Starting out Saturday morning, Scouts use map and compass to get us to our destination

On the trail

The navigators guide us on our hike

Although the hike was only 2.5 miles, it seemed much further and took us 2.5 hours.

Treacherous creek crossing...but fun to do, just another adventure!

Finally, lunch!

Hot dogs, yum!

We found a team building excercise in the form of a Spider Web nearby (found on COPE courses)

Sawing contest

Sitting around the campfire telling stories

Ahhhh, warmth!

Sharing jokes and riddles around the campfire.

Do I read 15 degrees? How accurate is this thing, seemed colder than that!

After waking up it's nice to get warm by the fire.

Time to pack up! A dusting of snow came down through the night.

The crew

Time to hit the trail.

Another challenge, but how to get across? Looks too dangerous.

Using the rope that was brought, a line was made between two trees for safety! The leaders carried over the packs.

Wsiting for their turn across the creek. After getting across, everyone definitely agreed it was a cool challenge!

This one fell on the ground twice, perhaps in the fire as well, and part of the stick was still in the hot dog. Did Mr. Younger eat it? You'll have to ask him. I seem to recall that a Scout is Thrifty...hmmm...

The object is for each team (5 Scouts) to get to the other side through the holes in the web, without touchin. If you touch the web the entire team has to go back and try again. Once a hole has been used it cannot be used again by another team member unless they restart. One Scout in each team was elected the leader, and only that Scout can talk. Very tricky!

How fast can the boys saw through a log using the Bow Saw? I believe the winning time among Scouts was 26 seconds. Two leaders tied at 6 seconds (the log was skinnier by the time they made their attempts!)

Our SPL for the weekend took the boys through Emergency Scenarios (in their minds) to see how they would handle the various situations.

The boys faced cold conditions head-on, kept their cool, and stayed warm (generally) throughout the weekend. I went through 10 pairs of handwarmers, and was actually able to use one pair myself.

Only one missing: Mr. Younger, who took the photo with the intent of e-mailing it to everyone. Next time!