BACKPACKING OKLAHOMA
Beaver Bend State Park
Broken Bow, Oklahoma
November 18-19, 2006

When it comes to backpacking ... "Ounces in the morning become pounds at night."

This was our first real backpack trip for Troop 168. It proved to be a great warm up hike for Philmont. We now better understand weight, not enough water and conditioning. Next time we will be stronger and better prepared ... and yes much lighter. We pulled out of the church parking lot at 7:15am. The scouts were packed and looked sharp in their hoodies and scout caps.

They promptly went back to sleep and remained that way until we arrived in Beaver Bend State Park. We met at the nature center had lunch and discussed the days plan with the park ranger. Alex had his nice designer lunch bag. Reid and CJ had their lunchables. First sign of how far we must go to get ready for Philmont. Badin Powell would have been proud of that sight.

We divided our crew gear and approached weigh in. Most scouts were above 30 lbs. Slade had 27 lbs on an 88 lb body. Ouchh! He was the star of the hikers for the weekend. We hit the trail following our fearless SPL.

Before we were on the trail less than 1 mile Sam had an attack. And being the good scout he is, he left his tp in the bottom of his pack. Mr Mrasek bailed out the emergency with his private stash. The rest of us marched on trying to forget the spectacle too firmly imprinted on our brain.

The hiking was either up or down. Once we reached the first mile marker we realized we had signed up for more than we have bargained for. We hiked up and down and all around. Beautiful views, vistas, etc. It was well worth the drive. The weather was picture perfect for a hike. The scouts did great. Breaks were more frequent as the day labored on.

We arrived at camp about 4 hours later at the only flat spot on the trail. It was just a short controlled fall to the bottom. Once we were there we realized we must climb out in the AM. That was ok because the backpack was coming off.

We cleared a few rocks and debris and set up camp. Water was filtered and soon the smell of chicken almandine was in the air.

Thanks to the grubmaster Mr. Grass for the wonderful meal. All ate well and enjoyed the beautiful evening rapidly coming upon us.

We had an assessment of the hike versus a regular campfire. We discussed things we learned that day. The stars were bright and we turned in at 7:30PM because we were tired and it was getting cold without a fire.

Sunday we broke camp at 8:15 AM and reloaded water (most of us) and hit the trail back. Muscles were sore and shoulders were bruised but we all pressed on. I thought I was in shape but I realized the only way to get there is to hike with a pack up and down inclines.

All of the crew going to Philmont showed up but one. We discussed how important that it is to train and get prepared for this excursion. You are as strong as your weakest link and we will not bring you if you are a drag. We realized we must train harder and more often.

On the hike back you could tell we were getting stronger. You could feel a team coming together. Except for a few scouts forgetting to bring water on the hike back it was uneventful. …..oh I must mention Clueless and Lark (rhymes with Lewis and Clark). Damien and Jeremy blazed a new trail home. We warned Jeremy about following Damien he now understands why.

We arrived back. We had a great lunch and Nick presented a delightful Chapel service. We thanked God for having us back safe and sound with all scouts and scouters accounted for.

We loaded up the vehicles and headed back home around 12:30pm.

It was a great weekend thanks to our Campmaster Mike Mrasek. It was a fun adventure thanks to our SPL David White and all scoutmasters in attendance.