Boy Scout Troop 145

On July 15 the Troop went on it's first long term backpacking trip.  The plan was to take 2 days to hike to Little Kern Lake in the Golden Trout Wilderness, spend 2 nights there then take 2 days to hike out. The weather forecast called for sunny skies, low 80's temps and a nice breeze.That was the plan anyway.

The night we arrived at the trailhead, Lloyd Meadows, we had thunderstorms. 

The first day of the trip the humiditiy was way high and no wind.  In other words, it was not a good day for hiking but we did it anyway.  The scenery was amazing.  We hiked to Stock Crossing and had lunch there. After lunch, and a brief rain shower, we continued on to our first camp site of the hike, Willow Meadows.  One of the leaders started having trouble with his knee. By the time we arrived at the camp site, he decided there was no way he could make the final hill in the morning, it was a very steep climb up then down to get to the lake. The Troop decided to hike back to Stock Crossing and spend 2 nights there instead.

Even though we didn't make it to the planned destination, the boys still had fun and learned a lot. One of the dads that went is a fireman so while we were camped on the river, he showed the boys how to make a river rescue from the shore.  Each boy had a chance to rescue a "victim" that was floating down the river by tossing him a line from the shore and bringing him to the side of the river. While we were hiking, Mr. Hull had the boys find our location on the map without using a compass or GPS, just by using the landmarks around us and the trail we were hiking on.  All of which could come in handy some day.

The boys are already looking forward to next years trip.