Well we made it back. I took a 5 hour nap today and my calves are screaming for advil! GRIN!
Troop 201 was very kind to us and we enjoyed the backpack. The camping with tarps was alright. It wasn't so stuffy with just tarps and no bugs or varmints out causing trouble...I wouldn't recommend doing this if a lot of rain was forecasted or it was bug season. It did lighten their load somewhat not carrying tents. Right off of the trail we missed the trail and headed up a logging trail so 2 miles later and quite a bit of bush wacking we found the trail again. I will say I would have missed it to. Now that I am back I vagley remember someone saying they did the same thing...grin. I pulled topos of the whole loop but it didn't' show the logging trail on either of my maps or programs... hum! The group was composed of 15 to 16 year olds leading the troop with them stopping at each trail crossing for all to make the same turn. We stopped only a few times as the loop was now 9 miles instead of 7 so only breaks was breakfast and lunch maybe one or two 2 minute breaks. It was a tough go for the smaller boys as there experience had not been developed and I saw heavy binoculars, extra heavy stuff being hauled around. I was told the troop does a shake down for the 30 mile trip before they go. Little evaluation was done on this 15 mile backpack. By the end of the 9 miles the 10 year old boys were barely moving with "a come on boys pick them up" being bellered out by myself with about 8 of them. The rest of the troop was at the campground just like horses running to the barn. I had hiked this trail 4 years ago and we came in in the dark so the first few miles of it was not remembered..well most of it wasn't remembered. As Rangers we planned on a backup at the middle of the trail and had a truck ready if we needed to transport any back to the starting point. A 10 year old boy with a 25 pound pack can become a crying backpacker after so long...that is not my goal in life so I made plans this trip for the same thing. My 10 year old son and my Scout neighbor was ready to come home before the other 7 miles could be done. Also one of the older scouts was sick so we brought him back to the beginning and left him at his dads van. We also cached 10 gallons of water and some of our rations in my truck so we wouldn't have to pump water. The Difference --------------- In the Troop I enjoyed the trip and I learned a bit more on the patrol system. Boys are here and the Leaders are over here. The boys come to the leaders for advice or what they don't have and are instructed on what to do. We did pray over one meal and the boys did help each other by pointing out trip hazards etc. My personal observations was I am glad I am in Royal Rangers. We have a closer relationship with God and demonstrate that in all we do. We work more so with the boys as a father/son relationship does and fellowship together. Our focus is to Reach, Teach and Keep boys for Christ, not just show them back packing skills and a good moral life ( I know Scouts teach a lot more and my vision is very limited but wouldn't trade my focus on God for the world) In Royal Rangers our focus is to point boys to Jesus and every step along the way we reinforce that with the program. I think God wanted me to see this this weekend and see what makes the difference. Jesus is the difference and what he had done for us at the Cross makes that difference worth it. When we got in the car to bring the scout back to his dads van. We prayed for the troops safety and for the boy to get to feeling better and took off. The boy asked a lot of questions about Royal Rangers. I was invited to go on the next backpack with the Troop. Will most likely go again as I love backpacking. Oooo my aching calves...GRIN! My two cents and yours may vary. Mark Jones Download a Free Royal Ranger Database. It's packed with goodies and it will make record keeping fun! Over 25 related databases and 11 years of field experience. Just like Salvation it's free! http://home.classicnet.net/mjones02/index.html ________________________________________________________________ The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! _______ List host: http://eBible.org/mpj/ List info: http://eBible.org/rangernet/faq.htm To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe rangernet" to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://eBible.org/subscribe.htm
