Couch Beach - North River Canoe Trip

Stopped for lunch here. 

The weather could not have been better.  We fought some headwinds but the current helped us along.  In the end we didn't do a round trip - instead we pushed on a little further than planned (past Rt 53 in Hanover).  Once the tide started to ebb, everyone backtracked to the Washington St Bridge where our trip ended.

We saw some osprey, ducks and a deer (ask the boys about the deer).

We passed many of the sites of old shipyards (Fox Hill, Wanton, Hobarts) - when clippers and schooners ruled the oceans, the North River was an important part of that industry.  Check out these sites for more history:  http://barquehill.org/history.htm and http://www.norwellma.com/history.htm

The boys all did very well and it was an enjoyable trip.

Great Pumpkin Give-A-Wey

Mitch at Last Years Event

The 3rd annual Great Pumpkin Give-A-Wey is scheduled for October 2nd from 12-4PM at Town Hall and Libbey Field. The Weymouth Heights Club has signed up for a table at the event to distribute information and greet the public. The organizers have asked out scouts to participate as well, similar to last year. Scouts will be deployed to work in the pumpkin patch giving out pumpkins to children, and may be asked to participate in typical harvest games (sack races, pumpkin carving stations, face painting, etc) - All scouts and their families are encouraged to attend, and we need at least a dozen volunteers, in full uniform, to help out from noon to 4. Scouts should wear a Class B shirt, preferably their 2010 Camp shirt, in case they are tasked with pumpkin carving, etc.

We're also looking for adults to volunteer to help set up the pumpkin patch on Saturday morning.

If you have any questions, please see Mr. Chase.

Drum Corps Schedule - Sept - Nov

Drum Practice began on Sunday, 9/18. We'll be practicing on the dates below to prepare for the Veterans Day parade in November:

Sun	9/26	6:30-7:30	All drummers must attend
Mon	9/27	7:00-7:30	Regular practice
Sun	10/3	6:30-7:30	Training session- scouts without a drum patch must attend
Mon	10/4	7:00-7:30	Regular practice
Mon	10/18	7:00-7:30	Regular practice
Sun	10/24	6:30-7:30	Training session- scouts without a drum patch must attend
Mon	11/1	6:30-7:30	Parade practice- all drummers must attend
Sun	11/7	6:30-7:30	Parade practice- all drummers must attend

Troop 2 visits the Town Council Meeting 9/20

Fifteen scouts from Troop 2 visited the Town Council meeting to complete work on their Communications merit badge.

Our scouts were greeted by Mayor Kay before the meeting, and later welcomed by Vice President Patrick O'Connor during the Announcements.

Scouts were there to observe the proceedings and the process by which our elected representatives interacted, and we discussed these aspects of the meeting afterward. We were fortunate enough to be present for both a public hearing and discussion of a zoning amendment, which provided alternative processes for us to compare and contrast.



A big thanks to Mr Keenan and Mrs Curran for attending the meeting with us, and to them as well as Mrs Ziegler and Mr Bruynell for their assistance transporting scouts from the meeting to the Gym Night.

North River Canoe Trip

What: Canoe Trip
Where: North River (Norwell)
When: Sat 9/25/2010
Who:  All Scouts
What to Bring: Life jacket, appropriate clothing, snack, bag lunch, and plenty of fluids.  We will be on the water the whole day, so electronics are not advised.
Event Leader: Mr. Kelley

We will meet at the Weymouth Heights Club at 9am.  We expect to be on the river by 11am - putting in at the Union St. launch in Norwell. This trip should take about six hour trip start to finish and the trip will be adjusted to stay on time schedule.  If we do well, we will travel to the Pembroke launch and back.

This trip has been timed and planned so that we get the benefit of the tidal current during all of our trip.

We expect to be back to the Heights Club by 7pm.

North River info:	Town or Norwell's River Guide
	Wild Turkey Paddlers - River Info
	Wild Turkey Paddlers - Trip Report  (they did a longer trip)

2010-2011 Calendar

Click the link below for a handy one page version of our calendar.

  

One Page TroopCalendar 2010-2011

This calendar covers all the major events we have planned for this year.

Troop Reminders for 9/19-9/20

- Drum Corps Practice begins tonight, September 19th, at 6:30. Drummers should report to the WHC for an hour of practice and review.


- Monday meeting is a Gym Night. Scouts should report to the First Church hall at 8 PM in gym clothes, ready to participate. (There is no drum practice before the Monday meeting this week).

- Scouts who participated in the Communications merit badge at Camp 2010 with Eric should report in FULL uniform to the Town Hall by 6:45 to complete the requirement to visit a town meeting. The meeting starts at 7 PM, and scouts must assemble inside the building on the first floor.

As a reminder, cellphones should be set to vibrate, and scouts should not bring along food or drink, Ipods, video games, etc. These meetings are recorded and televised, and scouts must be respectful and not disrupt the proceedings.

The roster for the Communications class at camp is below. If your name is on this list, I am anticipating you’ll be at the Town Hall to complete the remaining requirement.

Bryan D
Chris D
Chris Z
D.J. V
Derek W
Joe K
Jonathan B
Jordan B
Mitchel S
Pat K
Paul C
Taylor S

Based on previous meetings it's possible we will be done reviewing the town meeting process early enough for scouts to also make it to the gym night.

Valley Pines September Campout - Afternoon

The fun continued through the afternoon, as scouts worked on handling knives and axes, sharpening, etc. Some scouts utilized a rock wall, while others enjoyed the campfire.


Lunches included soup, hot dogs, grilled sandwiches, and even steamed mussels!

Supper will be in progress now, with some scouts cooking directly on the coals of the main fire, while others cook in the fire pit on the grate.

Valley Pines September Cleanout

In addition to the cooking and merit badges, several of the older scouts and adults are cleaning up materials dumped in the campground over the years. As a reminder, no construction debris, non-wood materials, or other refuse should be dropped off at the campground. Scouting should always strive to be a "leave no trace" activity - creosote landscape timbers, roofing and siding, pressure treated woods, metals, and other materials are hazardous and are not permitted to be left in the woods.

Valley Pines - September 2010

Campout today - so far the scouts have built the fire, cooked lunch, set up tents, chopped wood, and many are working on camping merit badge. Rank advancement activities are also in progress.

Valley Pines Campout reminders

A few reminders for the campout this weekend:

Scouts should plan to prepare their lunch and dinner. This means they must bring their own food, as well as a pot to cook in, utensils for cooking, pot holders, and something to eat with. Clean up materials are also required.

Group or patrol cooking is encouraged, but formal planning and execution is left to the scouts.

Scouts must also bring their own water, sufficient to last the weekend.

If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Kelley.

Ham & Bean Dinner 2010 Recap

On Monday, September 13 the Troop celebrated the achievements of our scouts over the summer at our annual Ham & Bean dinner at the clubhouse. Dinner was prepared and served by a crew of adult volunteers, and included spiral ham, beans, potato salad, and macaroni & cheese.

Over the summer our scouts earned over 200 badges, which were presented after dinner. These badges included 4 historic badges (Carpentry, Pathfinding, Tracking, and Signalling) which were re-released for a short time this year only to recognize the 100th year of scouting.

The Troop also elected the new Senior Patrol Leader, DJ, who will serve in this role for a year.

Some photos of this event are below.

As you can see, the hall is decorated with many of our troop banners, including the list of scoutmasters from our 100 year history, our new 100th anniversary parade banner, and our Weymouth Heights Club banner.

As we move into 2011 we'll be regularly recognizing this anniversary in a variety of ways. Please keep an eye out on the BLOG and across town for details on our efforts.

Valley Pines Campout 9/18 - 9/19

Valley Pines Campout - Saturday September 18th – Sunday September 19th

Where - Valley Pines, our campground in Norwell, located at 505 Grove Street. For directions, please visit the troop website.

Note – Uniforms are never required when we camp.

Weekend campouts typically begin on Saturday morning at 10 AM or so, and end early Sunday morning around 8 AM - 9 AM. Please pick up your boy promptly in the morning on Sunday.

Cell phones are discouraged on campouts. They are a distraction and are not necessary, as we have several phones available for emergency purposes. If you need to reach your son, please contact an adult leader.

Be sure to bring weather appropriate clothing, food, and water (enough for the weekend) as well as a sleeping bag, and a pad, a flashlight, and good outdoor shoes. We will supply tents, although you're welcome to bring your own. There is also a cabin for sleeping when the weather doesn’t cooperate.

Sleeping Arrangements

• Scouts sleep at the campfire area, either under the stars or in tents.
• Adults sleep either in the cabin or next to the cabin.
• No adults are permitted to sleep in the campfire area with the scouts.
• All sleeping is as follows - Tent or Cabin or Under the stars - No sleeping in or under cars, in truck beds, etc.
• All participants must arrive before DUSK – there is no driving permitted past the final turnoff after dark. If you arrive after dark please leave your vehicle at the gate and walk in. If you arrive at dusk you can drive as far as the top of the road and park there.
• No scouts are to leave the premises without permission.

Cooking is on an OPEN FIRE - so be sure to bring a pot, eating utensils, a spatula, an oven mitt, etc. Food you cook should be easy to prepare on an open flame, easy to eat, and any rubbish should be packed out. Please do not bring fast food (Burger King, McDonalds, etc) – this is a campout – you either bring a sandwich or cook your food.

No fireworks, matches, or electronics are permitted.

Please do not bring glass bottles, sheath knives, axes, etc.

Troop 2 Eagle on top of Washington State

The following is from Nate Johnson, a Troop 2 Eagle. It documents his trip to the top of the 14,000 foot tall Mt. Rainier on July of 2010.

The letter mentions and pays tribute to JL (John Lonergan), one of the many "elder statesmen" of Troop 2, and Ron Parry, a long-standing Scoutmaster.

First off let me just tell JL that yes indeed we got lost. Well at least we took a wrong turn. It took us two hours longer, and meant that we probably didn't get the primo tent site.

But let me back up. After practicing with ropes in the backyard, packing and repacking our personal gear, climbing gear, and other group gear two friends and I drove two hours south of Seattle to Mt Rainier National Park. Checking in at the ranger station, I remember Ron and JL getting out of the vans at dozens of parks across the US to check Troop Two into their campsites. I was out in these northwest woods with them in 1999. But now its 11 years later, and the campground is just a brief resting place, not our destination.

5am the next morning and we're up eating and packing. 7am and we're on the trail. No scale to weight the packs but mine was definitely over 55lbs with 160 feet of climbing rope on top. We have 5000ft of elevation to gain in just over 5 miles. Everyone's nerves are up. What does the mountain have in store for us? This is no joke, someone was lost (and still not found) just weeks before. There is one hard rule; do not, for any reason break up your team. We are staying together, literally tied together for most of the next 55 hours.

We hit the snowline, reapply sunblock, put on glasses and keep moving. When it seems likely that we're off solid ground and staring up the first glacier we rope-up. Jocelyn, the most experienced of us, takes the lead. Me, the only guy, and the heaviest and strongest in the middle, and Karen on the end. If either the front or the back person falls into a crevasse (a big gaping hole in the glacier concealed by recent snow) it's my job to plunge my ice axe into the snow with all my weight and stop their fall. If I fall in, they've got to stop me.

But for now life is good. We're climbing 30-40% slopes slowly but steadily with our heavy packs. JL used to say that there were two speeds in hiking; slow and slower. In this terrain with these packs its more like crawling. It takes two hours to go two horizontal miles- and that's a good pace.

Dozens of people have been making this trek this week. The weather has been phenomenal. However at some point the bulk of people started heading straight up the headwall instead of cutting over to a pass on the left. We followed their track and ended up 500 feet above our intended tentsite looking down over a cliff. About-face! Knowing how to use maps and compasses (as we all do very well) doesn't help when you don't bother to look at them.

We head back down to the pass, and over onto the Emmons glacier that will eventually lead us to our summit. We cross the first crevasse with no consequence except a thumping chest and a bit of adrenaline. On the second crevasse my leg busts through, and I have nothing but 18-30inches of snow holding me up. I hear the snow I broke loose hit something a full 2 seconds after its dislodged. But, ok, my rope team has got me, I'm tied in and they're both safely on the surface. I scramble out the other side with my ice axe and I'm safe once more. That would be our first and last major crevasse issue of the trip.

We make it to out camp at 9400ft. Food, water, shelter, and tomorrow's weather are the only things we think about. By 8pm we're in bed trying to sleep as the wind whips the sides of the tent. 230am comes quickly and we're up to shovel in some oatmeal, tea, coffee, and hot chocolate. We pack our bags for the summit and stash the rest at our camp. 4am and we're roped up and moving up the emmons glacier by the light of our headlamps. Late June and early July are the best time of year for getting up this mountain. The weather is milder than winter, but the snows are still fresh and the crevasses on the glacier are still largely covered by plenty of snow to walk across. In fact you can't even tell they're there.

Sometime before 5am the sun lightens the sky and we turn our headlamps off. 8am and we're at about 12500 feet. Time for lunch. Then moving again. The air is getting thin, and I count one-one-thousand, two-one-thousand, before taking each next step. I've got to keep the rope tight between me and the leader. That way if she falls, she can't gain momentum before the force of her fall is transferred to me. Likewise if I fall, she can stop me.

I'm not going to lie- I am scared here. These are steep snow slopes, I'm tired, and winded. My heart is pumping hard. I really can't take much more of this. I call up to Joc for a break and tell her how I'm feeling. She reassures me that we're fine. I really do trust her and we keep moving on. Finally after 8 hours on snow I spot a patch of rock up in front of us. It seems to good to be true, just a rock outcrop not the real summit. I've been fooled before by false summits. We get there and I throw down my pack literally curling up with my head down trying to sleep on it. "Joc," I say, "if its more than a few hundred feet more I really need to trade off my pack or at least get rid of some weight." She looks at me funny and tells me we're only 200ft off the summit. What a miracle!

I trade packs with her anyways and we tour around to the 14,410 foot summit. I feel much better, even in the biting 45mph gusts on the top of Mt Rainer. This is a long way from hiking up Sugarloaf overlooking Newfound Lake, or Cardigan overlooking Sugarloaf, or any of the White Mountains. But I never would have gotten here if I hadn't started there.

We got ourselves back down safely, to our camp at 9400 feet that night, and the next morning all the way back out to our car. Off the glaciers and unroped on the walk out I have alot of time to think about how I got on top of that mountain. There have been many people that have helped me get there. My family, teachers, hiking partners, etc. But Troop Two, Ron Parry, and John Lonergan are at the top of my list. I owe them all, and Troop Two as a whole a deep debt of gratitude.

September Events

9/12 - Troop Committee Meeting
9/13 - Ham & Bean Dinner, WHC
9/18-9/19 - September Valley Pines Campout
9/20 - Gym Night
9/25 - All Day North River Canoe Trip
9/27 - Scout Meeting, Heights Club


Please check the Troop Calendar and BLOG for details on these events.