Troop 5 – Bronxville, NY

Early on a cold Saturday morning on March 31, about 25 scouts and some dads headed out to the private shooting club in upstate New York called the Tamarack Shooting Reserve.  It took about an hour to get to the reserve, so we arrived around 9 a.m. and split up into 6 groups of 4 to 5 scouts.

There were 6 or 7 instructors that taught us how to shoot 22 caliber rifles and shotguns and how to handle them safely.  The instructors also launched the clays for the shotgun shooting and reloaded the rifles for us.  There were many different shotgun stations, one rifle station and one archery station.  In the afternoon the club provided lunch for us in the fancy dining room.

After lunch the groups split up again and completed those stations that they hadn’t visited in the morning.  When we were finished with shooting for the day we hiked to our campsite to set up for the night.  The hike was just about a mile and a little muddy.  After we set up our tents, some of the troop went for a nature walk, while the other half of the troop finished up their shotgun and rifle shooting merit badge with Mr. Crinieri.   As the sun was setting after dinner some boys played man-hunt and some tried to start a fire for roasting marshmallows.  We all sat around the campfire and told bad jokes and had s’mores until bedtime.

The next morning we got up, had breakfast, packed up all of the tents and our gear and hiked back to the club again.  We picked up where we left off the day before and shot until lunch.  Tamarack was lots of fun and many of us think it is one of the best trips.

Anthony Crinieri

On Friday, April 30, right after school, about thirty Scouts and ten dads packed up their gear in the Reformed Church parking lot and headed out to West Point.

West Point is in upstate New York, along the Hudson River, about an hour away from Bronxville.  We arrived at 4:30 because we got lost trying to find the campsite.  There were about 6,000 Scouts attending this Camporee.  We took a lot of time to set up camp because we were using our new two man tents that looked sharp!

We went to bed fairly early because we had PT (physical training) in the morning which was led by a West Point cadet who took us for a mile run and made us do lots of push-ups and sit-ups.  After PT the cooks made breakfast and then we split up into two teams of about fifteen people for the troop competition.

There were sixteen challenges, consisting of such things as pistol shooting, memory games, wilderness survival, and First Aid.  For all of the challenges, we needed leadership, memory, and strength.  At about 3:00 p.m. we were finished with our challenges and handed in our scorecards to see which Scout troops won.  At 5:00 p.m. we all had dinner and then around 8:00 p.m, we went to a big bonfire/party.  The party had a DJ and did not end until around midnight.

We got up on Sunday morning, had breakfast, and then packed for the trek out.  Once we were done packing, we went to the giant parade field dressed in our Class A uniforms and listened to the announcements of the winners of the different challenges.  Troop 5 got first place in one challenge (First Aid) and second place in two challenges (Zodiac boat race and Personal Fitness).  After the winners were announced, all the troops marched with their units around the field.  When that was over, we went back to our campsite, got our gear, and took a three-mile hike back to the cars.

Overall, the camporee was a great trip; everyone had a fun time and many Scouts want to go back next year.

Anthony Crinieri

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