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Backpacking, South Mountain, December 11-12, 2010
This was our first visit to South Mountain State Park which is only 45 minutes from home. Many have been to the park for family picnic's and short hikes, but few have ever hiked deep into the park. We head out on Head Quarters trail for a mile where we turned on to Shiney Trail a foottrail we hiked for about 3 1/2 miles. Along the trail we encountered ice from the previous weeks cold weather and we also stopped for lunch. At the end of Shiney Trail we turned on to the Upper Falls trail to our camp site. Once in our campsite we quickly set up camp. Since this outing was in December we wanted to make it a Christmas theme outing. Wefound ourselves a nice tree branch which was decorated with holly, garlin, ornaments and battery operated lights and became our Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Each scout was to bring a wrapped gift that we set at the foot of the tree. Carl gave us the rules to play "Dirty Rotten Santa" and the frenzy was on where we had 3 minutes to make at least two gift exchanges. Following the exchange we all gathered in a circle and we opened up our gifts one by one. Some received good gifts from a "good" santa while others received not so good gifts from the "dirty rotten santa". We huddled around the fire late into the evening as we felt the tempature rapidly dropping below 30 degrees after sunset. We were expecting rain (as usual) by morning. To our surprise we woke to a dusting of snow that had fallen during the night. This made the weekend complete having snow our our troop Christmas outing.
South Mountain Photo Album
10 Mile Hike/Scouting for Food, November 13 & 20, 2010
Every year Troop 101 participates in the annual community service project "Scouting for Food". On Saturday, November 13 we went out to our neighborhoods to hang door knockers informing the community that we will be back the next weekend the pick up food for the needy of our community. Following the door knockers the troop met up with fourteen Pack 101 Webelos 2 scouts as we head out on our annual 10 mile hike. We had over 40 boys and 10 adults participate in the hike. Along the hike we stopped for lunch, worked on map and compass skills and adopted a dog. A stray dog took a liking to us (especially the Webelos) and decided he wanted to hike with us. The boys affectionately named him "Throat Ripper" after hiking nearly 5 miles before they could firmly decide on a name for their new found friend. An ad was put in the paper for "Throat Ripper" searching for his owner. Unfortunately no one came forward to claim him so we took him to the Humane Society where he was found a good home.
On November 20, we went back into our neighborhoods collecting the food the community put out for us. After nearly 3 hours we met and consolidated the food into 3 pick-up trucks. We then proceeded to The Masters House where we met up with our old friend David Pearcy, Executive Director of the Masters House our chosen recepient for the service project. This year was especially successful as we collected 4797 lbs. of food from the troop and an additional 1409 lbs. from Pack 101. This resulted in a total of 6206 lbs. of food donated to the Masters House. Click to read a letter from David Pearcy of the Masters House .
10 Mile Hike/Scouting for Food Photo Album
Backpacking, Shining Rock, October 2-3, 2010
Not many scouts had pleasant memories of our last visit to Shining Rock in 2006. We were not mentally or physically prepared on that trip. So our return trip to Shining Rock this year had a special motivation for the few scouts making their return and the new scouts who heard the horror stories of the 2006 trip. We had absulutely incrediable weather for our hike this weekend. The returning scouts quickly erased the bad memories of 2006 while the new scouts just enjoyed themselves. The leaves were just about to turn colors the weeked of our visit making this an especially scenic and colorful trip. We set up camp just short of the summit where we camped with fellow hikers. Sunday morning we awoke to tempatures in the low 30's with frost on our tents. The wind began to pick up and literally blew the clouds from the valley up to the mountain top covering us in a thick fog very reminiscent of the Mt. Rogers trip. We broke camp and proceeded to summit Shining Rock. In all, we estimated that we hiked 12 to and from the summit of Shining Rock. The Shining Rock Wilderness is so beautiful it deserves a return trip in the near future!
Shining Rock Photo Album
Backpacking, Mt. Rogers/Virginia Creeper, August 14-15, 2010
Our backpacking trip to Mt. Rogers started at the trail entrance of the AT Spur trail in Grayson Highlands State Park in Virginia. We hiked one mile to the Appalachian Trail where we stopped for lunch. One of the more unusual moments on this trip occurred when we encountered wild ponies along the trail. The ponies would walk right up to you and let you pet them! We continued along the AT until we reached the summit of Mt. Rogers the second highest peak east of the Mississippi. We set up camp, filtered water and made dinner. Just around dusk a light rain and thick fog settled upon us for the evening. When we woke the rain had stopped, but the thick fog was still covering us. As we hiked out the fog began to clear revealing the beauty of the Mt. Rogers Wilderness Area. Once back on the bus we quickly proceeded to the little town of Damascus, VA where we rented mountain bikes from the Blue Blaze Bike Rental. We were shuttled up to the top of Whitetop Mountain where we started our 18 mile bike ride back to Damascus on the Virginia Creeper Trail. A great time was had by all. Not a word was spoken on the bus ride back home as all were sound asleep after an exhausting weekend. We hiked nearly 9 miles to and from Mt. Rogers and biked 18 miles on the Virginia Creeper Trail!
Mt. Rogers/Virginia Creeper Photo Album
Super Trip, National Jamboree, July 29-August 1, 2010
Troop 101 traveled to Virginia on July 29 for a four-day trip which included attending the National Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill. The troop departed early from Shelby on Thursday with thirty-five participants and the church bus driver, Tommy Young. The boy scouts went to Richmond and visited the Museum of the Confederacy, the Confederate White House,Tredegar Iron Works, and Chimborazo. Each evening the troop retired at a church facility provided by New Hanover Presbyterian in Mechanicsville. The next day’s schedule was the army base where 46,000 boy scouts gathered in contingencies from throughout the United States for the centennial celebration of scouting in America. The troop met Life scout Zach Hutchison, the only troop member with the Piedmont Council contingency, on his way to the merit badge midway. From the National Jamboree the troop continued to Quantico and visited the National Marine Corps Museum. The following day’s itinerary began on the Navy SEAL base at Little Creek. Guided by a SEAL chief petty officer and a BUD/S candidate, the boys were shown a video and taken to the SEAL Team 8 facility where various combat weapons were displayed for a presentation. The boys competed on the Group Two obstacle course for SEAL tee shirts and ate lunch at the chow hall before visiting Naval Station Norfolk. BMSN Nicole Thorton served as the tour guide and escorted the troop aboard the U.S.S. Eisenhower and inside the navy exchange store. The final day was a series of tours to Fort Harrison, Drewry’s Bluff, and Petersburg National Military Park. National Park Ranger Robert Webster served as an interpretive guide to The Crater, Fort Steadman, and Fort Whitworth. The troop returned to Shelby on Sunday August 1.
Super Trip Photo Album
Summer Camp, Camp Bud Schiele, June 27-July 3, 2010
Troop 101 attended boy scout summer camp June 27-July 3, 2010 at Camp Bud Schiele in Rutherford County. This year marks the centennial celebration of Boy Scouts of America and a rare accomplishment for the troop: the unit won Best of Bud Schiele Week 2 for a second straight year. The boys gave an outstanding performance by placing second in the two-man one-mile run, first in the knot tying competition, first in first aid, and first in the canoe race. They maintained a 14th straight first place win in the catapult competition and won the clean campsite award for the second straight year. The dedication and commitment of these boy scouts paid off with a narrow win by twenty-seven hundredths of a point. It was a hard fought victory for the troop with the absence of Eagle Scout Michael Yarboro who aged-out at camp on his eighteen birthday, the day before camp competitions.
We received the following awards at the closing ceremony...
Week Two Best of Camp Bud Schiele Award (2nd year in a row)
Cleanest Camp Site Award (2nd year in a row)
First Place - Canoe Race
First Place - Catapult (14th year in a row)
First Place - First Aid (2nd year in a row)
First Place - Knot Tying
Second Place - Canoe Race
The boys and adults were exhausted, but full of troop pride as we looked forward to going home Saturday morning. As we left Camp Bud Schiele we had to stop at the CBS sign to get a troop picture with our awards.
Read the full summer camp article that appeared in the Shelby Star .
Summer Camp Photo Album
Family Camping, Stone Mountain State Park, June 4-6, 2010
Our annual family camping outing was another huge success! Over 50 scouts and family members traveled north near the Virginia / North Carolina border to Stone Mountain State Park. We had reserved the entire "C loop" of 10 campsites in this beautiful park. One of the first things we noticed was the number of deer walking through the park. It was an awesome site to see. Friday night we were asaulted with a rain storm (it always rains when T101 goes camping). Following the rain storm the fire flies put on an awesome display as their lights flickered like stars in the evening sky. Saturday morning we woke to clear and sunny skies. The scouts participated in various skill activities as the parents rested after our morning breakfast. In the afternoon all were free to explore the park and all its glory. Many hiked the various trails in the park visiting Stone Mountain, The Hutchison homestead and numerous water falls. The highlight Saturday evening was when each patrol made a dutch oven desert and the family members got to taste each desert voting for their favorite. And the winner was Tyler of the Venture Patrol.
Family Camping Photo Album
Backpacking, Wilson Creek, April 9-11, 2010
Backpacking at Wilson Creek was one on the most exciting outings we have had to date! We parked about a mile away from the trail entrance. Night fell as we hiked in on the trail. We hiked about a mile till we found a camp site where we set up camp in the dark. Saturday morning we got up, ate breakfat and broke camp for a six mile loop hike. Ten minutes into the loop hike we came to a large river where we soon realized we had to cross to continue on the trail. Once on the other side of the river we dried off our feet, put our boot on and continued the hike. We stopped at an overlook for lunch where we had a spectacular view of a waterfall. Continuing the hike we were confronted with additional river crossings (over 20 river crossings) to continue on the trail. What should have been an a six hour loop hike ended up turning into an overnight stay in the wilderness as each river crossing took nearly 20 minutes (boots off, cross river, dry feet, boots back on). As night was about to fall we spotted an increadible campsite where we set up camp for the evening, ate dinner and got an awesome nights sleep. The next day we broke camp and hiked out of the Wilson Creek Wilderness Area. While the river crossings were a challange the hike was awesome, scenery was beautiful and the weather was spectacular. Geart trip!
Wilson Creek Photo Album
Spring Camporee, March 19-21, 2010
This years Spring Camporee was held at the South Mountain Retreat and Conference Center with the theme "A Celebration Now & Then 100 Years of Scouting" celebrating the centennial anniversary of BSA. For one of the few times in recent memory we had exceptional weather for a camporee. We arrived at the camporee location and proceeded to set up our campsite which is no small task. Once set up, we ate dinner and emjoyed fellowship with other troops that lasted until late into the evening (2:00 AM). The next morning the boys proceeded to participate in all sorts of training opportunities: two man buck saw, morse code, blindfold knot tying, semaphore code/flag signaling, orienteering, flint & steel fire building, knife & axe sharpening, flap jack race and a scavenger hunt. That evening the Battleground District participated in a "Homecoming Meal" where we all ate together under a large canopee. Saturday evening we took part in the campfire festivities which was hosted by our very own Carl Anderson. This was one of our favorite camporees that we have participated in. A great job by Camporee Chief Alan Morgan!
Spring Camporee Photo Album
Ski Trip Winterplace WV, February 27 & 28, 2010
Our annual ski trip to Winterplace was postponed due to rain in January. With the trip rescheduled to February we enjoyed some of the most AWEOME weather conditions for a ski trip. Leaving home it was clear and sunny. Once we crossed the West Virginia boarder we transitioned to overcast and snowy conditions, just perfect for snow skiing. Once we were checked in, we made ourr way to The Mountain House, a restaurant by day and our sleeping quarters for the night. Over 150 people camped inside The Mountain House that evening. When we woke the next morning, to our surprise, we had an additional 4 inched of fresh snow. We broke camp, ate breakfast and hit the slopes by 8:00 AM. On the slopes it continued to snow and ice the entire day. The 10 boys and 3 adult enjoyed a full day of snow filled fun!
Winterplace Photo Album
Backpacking, Caesars Head State Park, SC
February 14-16, 2010
On this outing we completed as six-mile winter backpacking trip to Caesars Head State Park in South Carolina on February 13-14. Prior to departure, Cleveland County received snow showers Friday causing ice to build up on the roads and highways. Nine boy scouts and two adult leaders braved the cold weather and arrived at the scouting complex at 5am with winter gear for their outdoor excursion. Road conditions slowed the sparse morning traffic to half the posted speeds and several cars and trucks were wrecked or stranded on the sides of the highway. Arriving later than planned and realizing their pace would be slowed with heavier pack weight to contend with while hiking in fresh snow, the troop headed west to the trailhead at Raven Cliff Falls.Trudging four hours through the silent woods and rhododendron thickets brought these scouts to the Gum Gap trail junction leading to the boundary of the Watson-Cooper Heritage Preserve. With two hours of daylight left, the boys hurrying to assemble tents, gather firewood, and prepare dinner before dark. After eating their meal and securing gear, most boys retired to their tents after sundown but a few remained by the small campfire for the last vestige of warmth. The temperature fell to 21 degrees and continued to lower to 10 degrees by morning. The troop endured the numbing effect of cold hands and feet while preparing breakfast and braking camp. Fresh tracks around the campsite indicated that coyotes were in the area and some heard their call during the night. Using the same trails to return, the troop stopped for a short hike to the falls and a trailside lunch. The boys reached the terminus of the trail, loaded their gear, and returned to the visitor center. Before retuning home, an impromptu snowball fight erupted with the two adult leaders receiving the brunt of the directed volley.
Caesars Head Photo Album
Freeze Out, Camp Bud Schiele, January 15-17, 2010
Our 2010 Freeze Out had to be postponed a week because of extreemly cold weather. Temperatures for that weekend were expected to go down into the single digits.So we had to reschedule it a week later where we had slightly warmer tempatures, but as usual we had 2 plus inches of rain on Saturday night. Almost everyone had water in their tents and the scouts who slept in their survival shelters were soaked!
Freeze Out is an annual troop favorite with the scouts. We usually have the highest attendance on the Freeze Out trip. We had 23 scouts and 11 adults participate in this outing. Former leader Brian Trivett as well as his son Trooop 101 Eagle Scout Josh Trivett joined us for the weekend. On our freeze out outing the boys have the opportunity to shoot rifles (thanks Garry for bringing your rifles) and shotguns (thanks Marvin, Brian and Scott) at the Camp Bud Schiele shooting range. A lot of preparation and training for this outing took place in our troop meetings with the emphasis on gun safety. In the afternoon training session, the newest scouts worked with Carl on their Wilderness Survival Merit Badge. The scouts had to build a survival shelter and sleep in it over night. Five scouts built and slept in their shelter. Flying Eagle and Venture Patols also built a shelter and slept in it.
Freeze Out Photo Album
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