Troop 5 – Bronxville, NY

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