On Saturday, January 14 we left Folsom for Loon Lake Chalet located in the Crystal Basin Area. There were 23 scouts and 9 adults on this trip; Darin M. was SPL and Matt L. was ASPL. We were hoping there would be snow but no luck. Although there was no snow we still had a good time. Mr. H. and Mr. T. led us on a seven mile hike along the lake while we practiced our map and compass skills. We had lunch near the far end of the lake where Mr. D. used to go to a Boy Scout camp that is longer there. After lunch we used our navigational skills to go cross country back to the dam and then on to the chalet. It was sad to see the 4x4 jeeps have chosen to go out of the boundaries of the designated area. There were many areas where we could see oil spills, broken rocks, and rutted paths where the jeeps went.

Mr. S. taught us part of the Astronomy merit badge during the day and also at night. The air was so clear and cold we could see the moons of Jupiter, the nebulae and many of constellations that we can’t see here in Folsom because of light pollution.

The cabin was really nice and had a fireplace and a place to sleep upstairs. We crammed all the scouts and slept on the floor. Mr. N. had to threaten us with latrine duty if we kept talking after lights out so we started clapping and snapping our fingers instead. That didn’t last too long!

The Ventures really helped out the younger scouts with rank advancement and card games and we even had a female Venture scout from Davis; Caitlin T. had a good time and said she wanted to join the Venture crew.

It got really cold that night and we had to cook our breakfast outside when it was only 15 degrees. We left on Monday but not before it snowed the previous night with a light dusting of snow.

Mr. S. took a lot of pictures and you can see them by clicking Loon Lake Camping

Another successful Granite Arch overnighter was held Friday, December 9th. Thirty scouts and four adults opted to spend a chilly night at Granite Arch developing and practicing their climbing skills on the many climbing and bouldering walls at this popular indoor climbing center.  

The scouts had an opportunity to "play" at team building skills on the center's obstacle course by completing the many and varied challenges. For the scouts who competed in previous years, there were still a number twists to the existing challenges to keep them seeking solutions. Even the staff was surprised at the innovative solutions the boys came up with.

Most scouts stayed awake until 3p.m. while some made it by staying awake the whole evening long.  In the morning breakfast burritos and donuts added a bit more energy prior to cleaning up and heading out. Pictured is Sean K. beginning an ascent on the "Wall."