Upcoming campouts

All,

Our February campout to Colorado Bend SP is just three weeks away and we need to be making some final arrangements. Here is the itinerary:

Sat Feb 18 Meet at New Hope at 7 am and leave for Austin. Arrive Austin around 10:30-11:00 and tour State Capitol. Have a sack lunch and then tour Bob Bullock State History Museum until about 3 pm or so. Head out for Colorado Send, Arrive Colorado Bend around 5 pm. Set up camp.

Sun Feb 19 Hiking at Colorado Bend including Gorham Falls, fishing, possible cave exploration; Philmont crew backpacks out to primitive campsite.
Mon Feb 20 Philmont crew backpacks back to base camp. Head back to Mo City by 10-11 am. Eat lunch on the road. Arrive Mo City 3-4 pm.

Colorado Bend is an outstanding park, but it is a little far and that is why we scheduled it for a weekend when the boys are out of school on Monday for Presidents Day. However, we do need adults who are also off on Monday to support the trip. Scouts who are on the Philmont crew should plan to attend if at all possible for a training hike. Colorado Bend has a fair amount of elevation change so it is a good place to train.

Please come to next week’s troop meeting and be able to say whether you are going or not.

For March we have lined up a trip to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge near Rockport for the first weekend of spring break (Mar 10-12). The itinerary will be similar to Colorado Bend with a Sat morning departure and a return on Monday. Mike McNeff is our leader in charge for this campout. Again this trip is scheduled for a time when the boys are out of school so we need adults who can also support the trip. Of course everyone knows that Aransas is where the whooping cranes over winter. The staff at Aransas are great and they will be teaching the fish and wildlife management MB. Great opportunity to study wetland ecology. Again please come to next week’s troop meeting and be able to say whether you are going or not.

For April 27-29 Jason Dean is arranging for a canoe trip on the Trinity River in Chambers County. This will be flatwater canoeing and will be an excellent opportunity for our younger scouts to learn how to handle a canoe before we go onto moving water. We will be camping at Cedar Hill Park (Chambers County Park). The park has covered pavilions and restroom. Good facilities. Jason is trying to determine how many canoes to rent, so we need a good headcount soon. Again please come to next week’s troop meeting and be able to say whether you are going or not.

Yours in Scouting,

Mike