Pamlico Sea Base

On Friday, November 1st, we will be headed to Pamlico Sea Base, a high adventure base near Washington, NC, for a 2-night outing. This will be an awesome opportunity for the scouts.  Scouts will be paddling in the Pamlico Sound and have the opportunity to earn either Canoeing or Kayaking merit badge.  Our first night will be at the Sea Base on the property of East Carolina Council's Camp Bonner.  We will arrive set up camp and prepare dinner, while having time to explore Sea Base and receive instruction from the program leaders about our excursion for the weekend.  Saturday morning we will break camp and prepare for the paddling trek.  We will spent the night at Goose Creek State Park on the Pamlico Sound.  We will return to Sea Base Sunday morning and arrive back in Hickory on Sunday afternoon.

What:  Pamlico Sea Base, a high adventure camp.  It offers sea-kayaking treks around the Outer Banks.  It's located on the Pamlico River as part of East Carolina Council's 600+ acre scout camp.

When: Friday, Nov. 1 to Sunday, Nov. 3.  We will leave the church at 9:30 am Friday.  We will return Sunday afternoon/evening.  Scouts will be able to call for a ride as we approach Hickory.

Gear/ Equipment: Sea Base will take care of most of our equipment.  Each scout will need to bring their own personal gear and mess kit.  This list  includes:  sleeping bag, clothing (remember to layer), toiletries, camp stove (if you have one), mess kit, sunglasses, rain jacket, sun protection, bug spray, a hat, and towel.  Please wear your Class A uniform for travel on Friday and Sunday.  Everyone should plan to bring a swimsuit or quick-drying pants for certain requirements for your merit badge.  I would not recommend you wearing blue jeans to paddle in, in case you get wet-- they dry very slowly and could cause you to become cold very quickly.

The Sea Base will be providing tents, paddling and safety equipment, and dry bags to carry our gear in the boats.

Food/ Meals:  We will be cooking our own meals.  Please eat a good breakfast Friday morning.  We will stop for lunch on the way to Sea Base.  We will be responsible for dinner Friday night,  3 meals Saturday, and breakfast Sunday.  We will also stop for lunch on our return to Hickory.  Meals will be planned at the troop meeting Tuesday night, but plan on food costs of about $25, plus money for fast food stops en-route.

Cost: The Sea Base weekend program will be $45 per person, plus $25 for meals at Sea Base.  Additional money for fast food lunches to and from Sea Base will be needed, as well.


This is a terrific outing for the scouts.  I hope that everyone who can attend will plan on attending.  This should be a fun and unforgettable trip for everyone.

Call or email me if you have any questions.  Thanks, and I'll see you Tuesday.

New River State Park Canoeing

On Saturday, Oct. 19, we will be traveling to the New River State Park near Jefferson, NC, for a canoeing and camp out.  We have also invited the Webelos from Pack 231 to join us on this trip.  Our plan is to travel to Zaloos Canoes on the New River, where we will be outfitted with the gear for a 5-mile canoe trip down the New River, one of the oldest rivers in the world and one of the few rivers in the northern hemisphere that flows north.  Our campsite, which is in the Wagoner Access portion of the New River State Park, is directly off of the river.  This will be the point where we will end our canoe trip.  The forecast for Saturday will be partly cloudy with a high of 57/ low 41.  The chance of rain is 30%.  Please keep the temperatures and possibly of rain in mind as you prepare for the trip, making sure to dress in layers with a rain jacket.

Where: New River State Park, Wagoner Access, located off Hwy. 16 near Jefferson, NC.  Our river outfitter is Zaloos Canoes on Hwy. 16.

When: Saturday, Oct. 19- Sunday, Oct. 20th.  We will meet at the church at 9:00am.  It will be a 1 1/2 hour trip to Zaloos Canoes on the New River.  Several scouts are expected in Hickory for a school orchestra concert on Sunday afternoon, so we plan to be up, have breakfast, and return to Hickory by 12:30.

Equipment:  We will be car camping.  Troop tents, sleeping bags/pads, mess kit, water bottle.  Prepare for cooler weather for this trip.  Should something unfortunate happen, like falling in the river-- intentional or not, please make sure you have extra dry clothes available back at the campground.  We will be patrol cooking for the entire group. We'll have a fire ring in our campsite and we'll bring firewood.  There are restrooms and water is available in the campground.

Meals:  Please eat breakfast at home and pack a bag lunch.  We will eat our lunch either prior to or on the river. We will be cooking as a patrol Saturday night and breakfast Sunday morning.  Please bring a water bottle for the river and you may bring your mess kit.  We will have paper plates and utensils available for dinner and breakfast.

Cost: Canoeing will be $18 per person.  Please also include $8, which will cover the cost for camping and food.  Total cost $26.

I look forward to seeing everyone on Saturday!

Troop Election Results

Congratulations to the elected troop officers.  Introduction to Leadership Skills for Troops (ILST) training will be required to hold the following positions:  Senior Patrol Leader, Asst. Senior Patrol Leader, and Patrol Leader.  The date and time for ILST will be announced soon.

Senior PL- Carson H.
Asst. Senior PL- Will P.
Chaplain Aide- Patrick R.
Quartermaster- Charlie C.
Scribe- Allen P.

Snipe Patrol
PL- Harper H.
APL- Peter W.

Chupacabra Patrol
PL- Bradley L.
APL- Baylor P.

War Eagle Patrol
PL- Patrick R.
APL- Allen P.

Court of Honor Tuesday, August 27

We will be holding our next Court of Honor on Tuesday, August 27th at 7pm.  This has been a busy summer and we have many awards and ranks to present and celebrate.  Please plan to attend!

Max Patch/ Whitewater Rafting Trip- August 24-25

This weekend, we will be visiting the Max Patch area of the Cherokee National Forest.  The famed Max Patch is a 230 acre bald mountain, which was once part of a working farm.  The mountain was once cleared of trees for pastureland, and now is covered by tall grasses and wildflowers.  The Appalachian Trail crosses the summit, with views of Mt. Sterling and Mt. Cammerer in the Smokies, and Mt. Mitchell in the Black Mountains to the east.  We will hike to the summit and spend some time enjoying the views, before hiking down from the summit and follow the Appalachian Trail for several miles to Lemon Gap, where we will be picked up by our bus.  Along the way, we will see rhododendon "tunnels" and the Roaring Fork Shelter on the AT.  This will be a day-hike only, so you do not need to carry your backpack, only a small drawstring pack to carry your water.  Once we meet the bus, we will travel a few miles to Round Mountain Campground, a small US Forest Service campground in a quiet, woodsy area across the line in Tennessee.  The next morning, we will pack up and travel to Marshall, NC, where we will meet our whitewater guides at Blue Heron Rafting.  After receiving our instructions, we will board rafts and shoot the French Broad River, consisting of Class 2 and 3 rapids.  Lunch will be provided by the rafting company.  After our trip, we will change into dry clothes and return to Hickory.  We anticipate returning to Hickory around 5:30.  Scouts will call home for their rides as we approach Hickory.

What: Max Patch camping/ French Broad River Whitewater Rafting.

Where: Harmon Den/ Hot Springs, NC area.  We will be camping at Round Mountain USFS Campground.

Cost:  Rafting will be $52 for the trip and lunch.  Camping fees are $3 per person.  Food costs for Saturday dinner and Sunday breakfast will be determined and announced before the trip.

Equipment: Troop tents, sleeping bag/pad.  Mess kits, water bottle.  Drawstring pack or day pack for Max Patch hike.  A change of clothes and swimming suit with water shoes or shoes that you can get wet.  Please have a change of clothes available for after the rafting trip.  Rain jacket.

Meals:  Please eat breakfast Saturday morning and pack a sandwich lunch in a bag.  We will eat our bag lunch at Max Patch.  For dinner Saturday evening and breakfast Sunday morning, we will patrol cook.  The meals have already been planned and will be cooked by scouts who have signed up already.  Lunch Sunday will be provided by the rafting company.  We may stop for a snack at a convenience store on the ride home to Hickory.  Please bring money for this expense.  Food costs will be determined and divided equally among all participants.

When:  Meet at the church at 9am Saturday.  The troop will meet at the rafting company at 11am for a noon rafting trip.  The trip should last around 2 hrs, depending on the water flows in the river.  We'll leave the Marshall, NC area around 3-3:30 and arrive back in Hickory around 5:30pm Sunday.

Weather:  The forecast Saturday at Max Patch is for occasional clouds and a high of 70* with a low at night of 61*.  Sunday is mostly sunny, with a high of 82*.  Awesome!

Thanks and I look forward to seeing everyone on Saturday!

Max Patch Camping/ French Broad River Rafting

Our next camping trip will be on August 24-25, to Max Patch, and include a whitewater rafting trip down the French Broad River.  We will be camping at a US Forest Service Campground in the Hot Springs/ Max Patch area.  Cost for the Whitewater portion will be around $45 per person, depending of the number of participants that we have.  There will be a cost for camping fees and food.  We will patrol cook on this trip. Scouts, please invite a parent to come.

Please let me know by Tuesday, August 13, whether you will be able to attend, so that a reservations can be made.  Sorry, no last minute additions can be made on this trip.  Please email or call if you have any questions.  More details to come.

Troop Meeting

We will have our troop meeting tomorrow night, July 30th, at 7pm.  We will be discussing, among other things, the completion of merit badge requirements from camp, Family Life merit badge, certain rank advancements, and planning for our next outing.  Please be sure to be in attendance and I look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow night.