Baden Powell Quote for January
If you make listening and observation your occupation you will gain much more than you can by talk.
Death Valley Camping Trip
One of the Troops favorite trips is the bi-annual trip to Death Valley National Park. This trip will take place January 18-20, 2014.
Death Valley is world renowned for its colorful and complex geology. Signups and a trip flyer for the January trip to Death Valley will start Tuesday December 3rd and close on Tuesday January 7th.
San Francisco Bike Trip
2014 San Francisco to Santa Barbara Bike Trek – June 8 – June 14
Ride with your friends at Troop 26 this summer on the bike trip of a life time starting at the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge and ending at Refugio State Beach.
Ten scouts and 5 adult leaders from Troop 26 completed this same trek in 2005 and everyone had a fantastic time.
We will be riding approximately 60 miles per day and scouts will be broken up into ability levels so that everyone rides at their own pace. We will be camping nightly at State Parks as we pedal down Highway 1, our group will be followed by a sag wagon carrying our camping gear and food, and each rider will carry only a day pack or pannier.
Each scout must have a dependable street bike with at least 24 inch wheels and there is no need for any expensive gear. The cost for the trip is expected to be about $300 depending on if we have to rent a truck or trailer.
Scoutmaster Minute
2013 is nearly just a memory. What a year we had! Back to Emerald Bay for summer camp, another Sierra Trek for both the younger and older scouts, snow camping, day hikes and overnights in abundance. We had 7 scouts age-out (six eagles and one life) and while we have lost some scouts, we’ve also added new younger faces to the troop.
And now 2014 is coming on, packed with another round of adventures for Troop 26; Death Valley, Canoeing on the Colorado, biking from San Francisco to Santa Barbara, summer camp and back to the Sierras. Wow, it sounds like a lot of challenges and a lot for fun.
Committee Corner
The first Parent Committee meeting for the new year is this Tuesday Jan. 7th. Please know that all parents are part of the parent committee and encouraged to attend the meetings.
Also, it is time to get volunteers to take charge of the events for the year. Take a look at the list below and let me know where you can help.
Those who volunteer to head up these events can then delegate the work to others, thus minimizing the amount of work that any one individual needs to do.
Annual dues are now due. $125 per scout or $200 if you have two scouts.
Read more and learn about volunteer opportunities
Beach Hike Recap
Goleta Bluffs Hike
January 4, 2014, eleven Boy Scouts and four adults met at 7:00 in the Big Five parking lot for a short beach hike.
The weather wasn’t great but cleared up as the day went on. We first drove out to Goleta and the bluffs, then hiked down to the Bacara and the beach access. The scouts immediately left the adults behind.
We had wonderful dolphin and sea lion sightings. The dolphins were particularly plentiful and playful. The hike was short and we took a quick break after the high tide came up. But we arrived at our lunch spot by the Goleta bird refuge.
Cold Springs Hike Recap
The original plan was a backpacking trek to Bear Tap this weekend. Instead, we changed to a Day Hike due to the Forest Service Fire Restrictions. However, Fire Restrictions were lifted last Thursday but it was too late to change plans – no time for equipment and food item preparations.
This was the third time we cancelled Bear Trap Backpacking Trek since 1979 when troop 26 first backpacked into Bear Trap. That was 34 years ago. This trek in December became our tradition for a cold weather campout.
In the morning of Saturday, December 14, 2013, we started with clear sky and crisp air with a temperature in the mid 40°F. There were 13 scouts and 13 adults (including Aaron Dalton, T-26 Eagle Scout, 2012) and 2 dogs who started hiking at the Cold Spring Trailhead.
