69RoadRunner

45 minutes ago, qwazse said:

<Laughing out loud> Miners and maulers were not finicky. You'd have to travel in time to find a steelworker like my son who preferred crap craft beers instead. My dad, the main distributor of IC in the county, then retired, was the troop's CC at the time. 

Bud, Miller, Coors or any mass produced, low taste beer is better than Iron City. IC Light is drinkable.

And IPAs are garbage.

I'm starting to think I took us off topic, but no regrets. I think I have some Mad Elf left...

8 hours ago, qwazse said:

Case in point. When I was a scout, a young ASM brought a bottle of alcohol (Iron City, to be exact) to camp. A scout found it and drank it. The committee dismissed the ASM and suspended the scout. Today, I am certain that legal action would be taken against our CO for corrupting the morals of a minor. I suspect that BSA’s “even outside of scouting” stipulations come from such litigation. As a consequence, hardship is foisted on young adults with high integrity because of young adults who lack integrity.

That's awful. I mean Iron City is dredged from the bottom of the Monongahela River.

Just now, yknot said:

Why? What's so awful about having women involved? 

I've had several events where I've struggled to get 2 adults, period. The moms don't come camping. There is zero chance I'd get any to do Philmont.

Take a look at summer camps. What percentage of adult leaders there are women? It's very small.

I've asked. I'm not in any way opposed, but I only have 1 that's ever come. Another stayed 1 night when we were desperate.

Just now, yknot said:

Probably not a bad idea going forward. 

It would likely end most troops.

4 minutes ago, yknot said:

The reason for that is statistically men abuse children at rates much higher than women. Women do abuse, but it's usually to please or enable abuse by a controlling male counterpart or an older teen situation. The most horrific abuse scenarios frequently occur in settings where women are less likely to be present -- church, scouting, sports. 

If that's the reasoning, then an adult female should be required for all events, not just when a girl is present.

I suspect most of the people who come up with these rules are not affected by them. I just don't think they give any consideration to the fact that we are VOLUNTEERS. 

I strongly support most of the YPT rules and follow them all. This rule and the one where 2 female adult leaders can be in charge of a group of boys but 2 male adult leaders cannot be in charge of a group that includes even 1 girl bug me. Frankly, that's insulting and I'd like to have some strong words with those who came up with it.

I really feel like no consideration is ever given to those of us who have to abide by these rules from those who create them.

Thinking about copying most of this:

http://www.troop1128.org/2017/09/2017-dolly-sod-5-day-backpacking-trip-report/

8 hours ago, qwazse said:

If only my buddy could keep his family business rolling. A small order of fries from the Original Hot Dog shop would feed a troop!

I have put my plans for an urban trek on the back burner. This town would be ideal for it.

But, my personal favorite for a few days backpacking is Dolly Sods wilderness.

Both of my parents went to Pitt and we'd drive by The O every time they took me to the library.

Hmmmmm. Dolly Sods is something to consider.

6 hours ago, InquisitiveScouter said:

Appalachian Trail... any section hike is good.  No group limits, lots of in-town options, etc.  Here is a good tool...   https://nps.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=6298c848ba2a490588b7f6d25453e4e0

Numerous loops are available from state forests and parks trails all along the AT to make logistics easier. 

Adirondacks... multiple options.  Crew sizes are limited in areas.  Cranberry Lake 50 Trail (actually, a series of interconnected trails) is a good option. https://cranberrylake50.org/  This trail is a circuit, so parking and logistics is easier.  It's a long way from Northern VA 😜

Or there is the Northville Placid Trail, 135 miles total, so you could do a section hike if that is too long.  http://nptrail.org/

Poconos...the Pinchot Trail (interconnected system) is good...and camping in the State Forest is free (and you can camp almost anywhere).  Advertised at 23 miles, but with interconnecting forest roads and side trails, you can easily put together a much longer trek. http://elibrary.dcnr.pa.gov/GetDocument?docId=1753357&DocName=dcnr_20033753.pdf

Alleghenys...Laurel Highlands Trail http://elibrary.dcnr.pa.gov/GetDocument?docId=1743399&DocName=LARI_ParkMap.pdf , and you can do a whitewater trip in Ohiopyle on the Youghiogheny River (pronounced YOCK-a-gainy)  You could also drop in to Pittsburgh and pay @qwazsea visit

Have backpacked various lengths on all these...no big issues that proper planning wouldn't overcome.

Enjoy!

Fantastic ideas! And I grew up (allegedly) in Pittsburgh. Pierogis and Primanti's are on @qwazse 

2 hours ago, DuctTape said:

A lot in the Adirondacks. Backpacking and/or canoeing. Can also do hybrids. There are 6 million acres.

Some areas (extremely high use) have restrictions like no fires. Most areas fires are still allowed. All areas have group size restrictions for camping (maximum 9 people).  

What mileage are you looking to do each day? Also what other activities; fishing, paddling, off-trail bushwhacking, etc...

Yeah, I've found that both the Adirondacks and Smokies have permits, group limits and even restrict to specific campsites, which would all be a problem. 

As far as other activities, I'm just beginning the process. I want to first find what is logistically possible, then present ideas to the scouts. Fishing and maybe a day trip at the beginning/end to do rafting would likely be popular.

We're looking to roll our own in 2023 and do a 5-7 day backpacking trip instead of the national HA camps we've been doing. It's both for change of pace and to save some money.

We're in Northern Virginia and looking to get out of the area, but within a day's drive. I know there are many options out there, I'm wondering if any of you have actually done something and can give some advice.

One idea is backpack in the Smokies and maybe a day in Dollywood. Or maybe drive north to the Poconos or Adirondaks.

Thanks!

On 10/6/2021 at 3:45 PM, UKScouterInCA said:

Whereabouts in Inyo NF were you? We want specifics.  Looks awesome (looks like it was a GREAT Adventure)

Sorry I missed your question. We started on the High Trail trailhead near the Mammoth ski resort. Then we went off trail. I've been asked not to share specifics of the trek as it's part of why you pay Skurka for the trip.

Awesome! This is one I'm trying to sell to our troop.

5 minutes ago, SSScout said:

Was it a GOOD adventure? 

Hahaha. It was a good adventure. Skurka is the king of backpacking and he gets the best guides. They also teach proper lightweight backpacking. I sometimes see scouters who look like they're on some month-long expidition or have a Dutch oven in their packs. 

It certainly pushed my limits, but never worried I was going to die. Such a beautiful place. 

7 hours ago, RememberSchiff said:

Great photos. Glad there were no problems on trail or with photo upload.

Well, that one wasn't my pic, of course, since I'm in it.

I went with a Skurka Adventures group for a 5 day mostly off trail backpacking trip in Inyo National Forest. It was touch and go as smoke from a fire over 100 miles away threatened the trip, but we only had a little smoke parts of 2 days.

We climbed a glacier, slid on our butts down a permanent snow field and had a great time. Some of this trip was beyond what would be appropriate for scouts. It was an amazing time and very physically challenging.

Yeah, I don't know why it didn't like uploading the original files. I had uploaded the originals to Instagram. When you do that, it saves a reduced copy on your phone.

I tried uploading those copies and that's what failed. They failed from my phone and laptop. They failed doing file upload or opening them in photos and doing ctrl-a, ctrl-c, and then in the body, ctrl-v.

By using Snip and Sketch on those photos creating yet another version, I was able to paste from Snit and Sketch into the body of the posting.

So maybe Instagram adds something to the EXIF data in the file that this site's software rejects? The original images are over 31mb, so I know I can't upload them.

In Snip and Sketch, I did ctrl-A, ctrl-C.  Then in the body of the post I was trying to make, I did ctrl-V. Not upload file.

Is there some filter on EXIF data? Here's a pic of my ugly mug hiking with my EVH pack that it did let me upload.

1 minute ago, MattR said:

Is this a browser or OS issue? 

It failed on my phone (Samsung) and on my Windows laptop using Chrome.

I could only paste photos from doing a screen capture with Snip and Sketch.

When I opened the pictures in Photos and tried copy and paste. It failed.

When I used Snip and Sketch to do a screenprint of the images and did copy and paste, it worked.

He completed his Eagle project yesterday. Well, Miss Utility didn't come on Friday to mark any utility lines, so planting a couple of trees will wait or not be done. 

His high school recently was renamed from Robert E. Lee to John R Lewis High School. 

The crew built a decorative bridge to symbolize the march on Selma. The grass was removed and leveled. Weed barrier was installed as was river rock. It ended up being a bit more work than expected. 

So I can copy and paste, but not upload.

6 minutes ago, RememberSchiff said:

What is the file extension? jpg?

.jpg

I'm trying to post something and attach some pictures. The file sizes are under 1mb, but I get upload failed every time.

Well said! I have a hard time convincing some people about trail runners. Some people just refuse to believe things they were taught are wrong. Most thru hikers on the AT, PCT, etc. wear trail runners. Boots do NOT provide any additional protection from rolling your ankle, they weigh more and are more blister prone. https://www.cleverhiker.com/blog/ditch-boots

No kidding on morale. It's tough. We had a very young crew last time. One had a bit of a breakdown and wanted to quit. Two days later he wanted to come back as a ranger. 

You can make suggestions to your crew leader. Getting early starts is one of the best.

Smartwater bottles are better than Nalgenes. Lighter, cheaper and you can fit 2 in a side pocket. We never needed a wide mouthed bottle to get water.

I have a rain kilt and rain pants. Rain kilt is best in hot weather. If the weather for your trek can be cold and/or lots of rain, rain pants are better.

Cooked breakfast is a horrible waste of time. Trade out for no cook.