On The Trail With...

Troop 1203 Meets AT Hiker

December 12, 2019 by Eschenbrenner David

After summiting and exploring Mcafee Knob and Tinker Cliffs VA while backpacking the Appalachian Trail, Leo Eschenbrenner and Zumi Hersey from Troop 1203 set up camp at the Lambert Meadows Campsite. The boys cooked dinner utilizing their lightweight stoves as they have so many times. Dinner was Leo’s tried and true favorite, chicken and broccoli with rice.

About the time we had all we could eat a south bound, AT hiker named Bob hiked into our campsite. Bob was a south bounder or SOBO as they are called. He started his AT journey in Maine on Mt. Katahdin and had been hiking sense the spring. AT hikers don’t typically carry a lightweight stove or cook meals but live on cliff bars and fruit.

Leo offered a hot meal to Bob and Bob gladly accepted. After Bob enjoyed his hot meal, Bob spoke to the boys about trail angles. Trail angles offer kindness to AT hikers and the kindnesses the boys offered to Bob was some magic that made his journey a little more special. We talked to Bob for seemed to be about 45 minutes and discussed his amazing experiences and the people he had come to meet along the way. Bob departed before sunset with the goal of seeing the sunset from Tinker Cliffs. Leo spoke about Bob and the friendship they shared over his trail angle hot meal.

A Scout is friendly and a Scout is kind
ASM Dave Eschenbrenner
Troop 1203
California, MD

Fall Cavalcade at the Buffalo Trail Scout Ranch in the Davis Moutains

December 10, 2019 by Keenan Pallone

NCAC Scouts and a few leaders have successfully completed the Fall Cavalcade 2019 at the Buffalo Trail Scout Ranch (BTSR) in the Davis Mountains of West Texas!

It was an incredible adventure. Our crew consisted of seven Scouts and two adults from three different troops across the National Capital Area Council. We completed a shakedown campout and trail ride at Red Gate Farm in Bluemont, Virginia from September 28-29, 2019 to build familiarity amongst our team, to test all of our gear, and to assess the riding and horse handling ability of each crew member.

Following a successful shakedown, we embarked on our cavalcade adventure on Friday October 11. We flew from Washington to Midland, Texas where we were met by members of the BTSR staff. The staff then drove us an additional 2.5 hours to the ranch where we had dinner and bedded down for the night. Early the next morning, we arose to feed the horses and review tacking procedures. Once each of the crew prepared his horse, we set out for two days of backcountry horse camping along with our two wranglers from the BTSR staff.

The terrain through which we rode in the Davis Mountains was both spectacular and challenging. We rode across epic ridgelines and down lush valleys. We rode our horses across narrow rocky ledges, through rushing mountain streams and into dense valley forests.

Along the way, we dismounted to see some amazing local sites, like ancient Native American rock paintings and glorious picturesque waterfalls. All in all, we rode about 25 miles over two days (with about six hours in the saddle each day) including almost 2,000 feet of change in elevation. This riding experience was not for the faint of heart. During the course of the ride, three of our crew were thrown from their horses (including the Scout with the most riding experience, one of the adult wranglers and one of the adult crew advisors). None sustained serious injuries, and all were able to continue on with the cavalcade.

The Scouts worked together magnificently. They bonded well during the shakedown campout and that sense of teamwork carried through the cavalcade itself. Whether helping each other with tacking their horses or making their meals together on the trail, the Scouts functioned as a strong team. More significantly, each of them demonstrated exceptional fortitude for young people as well as good horsemanship skills. Many of the challenges on the trail presented by the terrain were significant, yet the Scouts did not shrink from them. They learned how to partner with their horses as well as how to direct them to negotiate obstacles in field. Finally, all of them grew as people and deepened their reservoir of courage and character from which to draw when facing future challenges. The boys completed a true “high adventure” in fine fashion.

This experience would not have been possible without the assistance of our partners from the Middleburg Hunt, Red Gate Farm, and the BTSR.

The Middleburg Hunt, one of the oldest foxhunting clubs in Virginia, graciously donated $1,000 to provide camperships for needy families and to subsidize the overall cost of the trip. With advanced planning and frugal budgeting, we were able to keep the cost of this four-day horseback riding adventure to $765 per participant (including air fare and all horse fees). Nevertheless, this was still an expensive trip and the donation from Middleburg Hunt was greatly appreciated.

Red Gate Farm provided us with amazing facilities and staff to perform our shakedown campout and trail ride. They let us camp right on their property and gave us incredibly reasonable rates for the use of their grounds for camping and for a practice trail ride. Without their generous support, we would not have been ready for the cavalcade.

Everything about the experience at the BTSR was exceptional. The staff were incredibly welcoming and accommodating, from picking us up at the airport, feeding us upon arrival, and making us feel very much at home. All of the horses that we rode were physically sound and without behavioral vices. The tack was serviceable and the terrain was fantastic. Most importantly, the BTSR Cavalcade Program Director Bob Hansler and his wife Shauna were nothing short of superb. They taught our Scouts with deep knowledge of the horses and the terrain.They had a great sense of the experiences that the environment and our timeline could offer the Scouts even as they kept foremost in their minds the safety and well-being of our crew. The program that Bob and Shauna are responsible for building and maintaining at BTSR rivals any equine experience available to Scouts anywhere in the country, including at Philmont Scout Ranch. Further, the fact that the BTSR offers its cavalcade program all year around in addition to in the summers (as is only the case at Philmont) makes going on a horseback high adventure over a long four-day weekend during the academic year a unique opportunity. The BTSR Cavalcade should definitely be considered as an exciting high adventure opportunity for other Scouting units both during the summer and throughout the academic year.

The Chain Bridge District now has a bona fide horsemanship program for Scouts in the entire NCAC. Since 2017, we have helped over 50 Scouts (both boys and girls) to earn the Horsemanship Merit Badge. We have successfully completed a high adventure horseback riding activity. We have identified partners both within our council and across the country to support this program. Most importantly, we have helped youth to see how they can learn and live the values of Scouting through the equestrian arts.

For information contact:

Reuben Brigety

Chain Bridge District Horsemanship Program Director

3,000 Miles of Adventure…FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA

October 30, 2018 by The Scouter Digest Staff

by James Ye

To summarize it, over four thousand miles of pain and intense suffering, danger and fear of the unknown, yet true bonding and experiences for a lifetime. There were brutal rays of summer heat and bone rattling waves of Northern cold. Almost anyone can drive or fly across America, yet it’s when one slows down that the subtle changes in geography and culture are more apparent than ever. Even if you’re sitting on a miserably uncomfortable bike seat, unleashing pools of sweat, aching from every part of your body, the tremendous diverse landscapes that fluctuate across America are easy to soak in and awe at. It was the challenge, the seemingly impossible challenge; the challenge that tested not only strength but mental resilience, the challenge of biking across America, from west coast city of Seattle to east coast National Capital of Washington DC, that changed my perspective permanently.

My name is James Ye; I am the current Senior Patrol Leader for BSA Troop 55 of Great Falls, Virginia, and a member of Sea Scout Ship 1942. I was 15 years old and ranked Life (Boy Scouts) and Apprentice (Sea Scouts) when I began the trip, one of the two youngest to complete the entire ride.

What I was planning to undertake was a 66-day expedition zigzagging across the United States, connecting the west coast to the east through 15 states. The program, Eagle Scouts Cycling Across America (ESCAA) 2018, catered to scouts of high adventure ages and senior ranks capable enough to survive the trip.

Accompanying me would be nine other scouts of varying ages, ranks, and riding capabilities, as well as several adults volunteering to help us through support vehicles, bike maintenance, and organizational infrastructure. The only scouts I recognized at the time was my friend William Nowak and my Eagle Scout role model Wesley Pan from BSA Troop 55. The adult leaders were responsible for planning routes, driving support vehicles and mentoring scouts during the trip; it was up to us to utilize scouting skills to cook, clean, set up camp, and occasionally fix our own bikes. Among all the adult volunteers, Troop 55 Scoutmaster Gary Pan was my cycling and scouting mentor, who rode with the us from Seattle to Washington DC.

Biking across America is more than just physical capability. The hardest aspect for me would have to be mental resilience – getting into the mindset of having to wake early every morning, getting torched under the sun every day, looking at the calendar and realizing we weren’t even half way done. Even though the average for each day sat at 65 miles a day, there were days where we would do near century rides back to back or climb thousands of feet of elevation day after day in 80-mile rides.

In Washington State, the second day of the trip from Monroe to Leaveworth was a combination of both mentality and physical strength. 90 miles, 5500 feet of elevation, arguably the hardest day on the entire trip. We experienced heat like never before, legs burning, chest beating, stomach aching, and climbed at what seemed like the slowest pace possible up a relentless ten-mile hill. Surrender seemed imminent, and a possible solution to give in was appetizing. However, what kept me going was not only encouragements from the team, but also mental resilience, as well as the mindset that if I could finish this day, the toughest day on the entire trip, I could probably finish all 4000 miles. All of us slowly reached the peak of Stevens Pass, and never in my life had I felt more accomplished, more content with myself, than ever before.

Rain or shine, we were determined to reach our destination by the end of the day. I faintly recall in South Dakota, when flakes of snow began to sprinkle down like flower petals – much to our surprise – as it was the middle of summer. Astonished, we gawked as the cascading snow flakes erupted into a full-blown snow and hail storm; it was just our luck that we were taking a resting day at that time, we were spared of the need to slug through that weather. We were driving back from Mount Rushmore – we took side excursions as to tour famous historical locations – and the car’s passengers were going crazy in amazement at the snow falling in the country that had blazing hot only days before. It’s incredulous to see the changes in geography, climate, and culture that transforms from state to state.

From breath taking mountain views to the endless, lush green fields, I came to the realization that this country’s beauty was characterized by its immense diversity and culmination of many cultures. We had the opportunity to witness buffalo at an eye opening range, the opportunity to visit historical structures, the opportunity to ride across America of our own ability. Our races down steep mountain roads surpassing forty miles an hour left us hollering, adrenaline pumping. Even the dangerous, soaking wet experiences, such as biking through a literal, genuine flood in the rolling hills of Northeast Pennsylvania, only strengthen our friendship ties.

When everyone first gathered at Seattle, practically no one recognized each other. Ten scouts came from all over the country – Virginia, Pennsylvania, Florida, California. In biking, there is a concept called a paceline, in which cyclist draft off one another by keeping the shortest distance possible between them to reduce wind resistance. Doing so decreases effort levels by twenty percent, yet one sudden change in pace or direction and the whole line could collapse as easily as dominos. The journey was a mix of broken bikes to worn out bodies, scratches to scars, bruises to blisters. Nonetheless, near the end of the trip, we were all able to put trust in one another as comrades, laugh together as friends, and take liberties as if we had known each other all our lives. That’s the kind of bonding that forms out of two months of suffering; if we didn’t support one another, we wouldn’t come out in one piece.

Cycling across America is no easy feat. I only had a year to prepare after being invited by the tour director to participate in this intense challenge. If you can get over the idea that biking across America isn’t impossible, do your best to train your body and mind by being prepared, accept the fact that there will be pain, and chip away at it little by little, to do such an incredible feat is much simpler than you may assume. I recommend any scout adventurous enough to seize this incredible opportunity if it ever pops up again in the future. Not only was it the hardest and best two months I’ve ever experienced, but also it is something I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life.

Scouting in the Amazon

October 30, 2018 by The Scouter Digest Staff

by Evan Dann

This summer Evan Dann participated in the 2018 NESA World Explorer Program. One of twelve Eagle Scouts selected, he traveled to Ecuador and the Yasuni National Reserve’s Tiputini Biodiversity Research Station. The following is an abbreviated version of his 24 page photo essay submitted to Dr. Michael Manyak and managers at National’s NESA World Explorer Program leadership.Evan is a Scouter registered with Troop 1023 in Kemptown, MD as well as a Sea Scout with Ship 59 in Frederick, MD. He is a merit badge counselor at FSK District Camp Airy. Currently, Evan studyies Biomedical Engineering at Boston University.

In my troop, going on a Philmont trek is something to which every scout looks forward and something that completes one’s scouting experience. I went to Philmont when I was 15, the summer just before earning my Eagle Scout award. After finishing both of these experiences, I thought that my scouting career was complete. However, earning my Eagle was the beginning of the most amazing scouting expedition I had yet to experience, and one that I would only discover existed several years after earning this premier scouting award.

This past summer I had the opportunity through the National Eagle Scout Association (NESA) World Explorer’s program to travel to Ecuador with another scout, Gabriel Burgos, where we spent a week deep in the remote Ecuadorian Amazon at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station (TBS). It takes a full day of travel to get from Quito, the capital of Ecuador to TBS. First, we flew over the Andes mountains to Coca, a city that lies on the Napo river in the Amazon. Next, we took a motorized canoe down the Napo river for about 2 hours. At the end of this leg in the journey, we travelled by bus over the oil concession about 60 km to reach the Tiputini river where we got on another motorized canoe for 2 hours and finally reached TBS. It is truly a remote place that is situated in a pristine rainforest.

We learned about the studies they do at the research station using motion sensitive camera traps. TBS mounts anywhere between twelve to fifty camera traps in the forest hoping to capture images of more elusive or nocturnal animals – such as armadillos, ocelots, jaguarundi, and jaguars. Specifically, the researchers use the camera traps to track individual jaguars to better understand the animal’s home range. Since jaguars live alone, the size of their range is not currently known. The photo information plays a key role in understanding a jaguar sighting in a particular area, and how deforestation impacts this apex predator. Gabriel & I set up our own two camera traps under the supervision of Diego, the TBS manager. Our goal was to help the station find answers to some of these questions.

While we were at TBS, we also had the opportunity to explore different parts of the forest. Each day, we would follow our machete wielding guide and go hiking to look for animals – some mornings we climbed the observation tower before sunrise for bird watching, some days we went trekking through the Amazonian swamps looking for capuchin monkeys, and other days we went fishing for piranhas in the Tiputini river. When we were tracking a group of peccaries through the forest, we tried to get close enough to get photos. However, as we approached, it became apparent that we were actually following white-lipped peccaries who travel in large packs. We could hear them feeding, breathing and snorting all round us but due to the dense vegetation, we couldn’t see them. Suddenly, there was complete silence in the forest indicating that the pack was lining up and preparing a defensive charge. Our guide immediately directed us to quickly run back up the trail to escape the charging peccaries!

We enjoyed dining in the outdoor pavilion where all our meals were served. I really enjoyed eating here because while we were covered under the pavilion, the sounds of the forest surrounded us, so I never lost a sense for how special it was to be in the forest. I particularly looked forward to eating dinner since by that time, it was dark and the bats would by flying all around the pavilion chasing mosquitos and other insects. Mealtimes were also a chance to network with the visiting scientists. We were fortunate to interact with an international group of primatologists studying the 11 different species of monkeys found at TBS.

Just like you never forget the stories you have from Philmont, Gabriel and I have incredibly unique stories that we will never forget. I am grateful and honored to have experienced the Tiputini Biodiversity Station. This is an opportunity for which all Eagle Scouts are eligible and I strongly encourage you to apply at www.NESA.org.

Troop 1959 from Fort Washington, MD A Bike Ride to Remember: A Scouts View

July 20, 2018 by The Scouter Digest Staff

by Kawbena McGaneyOsei,
Senior Patrol Leader

June 29th, 2018; The beginning of our terrifying yet thrilling adventure. Today is the day that Troop 1959 from Fort Washington, MD would embark on a 90-mile bike ride to Whiteford, MD. A trip that is only 5 miles from the border of Pennsylvania, a total of 10 hours, spread across 3 days. A year ago, Troop 1959 attended Goshen Summer Camp, where we came across another troop who had biked to California and back. Immediately my Scoutmaster envisioned the same for us. From the birth of the idea to days beforehand, Troop 1959 had been training. Once a month we would gear up and prep ourselves for a ride. We would practice 5 miles here, 10 miles there, eventually all leading up to our 50 mile finale. We also needed to make sure our diets were ready. We switched the chips and soda for fresh fruit and water. All the prep would make it worth it in the end.

The first day, our ride was enjoyable! We were able to keep up a reasonable pace and distance. Day two was a different story, the heat and hills were almost unbearable. Our strength, and endurance was definitely tested. Day two was without a doubt the hardest leg of the trip. The final day wasn’t a breeze, but nothing compared to the dreaded day before. Luckily this day gave us downward hills and cooler temperatures. One of my favorite parts of this trip was the hotel nights, after a long day of biking. We were able to make a lot of memories and bond with one another. The trip allowed me to discover my strengths and weaknesses, it gave me a roadmap for how to do even better on our next adventure! I never thought I would do this in a million years. I’m sure a lot of us, didn’t think we would make it (especially on day two). But with every pedal we believed in ourselves! Plus, a great 80s playlist for motivation is a big help!