Categories
update

HAT Backpacking at San Juan Wilderness, CO (Sasquatch patrol)

This backpacking trip was great fun. We had to wake up around 6:00 am and get to the church. Once we got there we made sure that everything was ready and got in the vans. We rented big vans that held 12 people each.

IMG_1867    20140718_143234

The vans were pretty good but the seatbelts were aggravating. Sometimes they would just lock and you couldn’t pull them out. That day we drove about 11 or 12 hours in the vans and got to the military armory in Oklahoma City. We slept in a gym type room. We used our mats and our sleeping bag.

IMG_2920    129

We woke the next day and ate some cereal then got in the vans. We drove another 11 hours and got to the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado.

IMG_1897    IMG_1903

They were AWESOME.

IMG_1993    IMG_2092

We got there that night and set up camp and ate, then went to the sand dunes and tried out our sleds and skateboards. The skateboards didn’t really work that well, but the sleds did. We played around for a little while then went back to camp and went to sleep.

IMG_2020    IMG_2221

We got up that morning, ate breakfast, and went to the dunes.

IMG_1922    IMG_1933

We did a little project thing and picked up all these stakes. After the project, we went to a pool called Hooper pool. It was great. It was like a hot tub pool.

047    IMG_1978

We swam and had showers there, then we went to the dunes and climbed to the top.

20140719_194300    IMG_2141

IMG_2145    IMG_2192

IMG_2098    IMG_2188

It was great up there. We sledded down to the bottom then went to the camp and went to bed. We got up that morning and drove a few hours to the trail head.

20140720_083118        IMG_2251

We had lunch (honey and almond butter on tortillas and dried apples) and we hit the trail separating into two patrols. I (Raef) was in the Sasquatch patrol. My patrol hiked from the trail head to the Conejos falls. That hike was about 6 miles.

IMG_2256      139

It was pretty but we had to set up our tents fast because it started raining. We got to choose our food for each breakfast and dinner. I had noodles and chicken that night. We slept and woke up early. I had oatmeal that morning. We packed everything up and hiked to blue lake. This was the hardest day. Lots of Steep up and down hill. It was about 8 miles.

20140721_095646    075

073    079

 

We got to blue lake, set up, and some people went swimming.

20140721_172057    20140721_184519

It was freezing cold. We ate dinner (I had beef stew) and went to bed. Woke up the next morning and hiked 8 miles to Timber Lake and ate tortilla and packet chicken.

104    20140721_112557

We didn’t quite get to Timber Lake because we took the wrong trail at fork. Thanks to someone we named Mountain Man, we were sent in the right way. We ate dinner (I ate chicken teriyaki) and went to bed. The next day we hiked 8 miles back to blue lake.

20140723_091213    20140723_175434

We swam a lot when we got there. We ate dinner (I ate lasagna) and went to bed. The next day we hiked 6 miles to the trailhead to conclude our backpacking.

20140724_100143     20140724_112134

It was a great and very pretty trip. From the trailhead we drove to a Mexican all you can eat buffet. It was the best!!!! Then we drove to a hot springs that felt amazing.

IMG_2904      137

We then drove back to the Great Sand Dunes and slept there.

20140719_201928    IMG_2917

We then woke up and drove around 11 hours to the Amory and played indoor Frisbee and went to bed. We ate at subway and taco bell. We woke up, had oatmeal, and hit the road for another 10 hours and got to the church. In all the trip was amazing! I had great fun on this trip and I know everyone else did too.

Trip Photos

 

Categories
update

Summer Boxwell 15-20th of June 2014

Most of the troop went to the June boxwell summer camp. In all, it was a great success. There were many merit badge classes we could have took. Me personally, I took Lifesaving, wood and leather work, and canoeing. We also could have took environmental science, jetsking, first aid, basketry, and many many more. We also brought an awesome foosball table for free time under the pavilion. The food was pretty good at summer boxwell. In all Summer Boxwell was very fun and we all got a lot of work done.

Categories
update

Antonin’s Eagle Project at Lockeland Springs

Over the past month and a half I have had a very successful eagle project at Lockeland Springs Park. The task consisted of constructing a bridge that was about 15 feet long and 4 feet wide. I had arranged four work-weekends to complete the project.

Workday #1:

This first day we set to digging four holes that would be the foundation pylons for the bridge. Had great weather, too many shovels, an excellent work crew, and not enough rock-smashing devices; but we made it work.

IMG_1361    IMG_1382

Workday #2 & 3

On the next two workdays we completed the two stages required to place the concrete foundation for the bridge. Now at this point I have to greatly thank Collin and Frederick for volunteering their time for both workdays to help me out. The three of us +Libor did a lot of tedious measuring and made a lot of wet concrete.

IMG_1433    IMG_1437

20140701_113606    20140701_113543

Workday 4 & 5

On our last two workdays we completed our most visually rewarding work. On day 4 we went from some concrete cylinders in the ground to a bridge one can walk on. On the last workday we finished the final touches on the bridge’s nearby landscaping.

IMG_1578    IMG_1597

IMG_1618

Thanks again for everyone who assisted me in the completion of my project and to the Lockeland Springs Neighborhood Association for their grant to help fund the project.  It is much appreciated!

Thank you,

Antonin Koudelka