Pennsylvania – December 2002.
By Mike Farrell
12 miles – Winter Hike – Western Rim Trail
Our Scoutmaster, Gary, wanted to take a small group of older scouts on a challenging winter hike with full packs in the snow. It was very cold and there was about a foot of snow on the ground. It was beautiful scenery, but everything froze, even deodorant. We had one minor mishap when Mike Gallagher fell because he want off the trail to take a picture of a waterfall. When he slipped, his foot got caught in a root and that’s what saved him from falling off the mountain. We had to heat water to drink and we ate instant soup that wasn’t too instant because it took a half hour to make. During the night, we tried to melt the ice off of my boots and the fire melted the rubber and made holes in my boots. This was a tough 12 miles to earn.
