Backpacking Gear

Yesterday, Brother Stilson mentioned that if you needed any gear for your boys, you might go to the REI Outlet. He also mentioned that there is a 20% discount coupon available right now. Here it is:

http://www.rei.com/outlet/coupons/20pctcoupon.html#exclusions

Combine this coupon with the sales, and you can get a $200 backpack for about $70. Remember, in order to have a good time backpacking with the troop, your boy only needs five things:

-Food
-Water
-Appropriate hiking shoes
-Sleeping bag
-Backpack

All the other gear that your boy will mention are just "wants", not "needs." Birthdays and Christmases are a good time to get pocket knives, light-weight stoves, fire-starters, headlamps, bivy sacks, etc. Also, we strongly encourage that the boy earns the money for his own gear. We've found they tend to appreciate it more, and treat the gear better, when they've worked for it.

As a troop, you can count on us bringing a water-heating stove. It's called a JetBoil, and it can heat water really quickly. That means dehydrated backpacker meals, cup of soup, ramen, and oatmeal are all excellent choices for food for your boy. On a typical outing, here's what I do.

I eat an early dinner at home and then meet at the church at 5pm. I bring a light snack and hot chocolate for the evening. I eat oatmeal for breakfast (using the JetBoil.) I have trail mix for a hiking snack. If we're far away, like in Sedona, we usually stop for lunch. It would be a good idea for each boy to have $5 for lunch with him.

Please don't hesitate to ask me or Brother Stilson any questions you may have.

Ike

Future Calendar

Here are dates that you should know about:

February 20th - 21th - Klondike
March 14th - Our scout activity is cancelled. On this day, we'll be taking all the deacons to do baptisms for the dead at the Mesa Temple.
April 11th - Thumb Butte hike
May 8th - 9th - Wilson Mountain (Sedona) hike.
June 13th - 20th - Scout Camp at Camp Geronimo

Also, our next court of honor will be in May. If they work hard, Tanner, Satchel, Alex, Travis, Wesley, Dallin, and Brody all have the opportunity to earn their Star Rank. Enoch and Miles could be a first class. Tobey and Zach could be a second class.

In addition to these dates, there are a few dates that are not official troop activities:

Feb 7th - 8th - Brother Stilson knows about a great family camping activity for Arizona Fish & Game. I've forwarded that email to you.
Feb 14th - A national black powder shooting competition is at the Ben Avery BSA Shooting Range. It's about an hour away.

http://www.azgfd.gov/outdoor_recreation/ben_avery.shtml

-Ike

Snow Camp 2009

On January 9th and 10th, we took the boys to the top of Minghus Mountain. We camped in about 18 inches of snow, and it was cold! As always, the boys never complained about minor discomforts and were always in good spirits. Click below for more photos.