked and had a blast. For campouts, a bunch of our Scouts went snow camping in March, several more backpacked in Point Reyes, a handful enjoyed an unusually relaxed campout in the Los Gatos hills. Six went whitewater rafting on the infamous Class IV rapids in the Middle Fork of the American River. For those who don’t know what Class IV means, it’s river rafting jargon for terrifying. And yes, they did “eject” from the boat. These kids are tough! In recent weeks, we’ve also had campouts at the Boulder Creek Scout Reservation, Henry Coe State Park and Costanoa on the coast. They also raised $5,465 at the annual hamburger stand during the town picnic to keep the troop’s dues down.
Seven Scouts plus two leaders had a great campout at Henry Coe State Park on the weekend of November 16th and 17th. They left the Roberts parking lot at 8:00 am, and arrived at the park around 9. Although they had planned on camping at a site near a lake, they we learned at the info station that the site they wanted had already been taken by someone else. Instead, they went to a very large site near a small pond. The hike there was a little less than 3 miles. There was a potable water tank there, but it was empty and they couldn’t find the spring that was on a map, so they filtered water from the pond. They ate dinner, hung their food in a tree, and went to bed. In the morning, they ate breakfast, packed up, and hiked back to the car. They got back to Robert’s around 10:30 am.
On Nov. 9 seven scouts, four parents, and two siblings went camping at Boulder Creek Scout Reservation. We had a great time and unexpectedly acquired one extra camping site because no one was on it. This let us use the pavilion and a big fire ring. But because there were only seven scouts we had lots of space. After setting up our tents Imogen taught us how to build a fire with the log cabin method. When the fire was roaring Ella and Freya got to work on delicious dinners. Freya made Pasta and Chili, and Ella made Pigs in a blanket over the fire. After dinner we roasted some delicious smores. Everyone was very full after that. Ella and Freya started to clean up and everyone washed their own mess kits. It started getting cold so we put out the fire with water and got into our tents. It was a restless night for most of us because it was very cold. In the morning it was still very chilly so as soon as people got up they went looking for a fire. Luckily Nate and Evan had gotten one started early. We couldn’t feel our fingers or toes, but the fire helped. Imogen and Penny got to work making breakfast after the parents all had their coffee and the kids had warm Horlicks. Penny made delicious breakfast burritos with all the fixings and a tasty fruit salad with fresh pineapple guavas from her garden. Imogen made scrambled eggs and bacon and roasted english muffins over the fire. After breakfast we cleaned up and broke down the tents. Nate led Imogen and Penny on a plant identification mission and we all parted ways (after putting the fire out, of course). It was a short but sweet camping trip.
In early June, three Scouts involved in leadership from both Troops 64 and 40
64 attended National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT) at the Boulder Creek Scout Reservation in the Santa Cruz Mountains. NYLT is a week-long camp that teaches Scouts valuable leadership skills they can use in their patrols, troops and outside of Scouting.
During the week, the Scouts learned through presentations and fun activities about what it means to be a leader, and how to provide good leadership. They also learned about how to use different leadership styles to fit the need of the moment, how to manage conflict, how to set and track goals, and how to utilize the different strengths of the various Scouts in the troop. The Scouts also went backpacking for one night, cooked for their patrols and experienced other interesting outdoor activities. It was an awesome experience and we are excited to get more Scouts to attend next year!
The rafting trip was very fun. We had a great time and learned a few things:
1. The water of the middle fork is cold, brisk and eefreshing.
2. An 8 foot drop is really not that much.
3. If you go backwards down tunnel shoot it still works out.
4. Surfing a raft is fun, but a great way to dump some rafters.
5. Swimming is also fun, but not when you are under the boat.
Finding campsites in state parks can be the most challenging part of organizing a Scout outing because most book out months in advance, and often within minutes of opening online signups. So for our May 2024 campout, we tried something new: We booked a private site through Hip Camp and found a beautiful private spot in the Los Gatos Hills, less than an hour from home. What followed was an unusually “chill” campout with a little bit of skills practice and a whole lot of just hanging out. Life is so rushed and time to just commune with friends and nature is so rare, that we kind of just went with the flow. Besides, it’s the end of the school year and everyone was tired, so it made sense to slow life down a bit and just enjoy the redwoods. There are times when you arrive someplace peaceful and all intentions of being productive melt away. And that’s exactly how it should be. Aside from that, the weather was mild, the food was good, the company was awesome and … we got ice cream.
It wouldn’t feel like a real year in the lives of Troops 64 and 4064 without the annual campout at the Point Reyes National Seashore. Nine Scouts and six adults hiked three miles in to a gorgeous campsite on the weekend of June 1st and 2nd, where they were treated to one of life’s great experiences: A sunset then a night in total darkness to see the maximum number of stars. After a dinner of soy sauce noodles with chicken, salad and pearl couscous with olive oil and cheese, the campers enjoyed a bonfire on the beach with some other campers who had already built it, cooked smores over the flames, then early to bed. The next morning, half hiked back to the car and half proceeded in for another six miles to a second campsite.
Seven courageous Scouts braved wind and sub-freezing weather on the weekend of March 9th for the annual Troops 64/4064 snow camping trip. As we did last year, our destination was off Highway 88 near Silver Lake (close to Kirkwood Ski Resort). The Scouts hiked in about two miles with snowshoes and gear in a “pulk” (a plastic sled attached to the skier with pvc pipes, paracord, bungies and carabiners). They dug snow caves, cooked a warm dinner, then went to bed early because it was so cold. Conditions were perfect for digging a cave because snow and high winds the prior weekend made a vertical drift of consolidated crystals. But the winds were strong enough that erecting tents was a challenge for those who opted for those instead of sleeping in the caves. The Scouts learned that putting their packs inside anchored them enough so that they could assemble and insert their tent poles. Also, it was cold enough that the iso-butane stoves didn’t work – important lesson learned there. You could boil one pot of snow and after that the fuel cartridge didn’t have enough pressure to keep running. All-in-all, a great experience and one of those that makes you appreciate a warm bed when you get home.
Nine Scouts from Troops 64/4064 spent two hours on a Saturday before the holidays to assemble hygiene bags (toothpaste, soap, deodorant, diapers and more) for Holy Family Day Home. Holy Family is a day care and resource center for underprivileged families. Some 71% of its families fell below the California median income level, 42% of the center’s families fell below the poverty level (as indicated by the California Department of Housing and Community Development, for a family of four), 20% of its children came with SF Free Homeless Childcare vouchers and 23% of the center’s families were currently or formerly homeless during the ’20-’21 school year.
Troop 64/4064’s Winter 2023 Court of Honor was jam packed: 184 merit badges, rank advancements and awards from Camp Oljato this summer, monthly campouts or backpacking trips, skills practice at meetings and independent work. On top of that, we had our traditional bridging ceremony for seven rising Scouts. We welcomed four girls and three boys to the troop with the ceremonial walk across the bridge: They start with the Cub Scout salute on one side, then finish with the Scouts BSA salute on the other. Then it’s the presentation of the neckerchief, slide and Scout Handbook. Our newest crew is ready for the challenge: We’ve arranged for a special “New Scout Group” that will meet half an hour before meetings to learn the rudimentary skills needed to succeed and advance. The troop’s older Scouts look forward to teaching their next generation.
Ever made baked brie in a dutch oven? We did! It was a great way to warm up during a 40-degree campout over the Thanksgiving weekend. In addition to feasting on melted cheese, chicken skewers and pasta, we completed the Citizenship in Society merit badge and explored a primitive area of La Honda Creek. The rains hadn’t started in earnest yet, so the creek was relatively tame with logs to scramble over, pools to study, Pacific giant salamanders to find, redwood caves to enjoy and seven identifiably different species of fern (Lady Fern, Western Sword Fern, California Polypody, Brittle Bladderfern, Giant Chain Fern, Coastal Woodfern and Aleutian Maidenhair (aka Western Maidenhair Fern). Then we retired to tents with double or triple sleeping bags, had a good night’s sleep and finished off a successful campout with breakfast at world famous Alice’s Restaurant. Good times. Thankful and grateful for long weekends, good Scouting friends and clear skies.
“Into every life, some rai
n must fall.” That’s the old saying, as if rain is a bad thing. Especially on a campout weekend. We’d beg to differ. We had a wet and misty campout under the redwoods at Memorial Park Campground in Pescadero and it was one of our best. In fire-prone California, the dampness was a rare opportunity to practice fire-starting skills. And having a Scoutmaster along for back-to-back Scoutmaster Conferences is also a good thing. Everyone completed a rank or a merit badge. Add in marinated chicken skewers and couscous with apricot and Mediterranean spices for dinner and it just gets better. Top it off with bagels, lox, capers and tomato and for breakfast and everyone goes home happy. We expected this campout to be a small group – maybe six or seven at most – it being late in October and temperatures dropping. But 17 brave souls signed up and nobody regretted it.
There’s an old saying in Scouting: Do it once and it’s a tradition. Do it twice and it’s a long-standing tradition. Now in its second year, the annual combined Cubs and Scouts campout at Pinnacles National Park near the town of Hollister is officially a long-standing tradition. With 30+ representatives of Pack 163 Cub Scouts and 15+ from Trooops 64/4064, it’s by far our largest outing of the camping season. This year, we offered 2-mi, 5-mile, 8-mile and 10+ mile hikes, held a raucous campfire lead by Nate and Camilla, and ate some truly amazing food (at least, the parents did, with steak and quinoa salad for the adult patrol). Many Scouts completed rank requirements and a few finished merit badges. And, as usual, the raccoons invaded in the middle of the night. For one camper who slept without a tent, that made for some late-night amusement.
A full 20 Scouts – almost half the troops! – Attended summer camp this year at Oljato in the Central Sierras. They swam in the brisk and refreshing lake, slept in handmade shelters for the Wilderness Survival merit badge, baked apple cobbler over the campfire, gazed at the stars over the lake and had a fantastic time. Combined, they earned more than 60 merit badges and another 20 Firem’n Chits and Totin’ Chips. This year, Troops 64 and 4064 achieved Honor Troop as well, a special award for good scores on camp inspections and writing letters home.
Five Scouts and two adults spent an idyllic day on the Truckee River in July, fly fishing and working through merit badge requirements. Guide Jasper Donley of Tahoe Fly Fishing in South Tahoe taught proper technique for casting, floating and picking a pool for success. Unfortunately, the fish weren’t biting that day but you should have seen the one they almost got – 100 inches at least, if not 200. A record setter for sure. Hot dogs, ham sandwiches, Oreo cookies, a beautiful moon and moderate temperatures made for a perfect two-day trip. The water was cold, though. All five came out of the water with numb toes.
