Easy Backpacking

[scoutingagain]

Hello all. Since I've returned to scouting as an adult after an absence for sometime I've been monitoring the forums and have appreciated much of the information that has been posted here. I have not had the need to post directly since many of my questions have been addressed in other topics and discussions. I've been waiting for someone to ask this question, but have finally decided to step forward and ask.

 

As a former scout who attended Philmont many years ago, and did some backpacking in New Hampshire I believe backpacking or other high adventure activities provides scouts with an opportunity to learn skills and challenge themselves is ways they are not likely find in other activities.

 

The troop I work with is fairly active with 20-25 active scouts and 5-6 active adults. We camp year round, go on ski trips, attend summer camp etc. But we do essentially no high adventure activity. The camping we do is mostly car camping in very familiar locations the troop has been going to for several years. I am looking for suggestions for an easy overnight backpacking trip in New England that will introduce the current troop members to backpacking and hopefully more challanging camping and adventure trips. Ideally I would like a suggestion for a trip of a hike of 5-10 miles over relatively easy terrain, with an overnight camp in between. Eventually I'd like to get to the point where we could do a challenging 3-4 day hike in the White Mountains or on the Long Trail in Vermont, but right now something that challenging would turn the guys off. Even most of our older scouts have never been backpacking so we don't have a lot of experience to draw on. I have to admit it's been a long time since I've been on the trail for any length of time myself.

 

I know there is a wealth of knowledge in the members of the forum and am hoping for some good ideas.

 

Thanks

 

Scouting Again

[dsteele]

Scoutingagain:

 

Welcome to the forums and thank you for posting. I think everyone has something they can add that helps all of us.

 

Unfortunately, I'm not from the northeast and don't have much to contribute. Perhaps someone can suggest a chunk of the Appalaccian Trail near you, but I can't.

 

Good luck and feel free to post anytime!

 

DS

 

PS -- if you don't get many responses it's probably because your question is pretty geographically specific and it's the weekend. Keep trying.

 

DS

[Eamonn]

I wish I could help.

But like our Man Of Steele, I don't know the area.

You might try looking up State Lands in your area on the net and see what they have to offer.

Maybe some of the Scouters in your district would have an idea.

Ask at your roundtable or give the district activities chair a call.

I bet it looks great out your way at this time of the year maybe a "Off the cuff stroll" with a couple of adults and a few lads would be a place to start?

Anyway Welcome to the forums. I wish that I could have been of more help.

Eamonn

[johnsned]

Hello Scoutingagain,

 

I used to live out your way, I lived in Lowell Mass. It has been a while so I don't know specifics off hand. I know you have many options. You can go into your local Sporting Goods store and ask there, or buy a book on local trails, and camping areas, buy a topographical/trail map of an area close to you a State or National Park and you can usually find some good hikes.

 

On the internet there are several sites the host 'Trail Finders', these are databases usually, or lists of hikes, they'll contain information on difficulty, distance, and some further discriptions. Once I see one that looks interesting you can do an internet search on the trial looking for 'trail journals, logs' When I was able to find these they were quite helpful. If I can't find a lot of info about it I'll check it out first.

 

Here is a link to a http://gorp.away.com/gorpapps/trails/search_results.tcl?stateid=31

 

 

I hope this helps. I worked for a Summer at the High Adventure Base in Maine, 'Sebomok High Adventure Base' near Moosehead Lake in Maine. I loved it there.

 

Good luck to you!

 

JohnSned

[le Voyageur]

 

I would suggest just section hiking one of the more easier sections of the Long Trail...with the fall colors in bloom, even a short 5 or 10 miler would be just outstanding.

 

Also, maybe consider the Pine Barrens in south Jersey, with a side trip to Cape May for sticky, buns and a stroll through a really neat little town....

[frank10]

I think I know the camp for you... Look into the C. S. Read Scout reservation in Brant lake NY. It's not far from VT (assuming that's where you call home??). Their summercamp program provides a mix that may just what the scoutmaster ordered. Your whole troop can stay in base camp while the older scouts leave out of Summit base ( http://www.wpcbsa.org/SummitBase/ ) on a trek or canoe trip or a caving trip or just about any other type of trip you can think of.

 

They also run year round weekend programs there ( http://www.wpcbsa.org/SummitBase/Trek/ ).

 

 

ALSO:

 

Ask the folks at your round table. I'm sure some of the other troops are doing the trips you are looking for.

[Bob White]

There are some terrific trails in the Adirondacks and they are just a stones throw from the Whites. Try contacting the Twin Rivers Counil in Albany, NY. They can probably put you in touch with a scouter who knows that area.

 

Bob White

[OldGreyEagle]

Hey LV, we have backpacked the Pine Barrens and plan to go again on October 31 with the Venture Crew, we are gonna be looking for the Jersey Devil at midnight, it dont nuch better than that. Entry point Bastow

[OutdoorThinker]

What OGE neglected to mention that the crew LOVES the Pine Barrens. The terrain is great. The trails are really nice. Not very much elevation. Great camp sites (with fresh water pump and latrines). I'd give it an A+. We've done some other backpack, but this is the first location that we're returning to. We're totally psyched about searching for the Jersey Devil on Halloween! WAHOO!!

 

The Pine Barrens may be a little out of your way if you're in New England, but it is well worth it!!!

[kayakinmom]

What part of New England are you from? I live in Connecticut and did a good amount of short backpacking trips before I had my now 2 year old. I was supposed to go today to camp out at a neat little spot on the AT but my hiking buddy dipped out on me to go to the World Series. The nerve!

 

If you let me know what state you're looking in, I can try to help you out.

[FScouter]

A couple or three suggestions:

- Go to your Roundtable and ask some other Scoutmasters where they hike.

- Call the chairman of your district Camping Promotion committee.

- Check your council website a link to the High Adventure Team (HAT). The Western Region publishes a guide to about 300 awards that can be earned for High Adventure activities, many of them hikes.

[le Voyageur]

Well guys, I'm green with envy hearing that you'll be backpacking the Barrens....dang, looking for the Jersey Devil on Holloween, what a hoot....you guys will be having some fun..

 

[scoutingagain]

Thanks everyone. There are some good ideas here. I've looked at some possible hikes in the Berkshires(western, MA) mainly because the elevation changes are not as challenging as VT, ME or NH. We could also fit a trip in this fall without snow maybe. (It snowed in northern NE over the weekend.) I was hoping someone had a specific trip they had done. If it helps, we are in eastern Mass, but most of our trips are in New Hampshire. The only other caveat I need to add is, I have approached the troop in the past about sending a crew to a high adventure base, but many balked at the cost. I know there are many fundraising ideas, but the troop in the past has done fairly in expensive outings.

 

Part of my desire to do some introductory backpacking is to wet their appetite so they will get a little more ambitious.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll follow up and get back.

 

BTW I grew up in NJ and some of our best trips were in the Pine

Barrens.

 

SA

 

 

[scoutingagain]

Thought I'd resurrect my intial post to provide an update, especially for those Troops in the Northeast that may be in similar situations.

 

Our Troop (I can say our, can't I?) has been primarily a car camping troop for the last 3-4 years. While we camp nearly every month of the year and have some significant winter camping experience, most of the scouts in the troop have never been on a backpacking trip.

 

My initial goal was to find a relatively short, easy hike for an overnight backpacking trip and I've found one. The Alander Trail is located in the Mt. Washington State Forest in the southwestern corner of Massachusetts has a number of primitive campsites located 1.5 miles in from the trail head. There are fire pits and an outhouse but no potable water. There is a stream about a 1/3 of a mile away from the campsites that would have water that could be filtered. The sites are free.

 

The trail meanders through a mixture of pine stands, hardwood and meadows and includes a couple of interesting stream crossings. While it goes up and down a few hundred feet there is no net elevation gain over the 1.5 miles. Another 1.5 miles past the campsites is the summit of Mt. Alander. One description of the summit is that it provides some of the best views in Western Mass.

 

We will be doing the overnight on this trail in April. Like I said, this will be the first backpacking experience for all but 1 or 2 scouts. We'll be spending the next few meetings breaking out some of the troop's backpacking stoves and water filtration equipment to see what still works and what if anything needs to be repaired or replaced. I'll let you know how the trip turns out.

 

SA