the REALLY BIG trip

[Lisabob]

Hey folks,

 

Somebody mentioned a bad case of cabin fever in another thread and this time of year is sure known for that. At my house today it is grey, snowy, cold/damp (I like cold/crisp so much better) and just plain dreary with a forecast for more of the same. Blech. Soooo.....time for a little day dreaming to tide me over (and maybe you too) .

 

Over the years our troop has taken some REALLY BIG trips, usually in the summers or over lengthy school breaks like Easter time. The last such trip was a 10 day journey halfway across the country to Yellowstone. This was the year my son joined and we couldn't participate (pre-existing schedule conflicts, but he was too young to have withstood it anyway, I think). About 8 or 10 years ago now the troop went to England where they paired up with a brother troop, camped, traveled a little, and had a really good time. To this day we still get new scouts and their parents who tell us they heard about that trip (even though NO current scouts in the troop attended) and that's something that interested them in our troop. It has been some time since we've done anything like that and people are beginning to talk about wandering the earth again.

 

If you had a willing group of scouts (the whole troop and not just the older/high adventure kids) and leaders and a couple of years to fund raise and plan, where would you go? What would you do? How would you get the ball rolling?

 

Let's day dream a bit here. In all seriousness though, our troop is in the very early stages of taking a day dream and making it reality, so don't send us to Mars or something, hmm?

 

Take us off on an adventure to ease the dullness of midwinter. Where would you go with your scouts, and why?

 

 

[ASM162]

I think an interesting trip would be a backpacking adventure in Alaska!

It would be fun to hike into a valley, with a stream full of salmon, and catch and cook your meals! It would also keep you on your toes, so as to be aware of your surroundings, and prepare yourself for sudden changes in weather, as well as any wildlife encounters. (READ BEARS!).

After the adventure in the wild is complete, the trip can begin to wind down with a boat excursion in one of Alaska's many harbors. Here you will be able to see and appreciate the aquatic life. It takes my breath away just thinking about seeing hundreds of Bald Eagles soaring in the sky. Maybe even being fortunate enough to see whales! All of the seals and sea lions sunning themselves on rocky shores. This would cretainly be a trip that would not be forgotten.

[le Voyageur]

For backpacking - Copper Canyon, Mexico

For cycling - two weeks on the AlCan

For canoeing/kayaking - Peace River, BC Canada

For Alpine Climbing - Mt. Logan, Canada. Something closer, Mt. Shasta

 

 

[eagle90]

It's always been a dream of mine to someday raft the Colorado River thru the Grand Canyon. We have done the New River in West Virginia a number of times, and can only imagine what the Colorado is like!

 

Dale

[Beavah]

Yah, Lisa'bob, I think it's helpful to coax your scouts into narrowing a bit. In some programs, I find the youth narrow by selecting activity. So, for example, they decide on mountaineering, or cycling, or sailing; then that helps them to go find possible venues and narrow it down to one or two. Troops & crews that do this tend to run regular "superadventures." That might not work as a whole-troop trip, or it might.

 

Another great way to do it seems to be what your troop did in the past and choose venue. So they choose Yellowstone or Britain or New Zealand and then they go make contacts and put together an interesting set of activities. I know a couple of troops that do that for summer camp, eh? Select a camp in another part of the country and turn it into a 2-3 week adventure. I think there's great touring to be had in every state and nation, eh? But if you're in the upper midwest, yeh probably want to head for another region at least.

 

If you're thinkin' summer, I'd avoid the south and southwest unless you're on water. Consider Northern California and Oregon - Redwoods, rugged coast, climbing, whitewater, pacific crest trail, funky hippee culture, Crater Lake, mountain biking, discussions about logging, Shakespeare festival (hey, gotta have an in-town day!) etc. Or consider New England, perhaps, cycling, canoeing through Concord and Lexington, freedom trail in Boston, sailin' the bay, heading north to sea kayak in Maine, tour a lobster boat, go hike Katahdin or Mt. Washington. Winter in New England also could be fun if you've got skiers and snowboarders and snowshoers and ice climbers; then hook up with Scouts Canada in Quebec for some multilingual exchange. And of course Hawaii - volcano tours and climbs, mountain biking, surfing/snorkeling/scuba, sailing, etc., and Alaska - whale watching, sea kayaking, hiking, fishing, mountaineering and more.

 

Overseas of course is now quite expensive because of the dollar's decline, eh? Doesn't look like that's gonna do anything but get worse. Still, European flights are common enough to be reasonable. Kanderstaag in Switzerland is a great Scout destination, combined with some touring in the Austrian and Italian and French Alps. When the violence subsides, the WOSM regional center in Kenya makes a good jumping off point for the African experience - Mt. Kenya, the Rift Valley, Masai and safaris, Baden-Powell's grave, traditional sailing on the coast.

 

And on and on, eh?! Boy, you've got me inspired now! Time to be feedin' these ideas to other frozen scouters around here, eh?!

 

Beavah

 

 

Beavah

 

[Ohio_Scouter]

Hi Lisabob,

 

Our favorite Troop trips were, Philmont, Northern Tier, Seabase, Yellowstone/Grand Tetons, New River, Denali, and Grand Canyon. We like these places best because of all the natural beauty and number of activities available both there and along the way. Have plenty of photos if your Troop would like to see for themselves.

[CalicoPenn]

I'd consider Costa Rica in the winter. River raft trips, hikes up active volcanoes, zip lines over the treetops in a rain forest, a visit to a cloud forest in Monte Verde, scuba diving and surfing in the Pacific Ocean, and learning about an entirely different way of life (in one small village, the highlight of the saturday night cruise down the main road was the young man in his backhoe - and he was quite popular with the ladies).

 

Calico

[CNYScouter]

As the Ship only has teens I don't know about younger Scouts but the youth wanted to go surfing in Hawaii.

 

There has also been talk about chartering a 78' sailboat in the Bahamas.

 

I personally have a few trips that I would like to do:

 

1) Iceland holds a Scout Jamboree every few years that I would like to attend.

2) Go to one of the Summer Camps on Catalina Island off of California.

3) Do the Chisholm Trail Adventure at the Texas High Adventure Base from the Longhorn Council.

4) Seabase

 

[John-in-KC]

I'm fond of Southern California's beaches in the springtime, having grown up there.

 

Two in particular, both in Santa Barbara County, offer a chance to serve as a base camp, and do some real camping, as well as a base of operations for side trips.

 

Those two beaches are Carpenteria, on the East side of Santa Barbara (the coast here runs not quite true east and west) and El Capitan, on the west side.

 

Three of California's missions (Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez, and La Purisma) are in easy day trip distance. The University of California, Santa Barbara is (to me, even when I was a Scout) a day trip all in itself. The beaches themselves are an attraction (but caution, the water is too cold for swimming at this point), and Santa Barbara has all manner of historic "stuff" associated with it.

 

Now that I've done this with a specific location, use it as a model for your PLC to do research... think of someplace different, then have the Scouts research it to see if there's enough fun/educational side trips to make the expedition worthwhile.

[eagle90]

CNY Scouter -

 

We did the Chisholm Trail Adventure in 2005 and had a phenomenal time. It is a great trip with great facilities and a super staff. GO FOR IT!

 

Dale

[CA_Scouter]

We are planning to go to Yellowstone this year.

 

Dreaming... Alaska or Canada would be nice. Vancouver Island looks pretty exciting and waaaay out there...

 

[Slouchhat]

A really big trip such as this: http://nordatlantik.cps.de

On a sailing ship across the Atlantic. Talk about high adventure.

Or visiting F.C. Selous' grave in Tanzania.

 

best regards,

Volker

[eisely]

An extended canoe expedition down the Yukon River in Alaska.

[Pack212Scouter]

Hmmm...really hard choice. Let's see...

 

Backpcking - Denali National Park, AK

Cycling - New Hampshire's White Mountain National Forest to Maine's Acadia National Park in fall follage time.

Canoeing - Minnesota's Boundry Waters Canoe area

Ocean Kayaking - Alaska's Kenai Fjords National Park & Juno.

Winter Camping - New River Gorge in West Virginia (Climate reasons)

White Water Rafting - Grand Canyon

[local1400]

Anyone who does actually come to Maine or New Hampshire, let me know and I will help out all I can. Now, if I had one place to choose, it would be to spend a week or more exploring Baxter State Park in Maine. Solitude City!