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Following the closure of most backpacking venues normally available to us, Mr. Scholl has arranged our troop’s first backpacking expedition in the Carrizo Plain National Monument (southeast of Santa Maria). More information:
Everyone is ready for some backpack experience. This trip will be adventurous: it will include hiking in a remote area mostly on dirt roads not in use at this time, cross-country route finding, compass, GPS, and map use, leave no trace camping, cooking as patrols, and spring finding and developing. You will be putting many scouting skills you have learned into practice. We will leave on March 29 from Big 5 at 6:30 AM SHARP. Scouts and adults should have a good breakfast at home and bring snacks for the first day of hiking. All food from here will be by patrols. Lunch the first day will be on the trail and dinner at camp after hiking a backcountry dirt road about 5 miles and possibly visiting an old homestead site if time permits. The second day we will hike about 4 miles including about 2 miles of cross-country route finding on an old homestead track. On the third day we will hike about 5 miles on a backcountry dirt road, explore an old site and end at our cars. If time permits, we can we will explore some sites on Carrizo Plain and then camp another night at an established campground if all scouts are able to budget that time and if a campsite is available-to be determined based on the response from the BLM. We will return on March 31 in the evening (time TBD) with dinner out en route or on April 1 with lunch out en route. TBD depending on schedule.
The following is the trip plan filed with the BLM. Map files are attached..
Adult leader in charge: ASM Richard Scholl, cell phone 8056838874
Second in charge: ASM Mike Youngdahl, 8054487168
Emergency home contact: Michael Schley, cell phone 8056899818 or Paul Weakliem, cell phone 8053155184
General notes: There will be 3-4 adult leaders and 8-12 boys, aged 12 to 17. All travel and camping will be on previously disturbed surfaces and follow Leave No Trace principles. Human waste will be buried in 6-12″ deep and at least 200′ from water courses and springs. All camping will be within designated BLM Open Camping area. Adult leader has extensive experience in cross-country travel in remote wilderness and familiarity with the specific trek area in Carrizo Plain. Adult leader has Wilderness First Aid training and CPR training. The group will carry detailed area topo maps, GPS, and compasses. Cooking will be done with backpacking stoves. Adult leader has a campfire permit and will comply with all permit conditions. If wood is available, evening campfires will be used and ashes dispersed or buried. All trash will be carried out.
The trek will commence from the intersection of the backcountry Lawson Spring Road and Soda Lake Rd (point marked “begin trek” on map) at approximately 10am on March 29. 2-3 autos will be parked slightly off soda Lake Rd on Lawson Springs Rd. and 1-2 autos ferried to the intersection of Soda Springs Rd to the Wells Ranch ruins. The troop will hike Lawson Spring Rd to the point marked “start cross country”, camp there and possibly investigate Lawson Spring. On March 30 the troop will hike the homesteader track from there to the point marked “end cross country” and continue on the existing backcountry road to near the road branching to Wells Spring and camp there. On March 31 the troop will continue hiking on the backcountry road past the Wells Ranch ruins to the point marked “end trek” on Soda Lake Rd and retrieve the other ferried autos. If time permits, the troop will visit interpretive sites on Carrizo Plain and camp March 31 at KCL camp or Selby camp if space is available.
For more information please visit: HTTPS://scoutbook.scouting.org/mobile/dashboard/calendar/event.asp?EventID=5024073
