Boy Scouts of America

Troop 282

Blue Elk District • Heart of America Council, BSA

A Chartered Organization of Trinity Episcopal Church

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Archive for the ‘Event/Trip Reports’ Category

July 15th, 2015

Grand Canyon or Bust in 2017

Yes, Boy Scout Troop 282’s next High Adventure Trip will be to the Grand Canyon. 

A Grand Canyon Rim to Rim hike allows a scout and a scout leader to experience breathtaking views and the vast expanse of the canyon. There are few experiences more spectacular than seeing both the North and the South Rims at the same time from the bottom of the canyon. This Grand Canyon hiking trip has you backpacking from over 8,000 ft. in elevation from the North Rim to the almost 7,000 ft. South Rim. Along the North Kaibab trail, you will pass a couple of waterfalls (Roaring Springs and Ribbon Falls), hike along Bright Angel Creek, visit Phantom Ranch, dip your toes in the Colorado River and see evidence of ancient civilizations that once called Grand Canyon their home. 
Anyone can participate in this trip, even if you are a first time backpacker with an above average level of fitness. If you don’t currently feel you are in shape for such a hike, the High Adventure Trek group will be training to get everyone into shape for this once in a lifetime trip. The group will be hiking the main trails of the canyon where there are amenities such as toilets, running water and even a canteen at Phantom Ranch where you can buy lemonade or a Snickers bar! The trails we will be hiking are well maintained and over 6 feet wide in most places. 

grand canyon

Day 1 
Let the adventure begin! Today you will be off to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We will begin with a 6 hour drive from the pick-up location in North Scottsdale Arizona. From the trailhead, we will hike 7 miles and 4,200 feet down to Cottonwood Campground. We can then jump into Bright Angel Creek to cool down or wander along the shore for a relaxing evening. The average time to reach Cottonwood camp is approximately 5 hours. 

Day 2 
After breakfast, we will follow Bright Angel Creek another 7 miles and 1,500 feet down to Bright Angel Camp. On the way, we will drop the packs for a side hike to Ribbon Falls – a 100 foot water fall that spews out of a side canyon. Bright Angel camp is nestled between the Colorado River and Bright Angel Creek. It will take us approximately 4.5 to 5 hours to reach Bright Angel Camp, including the time to hike to Ribbon Falls. 

Day 3 
After our gear is packed, we will start the hike out of the canyon along Bright Angel Trail. After 5 short miles, we will set up camp at Indian Garden. The hike will take us 1,400 ft. up in elevation. Since the hike only takes about 3.5 hours, we will have time to take a side hike to Plateau Point for stunning sunset views of the inner canyon and the Colorado River or one of many other side hikes available. 

Day 4 
We have reached our final leg of the trip. Up, up and away! Although this hike is only 4.5 miles, there is a 3,000 ft. increase in elevation. This leg of the hike will take us approximately 4.5 hours to complete and take us to our final destination, the South Rim. The group should have a couple of hours to grab a bite to eat, souvenir shop and hang out with all the bus tourists before heading back to Scottsdale. 
What is the next Step? 
If you are interested in taking part in the 2017 High Adventure Trek to the Grand Canyon with your scout: 
• Add your name to the participant list in the scout room 
• Speak with Mr. Wyatt regarding your interest in participating 
• Start attending the High Adventure Trek meetings 
• Complete an ‘Agreement’ form 
• Take part in the fundraisers 
The next meeting will be August 10 at 7:00 PM in the Parish Hall of Trinity.

May 18th, 2015

Troop 282 Visits McConnell Air Force Base

By Ben Wyatt

We finally got to go to McConnell Air Force Base again, and it was a blast. The last time I went, I was only a first year. This time far surpassed my expectations. It was a great time. We got to get up close with the KC-135 refueling jet. We also went to an air traffic control tower and got to see a simulation, as well as go bowling later on in the night. This trip was already a good time from my past experiences, but this time it was even more fun.

Large Aircraft

February 21st, 2015

Making History at the 2015 Klondike Derby

By Mark Mangels

Troop 282 sure made some history at this years’ Klondike Derby. It is one thing to have one of your patrols place, but to have both of the patrols represented place in each of their categories has got to be historical. Does that mean if we had taken three sleds we would have won three awards? Let’s find out at Klondike Derby 2016.

Klondike Derby Firebuilding

Congratulations to the ORANGE AUTOBOTS who took 2nd place in the Intermediate category, while the PINK SHARKS took 1st place in the Challenge division.

Four Boys with Medal and Plaque

January 6th, 2015

2014-2015 High Adventure to Disney World

By Stacy Howell

Wow! The Disney World High Adventure Trip was amazing. Although there were many bumps along the road, overall the trip was very successful. Basically I was the only one who encountered the bumps in the road, however the participants experienced 7 days of fun & excitement. The group spent many hours of fundraising to reduce the overall cost of the trip and we even had fun while fundraising. By the time we boarded the plane to Orlando, FL, we were one big happy family.

This was the troop’s first experience flying as a group. Overall, the flights were great & if the troop chooses to participate in another High Adventure Trip to Disney World, we will definitely be flying again. We stayed at The Disney All Star Sports Resort which is located within the Disney World complex. This resort is a great option for groups. A few of the participants tried out the swimming pool but I heard they didn’t stay in the water long because it was quite chilly. Each participant also had a MagicBand which is pretty amazing. Everyone got to choose the color of their MagicBand and they also have each person’s name inside the band. The MagicBand was used to access your room, to enter the amusement parks and access the FastPasses. The six Boy Scouts earned 3 Merit Badges, American Cultures, Movie Making and Aviation. 

We were divided into two groups. Our group had 15 people and we went almost non-stop to ensure that we saw almost everything there was to see in the four Disney World amusement parks. Everyone in the group stayed together except when we were in the resort rooms. Although the parks were very full because of the Christmas holiday, we did not spend much time standing in line because we utilized the FastPass option which allows you to reserve a time to ride the attractions. The few times we did stand in line, we visited, laughed and got to know each other better. 

The entire group of 29 participants spent the last few hours of New Year’s Eve together in the Magic Kingdom amusement park. We watched the Electric Parade and the ‘special edition’ of the New Year’s Eve fireworks. All I can say is, ‘WOW’. I don’t think I have ever seen so many fireworks in such a short time. I will never forget such a great New Year’s Eve celebration with 28 great people (and the thousands of other people). 

Disney World Group Photo

I would like to thank the other 28 participants for making this trip great. I truly hope everyone enjoyed the experience. I especially would like to thank Melinda Newberry for taking the time to purchase a beautiful glass Mickey Mouse head Christmas ornament and a cute Cinderella’s Castle phone case as a gift of appreciation from all the participants. I am ready to start planning the troop’s next High Adventure trip to Disney World. Is anyone else going with me?

November 19th, 2014

Fort Osage Overnight

By Ashton England

The Fort Osage overnight was a different experience than previous ones. I learned many things about the fort that I did not know. My favorite part would have to be playing the game in the dark where we had to sneak around the leader. It was also interesting to sleep in the same style quarters of soldiers back in the day. Overall, it was a fun overnight, with good food, good history lessons, and getting the true scouting experience.

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By Dillon England

This overnight was definitely one of the best for me personally, right up there with visiting active military facilities and going to far off places. I’m very interested in history and I like to learn as much as I can when I have an opportunity such as this one. We did and saw much more than I thought we would on our historical site visit to Fort Osage.

We were given a tour around the fort the morning after we’d arrived. We’d already been introduced to the quarters, where we were allowed to sleep in the same style bunks that the actual soldiers did back in that time. We were shown the courtyard, the trading post, and even the living spaces of George Sibley. The trading post was a large building, with the floor for main business (trading of course), the basement, a level for crafts and tinkering, and private quarters. It was a very nicely constructed building.

The man playing the soldier at the fort showed us the firing for a rifle of that time. He took us down by the river to fire it off. Of course, it is illegal to fire actual projectiles across a1496736_1509727575965397_2001268922486233144_n body of water. He fired blanks, but all the same, we were intrigued by the firearm’s power and capacity to make such a loud boom. The shots echoed across the water, being heard multiple times from only one shot. If there was a conflict, you were going to know about it back then.

After dark, we played one of the most awesome games in the giant field near the fort. A leader sat atop of a large hill within the vicinity of a pole which was our target. The objective was to reach the pole without being hit by the beam of a flashlight held by the leader. If we were hit, we had to return all the way to the fort and try again. I think that without exception every single boy liked playing this game. It tested our skills not only to work together as a team no matter the size, but kept us actively having fun as well. It’s a game we’ll definitely have to try to recreate sometime.

In the daylight, we were able to see how a blacksmith would go about his work. We were given a couple of decorative hooks as tokens to take home. It was a very nice gesture, something for us to look at and remember the overnight. Another thing they let us do was throw spears.1 I’d most certainly never thrown a spear before, and I can almost bet none of the other boys had either. The men set up a target of wood for us to throw at. The boys enjoyed it very much. When it was my turn, (I went close to last), I don’t think anyone expected me to do well. I didn’t even expect to do well. However, to mine and everyone else’s surprise, I threw and stuck the target every time. The last time I threw, I went right through the bulls-eye and stuck the fort wall behind the target. It was definitely something I won’t forget anytime soon.
I believe that overnights like these are the gems of the scouting program. Having the opportunity to see and learn about things like this has the potential to teach and even inspire young scouts. Heck, I was captivated the entire time. I truly hope the troop gets to enjoy more overnights like this one.

 

1. We were very well supervised and the proper safety measures were taken. A range was established for us to safely throw spears.

 

October 12th, 2014

Overnight in October

By Mike Norton

The overnight was a two night overnight which is a favorite of mine. The reason is that you can do a lot more because you have more time to do things. And did the Scouts do things. There was a lot of activities scheduled on this action packed overnight.

First off we had some Webelos come out on Saturday to take part in activities and to spend the night. Well where do I start, so many activities. There was a monkey bridge that was put up that everybody was able to go across as many times as they want with older boys and adults stationed along it in case someone got tangled in the ropes but they all traversed it very easily. We had a geocache hike that all the boys went on where they use GPS to find a geocache. Which they did and as usual, they said it was too long of a hike. But I think they were just in a hurry to get back to camp to shoot off the rockets that were assembled at the previous Scout meeting. They shot off the rockets and really enjoyed that as they chased the ones that went up and the parachute opened up. Now most of the rockets were a success in going up but like anything that has to be put together you have a few failures(some that didn’t launch, went up a few feet or the parachute didn’t open). But I would say overall a big success on the launch of rockets.

I was very impressed with the wide variety of meals the patrols cooked on the overnight. There was pancakes, fried eggs, French toast, taco soup, spaghetti, bow tie spaghetti, cobblers in dutch ovens and pan bread pizza. I was very impressed with the boys trying new things. HOW-HOW to the patrols on the meal selection and cooking. 

Saturday night there was a campfire that all parents of scouts were invited to because after campfire there was a flag retirement ceremony. And once again the patrols did a fantastic job on their songs and skits for campfire. HOW-HOW to all patrols on their songs and skits. On a somber note we retired United States of America Flags that had done their duty and served their time. This was done by all who had come to pay respect to the flags of the United States of America that had served this great country that we live in. Thank you to all that attended. 

 

 

(Go check out more pictures from this overnight in the 2014 Troop 282 Photo Collection.)

 

October 7th, 2014

World War I Museum Overnight

By Gabe Drake

At seven o’clock our bus left the Trinity Episcopal Church parking lot. We arrived at the Bingham Waggoner Estate. We helped set up tables and chairs for the Someday. We played Capture the Flag. And then went to go sleep on the porch of the house. When we awoke we went to get something to eat (McDonalds).  We then went to the WWI Museum in Kansas City. We had a lot of fun looking at the cool stuff they had there. 

 

August 6th, 2014

Summer Camp 2014

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By Ashton England

As you all know, I joined the Lone Star staff this year. All I can say is wow. It’s amazing being on staff, and meeting life long friends. If you would like to know more, talk to me in person or join the staff with me and hang on for the ride. It was great, and I encourage all of you to join staff, even if it’s only for 1 year.

 

Never Too Old

By Mark Mangels

scout-camp-coup

This summer I was fortunate to be selected to serve as a Parry Lodge Commissioner. Not for 1 session, but 2. Troop 282 is blessed with several who have faithfully served their Bartle Reservation as full time staff members, and this year was no exception. The difference for me was that I completed my 3rd session of staff service and finally received my staff coups. A highlight for me because the first session I served on staff was as a Lone Star Campsite Commissioner in 1993! You are never too old to serve your beloved reservation.

 

 

(Go check out more pictures from Scout Camp in the 2014 Troop 282 Photo Collection.)

 

May 23rd, 2014

Scouting 500 – What a weekend!!!

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By Mark Dudley

May 16-18 proved to be one of the best Scouting events the Heart of America Council (HOAC) has ever seen! Twelve thousand Scouts and Scouters took part in a weekend of fun and hands on activities at the Kansas Speedway. Our troop was delivered in the troop bus by Mr. Gramlich around 6:30 Friday night and after unloading and getting our gear in the newly acquired tents, we headed to the speedway to check out some of the activities. Prior to arrival, Mr. Hendren, Mr. Dudley, Mr. Blann (Taylor) and Garth Hendren went out early and set up camp.

Once inside, the troop split into three groups and headed off to events. After a brief setback involving the go-karts, the Scouts tried zip line, bike riding on the actual race track, go-karting and four-wheeling. The evening went by fast and we headed back to camp around 10:00. Mr. Hendren broke out a cracker barrel for all to enjoy and then off to the tents we went to prepare for the next day. Now this being a Scout overnight, sleep was a little late getting started. Between the speedway parking lot lights being on all night and Scouts very excited about the next day (I’m sure that is what they were talking about well after Taps), we were all rested when Revival sounded at 7:00 A.M.

Saturday proved to be a full day. Breakfast at 7:30, the activities (called Pit Stops) opened at 8:30, and we went at it hard all day. Some of my favorites included the “Smokey and the Bandit” movie replica truck, cars and Sheriff; the police, fire fighter and military displays; and just watching the young men in my group have some fun. Remote control helicopters seemed to be a hit as well as putting on complete Army battle gear. There were 13 Pit Stops that included 100 events/activities for the Scouts to try. The volunteers running the events did a great job in allowing hands on experiences for the Scouts. My group’s last event of the day included autographing the official BSA NASCAR with our signature and Troop 282. We went back to camp, regrouped and headed back to the track for dinner and the evening activities.

Saturday evening started with a parade of troop flags and I am proud to say Dillon and Mr. England did the troop proud as they were one of about half the units that abided by the rules and had on full Class A uniforms. After that, we watched three races of 15 laps each from the Petty Racing Experience. Having walked across the high bank of the track earlier in the day, I cannot imagine driving 160 MPH around the oval. It was a blast to watch. After that, all 12,000 of us headed across the track infield for the awards presentation and concert. I must say listening to Baden Powell’s granddaughter speak was a huge treat. She encouraged all the Scouts to recruit a friend to join. Troop 282 Scouts, I hope you were listening to her. Our Scouts seemed to like the retro 80’s band, Zero, that provided the show. After the concert, we headed back to camp for another cracker barrel and sleep. Yes, sleep, as the entire group was pretty worn out. I think Mr. England’s pedometer showed somewhere around 10 miles of walking for his group. I think I added about another 5 miles doing other trips.

Sunday morning included breakfast, church, packing up and heading home. You can again be proud of Troop 282 as all were in Class A at church and participated in the service with reverence and enthusiasm. We even had Devin participate in the collection of the offering. Mr. Norton had the bus at the race track and we loaded up and headed home around 10:30. I hope everyone had as good a time as I did.

I want to thank everyone who helped make this a huge success. While we missed Mr. Howell, I hope he realizes that the boy run troop he oversees handled themselves as true Scouts in his absence. Keep 2018 open as the HOAC is planning an encore event.

May 14th, 2014

Eagle Projects Count

EagleProject

By Mark Mangels

In the last couple of weeks, Troop 282 has had some Eagle Projects completed. Garth Hendren completed the new and improved horseshoe sand pits at George Owens, Matt Copeland upgraded and enlarged the courtyard area at Proctor Elementary School with new concrete pads and tables. Finally, this past weekend a new block sidewalk was constructed at Trinity Episcopal Church thanks to Garrett Morris’ Eagle Project.

As I watched these projects progress under the leadership of the Eagle Scout Candidate and the labor of scouts and adult volunteers I was curious about how many projects take place annually in the United States. When I earned my Eagle, we put in service hours. Eagle Projects now require much more. Leadership and Brain Power are required to accomplish these projects.

As for 2012, there were 57,976 Eagle Projects completed, and I’ll let you figure out the hours of service generated from those projects. Good Luck!