Troop 5 – Bronxville, NY

In December, a bunch of scouts and their dads went out on the Geocaching trip to find five different caches at the Sprain Ridge Park.  Each was hard to find, some more than others, and some had funny names, such as, “Dog Bait,” which was on a fire hydrant.  We had a lot of fun, and some 2^nd year Webelos even showed up. I think the Webelos had a good time and it showed them what being a Boy Scout is like. This trip is definitely one to go on next year.

By Jason Cushman

On Friday night 18 boys and 7 dads took a five hour drive up to Camp Read.  This time it was not to go for summer camp, it was to ski!  We all stayed on the camp grounds in the handy-craft room – a little cramped, but we managed.   The next morning we had to get up at six-thirty to get ready to go skiing.  Before we went on the road to get to the mountain we went to a farmhouse a mile away to get breakfast from chef Joe(the chef from Camp Read).   After all of that, it was about eight-thirty, time to get on the road.   We had to drive 45 minutes just to get to the mountain so we arrived at nine-fifteen.  When we all got our skis and boots, we all met up to get some of the drills done for the winter snow-sports merit badge.   Then some of us spilt into groups and some of us went to take a lesson.  We skied and snowboarded for a long time and then at twelve o’clock we all met up to have bagged lunches that were packed for us by chef Joe.  When we were all finished, we spilt back up into groups and skied and snowboarded some more.   The really advanced group even went on the 2^nd steepest trail on the east coast called Lies.  We were going to go on the steepest trail on the east coast, but it was too icy so it was closed.

Gore Mountain has the biggest vertical slope on the east coast.  We skied and snowboarded long and hard that day and didn’t leave the mountain until three o’clock in the afternoon.  We then got back to the cabin at about four o’clock where we showered, got dressed, and got ready for dinner.  We drove to the farmhouse and ate dinner there.  Later , we watched the movie Anchorman, and had ice-cream sundaes before hitting the hay at 10:00.

On Sunday morning we got up at 6:30 and started packing up all of our stuff, so we could leave immediately after we went skiing.  After we finished our morning’s merit badge requirements, we split up again into groups. We skied until twelve o’clock and then returned all of our rental gear and headed home. Overall I think it was one of the most fun trips of the year.

By Anthony Crinieri

Orienteering Report – November 28, 2011

On Saturday, November 19, we went orienteering at Durland Reservation. There were some ROTC people there.  Orienteering is when we use maps and a compass to guide us through the woods.

We started out with an easy coarse, which was the yellow course, but it was still cold.  We had nine flags to find and each flag had a hole puncher attached to it.

On our maps we had traced out a course from a master map.  Once we got to one flag and finished punching a little yellow card, we would align north on the compass with north on the map and see which direction the next flag was. When we found the next flag, we punched a little yellow card in the box that corresponded with the number on the flag.

We were timed on how fast we finished the course.  Everyone got stuck on the third flag, because it was behind a rock wall and had fallen down. Overall it was a really fun trip and I think everyone would enjoy it.

By Kenny Taylor

            On November 5, 2011 we left for the trip it was a couple of hours to get there.  When we got there we got our stuff and took a five minute walk to the camp grounds through a little horse trail that looked like the spot where the headless horseman rode down. At the camp grounds we dropped our bags and pitched the tents. Mr. Rabsey already had a fire started and so we sat all around it when we were done pitching our tents. That’s really all we did till dinner. For dinner that night both the patrols had pasta and then Andrew Walter-McNeil did a trick with a piece of spaghetti. Ask someone who went on the trip for the details. Then we sat around the camp fire warming are hands and talked.

The next morning Mr. Rabsey used his mouth to wake us up by going “doo-doo-doo-do-do-do-dooo all scouts wake up.” Most of us got up, took down the tents, and sat by the fire that Tim Weir and Mr. Rabsey set up early in the morning. We were told that that night it was 22 degrees and in the morning it was only 25 degrees. For breakfast we had packaged oatmeal, Oreo Pop-Tarts and hot chocolate. Then the guide for our rock climbing came. His name was Tie. He drove us to the climbing site and then we got our harnesses and climbing shoes on. After that we walked about 200 feet to the wall. The wall was named the bunk-bed which was a forty foot face. After we got there they demonstrated the knot for climbing called the eight knot with a follow through. We made a double fisherman’s knot as the finishing safety knot. We got some of the requirements signed off for the rock climbing merit badge. Andrew Walter-McNeil, Jack McCann, and I Tommy Meade climbed up the mountain blind folded. While we were there we rappelled down a side, climbed up rock faces, and belayed each other. This trip is probably going to be my favorite because it showed me that I’m not afraid of heights.

By Tommy Meade

Troop 5 participated in a volunteer effort to help Habitat for Humanity last October 8.  The concept of the organization is to build decent and affordable housing for the needy families through volunteer work and donations from private citizens and other not-profit organizations.

The first thing that we did when we got to the site, was to take out large bags of trash from the house we were going to help take down.  Once the bags were loaded into the van, some scouts and parents took them to the dumpster.  The rest of the scouts stayed and continued putting the rest of the trash in bags, until all the trash were gone.

Next, we were given hammers and tomahawks to break down pieces of walls of the house.  We were given masks and gloves to protect ourselves from debris.  We then gathered pieces of woods and other debris and placed them in bags.  It was hard work but fun.

The representatives from the organization were grateful and appreciated the work that we did.

By Will Rabsey

The day started out well, it was sunny and everyone was excited to go out and see the New York City fireboat. Mr. Chrystal set up the trip and we met at the church before heading out. When about 20 scouts and parents arrived we noticed the size and power of the boat. First, we went around the boat looking at all the different gadgets onboard. There were water and foam cannons, and infrared cameras. We learned what kind of situations the boat could handle and what safety precautions had to be taken. We then entered the inside of the boat and could see things like chemical precautions, such as chemical showers and Hazmat suits. Then, the tour split up into two groups, one went upstairs to the pilot’s area and the other group went down to the engineering room. Down stairs we were amazed, there were four massive engines and all kinds of pipes, levers, monitors, and switches. Upstairs, was where the steering and controlling of the ship took place. There were many cool things there too. This was where everything could be monitored and taken care of. Unfortunately, our day was soon over. We all had a great time due to the opportunity and awesomeness of the boat.

By Brian Crystal

Assateague was a really great trip and a big learning experience for everyone who went. We saw wild horses and had a great time in the sand. We were camped on a massive sand dune right next to the water. We dug holes, swam in thunderous surf, clammed, kayaked, surf fished, crabbed, flew rain flaps in the wind, had a great cookout on the each featuring burgers, hot dogs, vegetable kabobs and pre-packaged s’mores(courtesy of Mr. Segarra). We had an absolutely amazing time.

We also learned a lot when a massive storm blew in. Even though we could see the storm, we kept putting off preparing.  By the time we were starting it was too late. The storm was here and lighting was striking. We had to retreat to the cars. A lot of food, gear, and even tents were lost. Half of us had to sleep in the cars that night, because our tents were either too wet or had blown down the Maryland surf: A major learning experience to say the least. Next time we’ll bring sandspikes and started battening down the hatches a little sooner!

Although the next morning everything was wet we hung it up, straightened our tents, and cleaned up the campsite. A lot of people would have gone home, but not Troop 5. In fact we had a beautiful day at the beach.

By Charlie Vorbach

Follow the attached link to read Michael Landy’s recap of Troop 5′s summer camp experience at Camp Read 2011:

Camp Read 2011- Newsletter

By Michael Landy

Crew 715F Philmont Experience

Day 1: Thursday, 7/14/11
• Uneventful flight to Dallas
• Good views of the desert on flight to Santa Fe
• Small airport in Santa Fe
• Santa Fe – cool adobe architecture
• Checked into Garretts Desert Inn
• Lunch at San Francisco Street Cafe
• Visited New Mexico Museum
• Georgia O’Keefe Museum
• Popcorn at popcorn stand
• Went to oldest church in the USA but didn’t go in because they charged a dollar
• Went swimming at the hotel pool; made a human bridge and carried Will Stoeffhaas across the pool
• Dinner at Mexican Restaurant
• Haagen-Dazs

Day 2: Friday, 7/15/11
• Woke up early – ate breakfast at hotel and took a long time
• Drove 2 ½ hours to Philmont
• Met our ranger – Kristen, an Air Force Academy cadet
• Ate lunch of fish sticks at base camp cafeteria
• Met another ranger named Derek who we saw and kidded with repeatedly over the next few days
• Mark, Mr. Carley, and Mr. Landy got all of the info for our itinerary at logistics
• Had our medical forms checked at health lodge
• Ate dinner at base camp
• Attended religious services – Catholic Mass said by Bishop of Santa Fe; Many of the crew attended Mormon Service
• Rained at opening campfire, so it was cut short
• Saw SOS signal up near Tooth of Time and reported it

Day 3: Saturday, 7/16/11
• Woke up early
• 6:30 breakfast of eggs and greasy bacon
• Weighed our packs – ranged from Mr. Carley’s pack at 31 lbs. to Steven Ircha’s pack at 52lbs (i.e. without food and water).
• Bussed into backcountry
• Rangers told us tall tales about ranger zip lines and underground golf course
• Hiked a couple of miles to Ponil – practiced lassoing and went to Cantina (Trading post)
• Set up camp – took forever to put up bear bag
• A couple crew members went to show at Ponil – saw cool card tricks and funny skits. Show ended Philmont Hymn

Day 4: Sunday, 7/17/11
• Went to pick up our burro – took a long time because another crew came late
• 2 hour orientation for burros
• Named our Burro Derek after Derek Redfern
• Took turns guiding him on the trail; he slowed us down a bit
• Pueblano camp-funny porch talk and intro to sparpoling (i.e. basically telephone pole climbing with spiked boots and a leather climbing strap)
• Assigned to furthest campsite even though we arrived first
• Most crew members participated in sparpoling. The staff was hilarious.
• Nature walk with Kristen-received Wilderness Pledge Cards
• Amazing show – great musicians and comedy

Day 5: Monday, 7/18/11
• Kristen left us early in the morning
• Faster taking down camp
• Hiked to Miranda
• Dropped off Derek – Savino ended up being dragged behind the burro
• Long hike up an enormous meadow to Miranda
• Joked around in porch talk; staff pretended they were from the 1800’s
• Black powder rifles and Tomahawk throwing
• Hiked to Baldytown and arrived in time for a thunderstorm
• Comfy chair, hot chocolate and awesome snack box on porch while we waited for the storm to pass
• Got to campsite – sang Philmont Hymn again – did “Thorn, Rose, and Bud” for first time

Day 6: Tuesday, 7/19/11
• Climbed Mt. Baldy – tiring hike – slept on the “temper-pedic” rocks
• Waited for bear to leave path before hike
• Bear trap failed and bear got away 5 times
• Took break on meadow after hike; sang Philmont Hymn with Mt. Baldy as backdrop
• Long stroll down the mountain
• Two mile hike to Conservation Project – built a trail and cut down trees
• TOOK HOT SHOWERS!!!!
• Chased bear out of our campsite several times; came back to neighbor’s site at 5:30 am

Day 7: Wednesday, 7/20/11
• Challenge course at Head of Dean – Steven pulled Chris C. singlehandedly over wall
• Other challenges included balancing platform, rope swing, and square that we all had to stand on
• Went through burnt down forest from Ponil Fire
• Saw wild turkeys walking into Santa Claus camp
• Sat down for a while and made Wookie noises
• Pumped water – no spigot
• Problem with neighbor and bear bags

Day 8: Thursday, 7/21
• Lots of deer in the morning
• Long hike – 11 miles
• Nice campsite at Devil’s Washbasin
• Dry camp – open field– more deer
• Great view of mountains in open air latrine

Day 9: Friday, 7/22
• Mr. Carley’s Birthday
• Hiked fast – picked up food at Ute Gulch Commissary
• At trading post we won Goldbond and cookies for answering Greek and Roman trivia
• No shower’s at Clark’s Fork – very disappointed
• Rained a lot
• Mountain lion spotted in camp next to ours; tough to sleep
• Chuck-wagon dinner; ate beef stew and pound cake with peaches for dessert
• Won roping contest versus other crew – “We Been Lashing” – won donuts
• Campfire wasn’t great

Day 10: Saturday, 7/23
• Hiked quickly up to Cypher’s Mine
• Slept in a Lean-to; had to cram all 12 of us into one
• Ice cold showers
• Tour of Contention Mine – team building exercise to simulate a cave-in and exit mine in complete darkness
• Blacksmithing – made J and S hooks
• Strong man competition – Will Tarry and Savino represented Crew 715F – German girl won
• Attended “Stomp” -best campfire of all
• Staff played “real” music for a few hours after

Day 11: Sunday, 7/24
• Hard beginning of hike – tried shortcut up near vertical road
• Hiked up Mount Comanche
• Hiked up Mount Phillips in approaching thunderstorm
• Rained a lot
• Froze in Red Hills Camp; temperatures dropped into 30’s
• Took hours to untangle bear bag rope

Day 12: Monday, 7/25
• Woke up early to get to Black Mountain Camp
• Ate lunch and filled up water at the camp
• Couldn’t climb Black Mountain because there was lightning on top of the mountain, so we did an easier but longer hike to Shaefer’s Pass
• Bear was in another campsite and we scared it off with the help of our sister crew
• Went to bed early to wake up at 2 am to watch Sunrise from Tooth of Time

Day 13: Tuesday, 7/26
• Woke up at 1:45 am
• Stars were incredible
• Night hiked to the Tooth; difficult trail in the dark
• Bear sighting in Tooth Ridge Camp
• Scrambled up The Tooth with full packs – turned out to be a foolish decision
• Saw completely orange sunrise and ate breakfast
• Long hike to base camp via 14 switchbacks
• Ate junk food
• Attended religious services
• Cool closing campfire featuring “Home Bound” song and mini-bear attack skit
• Crew awards ceremony

Day 14: Wednesday, 7/27
• Some crew members visited Waite Phillips’ house in the morning; some had gone the day before
• Took shuttle for Santa Fe at 10:00 am
• Stopped at Subway and Dairy Queen
• Flew to Dallas Airport
• Many of us ate at McDonald’s and a few others went to TGI Fridays
• Flight back to New York was delayed 2 ½ hours
• Arrived at JFK at 2:30 am

From June 24-27th, 22 scouts and 9 adults went camping in the Adirondack Mountains with a goal of dayhiking up some of the highest peaks in New York. It was wet, rainy and somewhat muddy. The troop drove up to the campsite on Friday afternoon and got there on Friday night in time to set up the tents and the campsites. Most of the boys slept in big 3-4 person tents, but the older boys slept in small two person tents to train for Philmont (a long ten-day hike in Arizona).

The next day everyone went on a 1-mile hike up Mount Jo. After that they went on a nature hike with the Park Ranger and saw some great signs of wildlife including many tree stumps courtesy of some hungry beavers. Even though it was raining very hard several scouts went swimming in the lake! Just before dinner on Saturday evening the weather cleared up and some of the boys found a field and played a game of football while four others (Savino Brusco, Michael Landy, Chris Miller and Owen Hayes) decided to sprint to the top of Mt. Jo and back in under 45 minutes. After dinner everyone came around the campfire and each patrol acted out a skit. When the skits were over, we roasted marshmallows and listened to lots of jokes and riddles (Jokemeister Charlie Brusco kept us in stitches as did Rootin Tootin Roy — aka Justin Hoak). We all made sure we got a good sleep that night because the next morning we would hike up Mt. Marcy or Mt. Phelps; two very challenging mountains to climb.

On Sunday it started out as a very nice warm day; good for hiking. There were three groups on Sunday 1) those who were going on Philmont and would hike Mt. Marcy, 2) other scouts who were hiking Mt. Marcy (ie the highest peak in New York), and 3) those who were hiking Mt. Phelps. The other scouts had a choice between Mt. Marcy and Mt. Phelps. The boys who were going on Philmont had to leave at 7 a.m. so they woke up early. This fearless crew started out but apparently got lost in the parking lot for 10 minutes before finding the trailhead to Mt. Marcy. The other guys that were doing Mt. Marcy had to leave at 7:30 a.m. so they also had to wake up early. They boys who were doing Mt. Phelps were leaving at 8:30 a.m. so they did not have to wake up as early as the other boys. One interesting item of note is that the Philmont crew lived in fear of the younger scouts catching them on the hike up to Mt. Marcy so they tried to keep a fast pace. While they made a few excuses (ie getting lost and something about bloody noses), it only took the younger guys about 3.5 miles to catch the Philmont crew.

Mt. Marcy is a 15-mile hike and Mt. Phelps is a 9-mile hike. Mt. Marcy is the tallest mountain in the state of New York being 5,344 ft. in elevation. Mt Phelps is 4,160 ft. high in elevation, and it was named after the man who cut the first trail up Mt. Marcy. His name was Orson Schofield Phelps. Both mountains were extremely steep at points and very muddy. Along the trail we were greeted with periods of rain and frequent drizzle. Needless to say both hikes were very strenuous: We had to climb deliberately over big steep rocks that were wet which made the hikes harder then they already were. There was also a large stream to ford with a cool dam that was built out of wood. When everyone got back, some took showers and some relaxed before sitting down for a delicious beef stew for dinner.

On Monday morning everyone packed up their stuff and their tents and headed home. It was also some of the boys in the Super Eagle Patrol’s first camping trip as boy scouts. Congrats to patrol leader Kenny Taylor, Tommy Meade, Liam White-Krawiec, Jack McCarron and Clay Layton! I think they will be coming on a lot more of our hikes and campouts.

Anthony Crinieri