Troop 48 Berlin, NJ

Last weekend, we set off for Hawk Mountain on the Appalachian Trail.  Despite a rainy evening and morning, we managed an 8 mile hike on the Appalachian Trail, where we spotted a salamander and a whole lot of mud!  That evening, we watched six rounds of mayhem and destruction at the local demolition derby.

Overall, a great way to kick off the Fall!

Lots of rank advancement in the last two weeks!  Congrats to Brian on earning his Star Rank, Tim for earning 1st Class, Charlie and Joey for earning Tenderfoot, and Kevin for earning Scout!

Some of our Scouts headed down for the first Scout Day at Dover International Speedway the first Sunday in October. They got to go in the inside oval of track, meet NASCAR legend Jimmy Johnson, and then watch the NASCAR Cup Series Race.  Good times were had by all!

Congrats to James on passing his Eagle Board of Review at the end of September! James becomes Eagle Scout #125 for Troop 48.

For his project, he built a new stairwell at historic Fort Mifflin in Philadelphia.

A flag flew over the grounds of the US Capitol building the day of James’s Board of Review in honor of his achievement, which is pretty awesome.

 

Troop 48 ended September as we do each year, helping out the 7000+ bikers at the MS City-to-Shore Bike Ride.

On Saturday, Troop 48 worked our usual spot  at the Century Stop at Sweetwater Fire Company, stop for those bikers attempting to ride 100 miles in a single day.  We set up the rest stop (including dragging around pot-a-potties, which was fun!) served food and water most of the morning and early afternoon, cheered on the bikers, and then cleaned up the rest stop at the end.  By all accounts, the Scouts did a great job.  One biker who did 175 miles in two days shared with the director of volunteers at the end of the ride, ““Who were those volunteers at the Century Loop? They were incredible and organized – please thank them for me.”

In the meantime, Magnus cycled his way 100 long miles from Cherry Hill to Ocean City.  He raised $1640 for the MS Society from his ride!

We spent Saturday night on the Ocean City Boardwalk.  After a pasta dinner, the Scouts walked the boardwalk, enjoying all the fun (and junk) that can be found on that famous Jersey landmark.  Then it was back to the campsite for a night’s sleep.

Sunday, we were up early, packed up, and headed to Hammonton to help at the second day’s lunch stop.  The Scouts again spent hours helping the bikers to successfully complete their two days ride.  Mike, the site supervisor, said, “Please give ACIT, Glassboro, and the boy scout troop a special shout out from us. The boy scout troop was integral in our packout – we were all drained at that point so it was great to have them waiting in the wings to tag in.”

All in a weekend’s work.

It’s a month later, but we had an AMAZING time at Acadia National Park this summer!  We braved a high ropes course (some of us were braver than others, meaning everyone was braver than Mike), climbed Cadillac Mountain, sea kayaked around Bar Island, watched meteors fall by Sea Wall, and found all sorts of great things while tidepooling.

Dinners were cooked (even lobster for one patrol one night!), rain fell on our head, our SPL did geologic dances (we have video!), rabbits attempted to steal food at our campsite, we saw old cars, and great times were had!

Can’t wait for next year’s trip!

Magnus had a great time at Mountain Man Camp!  Held July 29 to August 2 at Roosevelt Scout Reservation, this camping experience for 14 year olds and up teaches you how to survive using old fashioned frontier living skills.

Some of the skills that were covered this year were dutch oven cooking, knife throwing, tomahawk throwing, animal tracking, SAR tracking, edible plant identification, fire building, bow drills, throwing sticks, silent movement, natural camouflage, black powder shooting, cordage making, and more!

If you’re 14 or older next summer, consider going to Mountain Man Camp!