2017 outings

## Survival outing

On the January outing we arrived at the Kinsey property on Friday and we started cooking dinner. That night we slept in the hunting cabin. In the morning we cooked breakfast and then we had some free time to do other things. After we were cleaned up we went to find a place to set up our shelter. Before we were finished we had to start cooking lunch. When we were done with lunch we went back to set up. After we set up we played games in the big field. When we broke our ball the games were over. After we cooked dinner we were able to play games in the cabin till 10:00 PM. Then, we were sent down to our shelters. In the morning we cooked breakfast. After that we had some shooting sports. Then, we went home.

## Devil's Race-Track

The patrol for February’s outing met up at the usual grocer for provisioning at 8:00am, rather than the usual 7:00am, before loading up the van and heading to Campbell County. A quick breakfast stop at a world renowned eating establishment fueled the patrol for the first leg of the hike. The patrol found the trailhead at Bruce Gap near Cove Lake State Park and upon the recommendation of the adults set out on the first section of the hike with only water bottles and snacks in hand and the promise that their back packs would meet up with them later at the halfway point.

The first section of the hike covered about 4.5 miles of the Cumberland Trail and included the geological feature known as the Devil’s Race Track. The trail started out close to Interstate 75 for awhile so the main sound was the roar of freeway traffic. The trail provided a beautiful man made waterfall and an ascent alongside the Devil’s Race Track, which is a rock formation of two long narrow vertical parallel rock fins that jut out of the mountain side. Above the Rack Tack the patrol stopped for the snacks and enjoyed their first views of the Powell Valley.

The patrol finished out the morning segment of the hike traversing the ridge line to the Eagle Bluff Overlook where the van had been shuttled and was waiting with lunches and the patrol’s backpacks. After lunch, a few members took in the views from the bluff; while others made sure the local canine population was well feed. The next segment was a less vertical route so the patrol now had to don their packs and act like real backpackers. Following the ridge crest they trekked on the next 2.5 miles to their planed camp site. The trail tested some with its saddles and peaks and the patrol ended up splitting into the speedy group and the not-so-speedy group.  Eventually all arrived at the camp site, which sat in a quiet hallow just below the ridge and it provided a nice wooden shelter.

Some claimed spots in the shelter while a few others setup hammocks and a tent. A smoky fire kept the shelter well fumigated while buddies prepared their varied choices of meals for dinner. After several members of the patrol faded off to bed a few in the group got a rousing card game of President going. The author of this article is proud to say he served four straight terms as President!

Prior to settling in for the night it was discovered that one of the patrol members left his sleeping gear in the van. Pulling together tarps, a blanket and some hot-hands warmers a few members of the patrol were able to keep the less prepared youngster alive through the night.

Morning was a cold 20 degrees when the first light of day appeared and several in the patrol commented on not being warm enough through the night. Hopefully, a lesson was learned.

Breakfast was a variety of “meals” based on each set of buddy’s choices, along with a few riddles and some good natures lampooning thrown in get the mood up.

Camp was broken and the patrol was back on trail for the final segment of the hike by mid-morning. The last portion of the hike was about a 3 mile stretch of more ups and downs but mostly downs. Some features of the trail that needed to be dealt with were a wooded ladder up a rock face, narrow “Chinese Walls” rock formations that the trail was on top of and a steep descent.  One of these trail features did get the best of a patrol member.

The narrowness of the trail, the speed of leading members of the patrol and weariness all conspired against one of the hikers. One missed step resulted in a fall off the trail and down a 15 foot sheer drop. Fortunately, he landed on his pack and there was Rhododendron undergrowth and a log to keep his unplanned journey to a minimum. Unfortunately, the “side trip” resulted in the loss of a set of spectacles, a water bottle, a scuffed up face and some bruises. The quick response of the fellow patrol members is to be commended.

A slower descent provided a pleasant conclusion to the hiking part of the outing that finished up at a location known as Tank Springs. The patrol loaded into the waiting van and set-out towards home. A final stop was made for the traditional belly-warsh and thorns & roses.

## Big Creek

   We arrived at Kroger at about 7 AM to buy the food. It took about 30 minutes and then we got in the bus and headed off.

On our way we stopped at a Mc.Donald's to eat breakfast.

Then when we got to the Big Creek we got our packs ready. We set off to the camp site. It was about a five mile hike. It took us about 4 hours to get there. On our way it started to rain. We got our ponchos out and kept going.

Our campsite was a horse camp, but there were no horses there. We set up then we made a fire, had dinner, and told jokes. We went to bed at around 10 and got a good night sleep.

In the morning we started hiking at around 10 AM. we made a very good pace and when we got back we had lunch at the bus. On our way home we had a "belly washer".

## Camp Kiser

We arrived at the store at around 6:00 PM and we got groceries for the trip. We did not have the van this time so we car-pooled. when we arrived we cooked dinner got ready for the next day and set up our tents. It rained during the night and when we got up in the morning to cook breakfast the ground was nice and wet. After breakfast we waited for the Cubs to show up, but only one came. It started raining and we did knots and tried to do an A-frame race.

When it stopped raining we went to hike at House Mountain. After we got back it started raining again, so we cooked lunch in the garage. This was a mistake. We kept triggering the smoke alarm and it wouldn't stop. It started raining again so we sat around in the garage until dinner. After dinner the rain increased and we had to go home.

## Bike outing.

We had lunch at the Loyston Point picnic area. In the afternoon we split into two groups. The older guys went rode part of the first trail before deciding to swim in the lake. The younger guys rode a 5.5 mile trail that had many beautiful views of the lake. We had an amazing time! Photos are below.

## Laurel Snow Pocket Wilderness

In October we backpacked to a nice overlook. After a relaxing lunch, we continued on to a camp site above Snow Falls and enjoyed a beautiful campfire and delicious dinner of beef and potato stew. In the morning, we woke up before dawn, packed up in the dark and hiked out to Buzzard's Point for an amazing view of the sunrise. It was possible to see across the entire Tennessee Valley all the way from Laurel Snow across the Tennessee River and to the Cherokee National Forest. Unfortunately, a camera cannot come close to capturing the beauty of God's creation before us.