New Scout Campout - April 15 - 17, 2016, Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington KY

Location - Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington Kentucky

 Our campsite.  The adult tents were behind the dining tents.  Each patrol was separated by the direction that the tent was located.  New Scouts Patrol on one side, Combined Patrol on another side, and Tyler's Patrol on the last side.

We used my Solo Stove for a campfire on Friday night.

Mileage - I don't really know. It is about 15 miles from my home to the Horse Park.

Weather - NO Rain.  Cool Friday night.  According to WeatherUnderground, it was mid 50s early in the morning Saturday.  Stunningly beautiful day Saturday with a high of 75.  The sun was out in full force.  Early Sunday morning, there was a low of mid 40s.  By the time we made it home on Sunday, it was 70.  We left the park by 12:30.  That morning we had time to dry the tents before they were put away.

Clothing - Shorts and tshirt. I wore my flannel jack at night.  I brought my raincoat, but I take my raincoat on every campout.  I wore cycling gloves and cycling shorts during the 10 mile bike ride.

Shoes - Keen Sandals with the exception of when I was riding the 10 mile ride for the first ride of the Bicycling Merit Badge.

Camping Style - I slept in my Slumberjack Trail Tent 4.  I love my tent.  I put my cot inside the tent.  I put down two camping pads under my sleeping bag, and I had a camp chair that I had beside my cot.  I kept my phone and glasses on the camp chair.

Sleeping bag & Sleeping - Slumberjack 0 bag.  Camping pad under my bag.  It was very comfortable.  It was cold enough outside to zip the bag all the way to the top, and I put in my ear plugs before I went to sleep.

I was a little warm while sleeping on Saturday morning.   I was wearing my fleece jacket.  I did not wear my jacket on Saturday night while in my sleeping bag.  I also didn't wear shorts or socks.  I was at the perfect temperature on Sunday morning during sleep.

Main Activities - This was my second campout as Scoutmaster of Troop 215.  We had 22 Scouts at the event with 4 adults.  There were two main activities for the campout.  It was the new scout campout, and it was also the beginning ride of the Bicycling Merit Badge for those who were eligible and for the new scouts that wanted to attempt a 10 mile ride.

Friday night was interesting.  A group of Scouts decided they wanted to ride around the campground at night.  Then they wandered out into the Horse Park.  I went with them.  It was a great ride in the dark!

Most of the Scouts went to bed on Saturday night, and one stayed up with the adults.  The one that stayed up said that he was feeling bad, and wanted to call his mother.  A year and a half ago, it was discover that the Scout had Type 1 Diabetes.  I believe this was his first campout after discovering that he had to take special care of his diet. I had hoped that this campout would be without sickness for him.  He deserves a chance to feel like a normal kid, and his parents also deserved a weekend.

I was determined to give the scout whatever care he needed to make the campout successful, but to be honest, I was nervous since this was my first experience with this.  His mother left me a notebook of what to do if he felt bad.  Mostly he knew what to do.  It was about 11:30 when he called his mother to state that he was feeling bad.  His blood sugar level was low, and he said that he felt sick to his stomach.  She asked if he wanted her to pick him up, or if he wanted to stay at the campout.  He said he wanted to stay!  I was happy that staying was the first choice he made.  She suggested that he eat 15 jelly beans, and if it causes his sugar to rise above 100 he could eat something else before he went to bed.  He had to wait 15 minutes before he tested again.  It was still low.  He called home again to talk about what to do.  He ate 15 more jelly beans and a scoop of peanut butter.  It was 30 minutes before he could test again.  By 1 AM, he tested again, and found that he blood sugar was above 100.  He told me that he had never been so happy to have his blood above 100!  He ended up going home on Saturday mid-morning, but he had been planning on going home in the afternoon anyway.  I was happy to pass my first test of helping someone with diabetes.  Everyone went home alive!

Saturday morning ride around the Horse Park with a few Scouts.

Saturday morning Tyler was riding around the Horse Park with his friends.  We were planning on leaving for the first ride of the Bicycling Merit Badge by 1 PM.  Thomas called me to tell me that Tyler's chain had snapped.  With only a few hours before we were set to leave for the ride that would count for the merit badge, I wasn't sure what we were going to do.  I was thinking that when he got back to the campsite, we would have to drive to a bike store in Lexington.  Tyler arrived, and I saw that not only had he snapped his chain, he also lost the quick link that keeps the chain together.  Great.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that less than 2 minutes after Tyler got back to the campsite, I looked up at a man and a child riding bicycles into our campsite.  He said hello, and I said hello. I introduced myself as the Scoutmaster of Troop 215.  He introduced himself as the Scoutmaster of Troop 118.  He wanted to know if we were there for the giant cub campout that was going on.  I said no.  He told me that he was there for that reason, and he is the owner of a bike shop called Mike's Bike and Hike out of Richmond.  I said, "OH yeah!?!  My son Tyler just got back into camp with a mechanical (bike talk for a mechanical problem with the bike).  He said, "stop over at my truck.  I may not have a quicklink, but I think I can fix the chain."  Just like that, it was fixed!  Mike also fixed another of my Scouts gearing on his bicycle.

Mike working on Tyler's Bike

This kind of thing happens to me all the time to me!  I am happy to bring this kind of blessing to the Scout troop.  I told Mike that on a 25 mile ride, perhaps my troop could meet at his bike store in Richmond, and then ride down to the river on Tates Creek Rd and back.  That is a 25 mile ride that I did a bunch of times when I was in college in Richmond.

Saturday morning was also used for the older Scout to teach Scout Skills to the new scouts.  It went very well!

 Teaching Scout Skills

The last story I want to tell is from Sunday morning.  We were cleaning up the campsite after the Scouts Own Service, and everyone had rolled up their tents and put them away.  One new scout lost his bag that he was supposed to put his tent inside.  I looked in another tent bag, and the tent had just basically just been stuffed inside without rolling it up right.  Only a few minutes before I had rolled up my tent, and made an announcement that everyone needed to put their tent away in the shape that my tent was rolled.  No one did it.  I finally got angry enough to ask everyone to gather around.  I would show them how to roll a tent.  In a very loud voice, I walked them through the rolling of the tent step by step.  I said, "I HAVE BEEN ROLLING MY TENT JUST LIKE THIS SINCE I WAS YOUR AGE.  SOMEONE CARED ENOUGH ABOUT ME TO SHOW ME HOW TO DO THIS.  I CARE ENOUGH ABOUT YOU TO SHOW YOU HOW TO DO THIS!"

I pulled apart the tent that had the bag missing, and inside the wrapped up tent was the bag and an extra set of tent poles.  Everyone pulled apart the tents that had been put up, and they rolled them the right way.  When I was taking Tyler to school on Monday morning, I asked him if he already knew how to roll his tent the way I showed all the scouts on Sunday morning.  He said no!  Fail.  I told that story to Thomas later on, and he told me that he should have known because he has always been around when I was teaching him how to roll the tent.  Thomas told me that on Sunday morning he pulled a tent out of the bag and rolled it by himself.

 Along the Legacy Trail in Lexington

2016 Bicycling Merit Badge with the Baker Boys

2014 Bicycling Merit Badge with only Thomas.  Same first ride as 2016.

Extra Gear - No extra gear needed.  Beautiful weekend!  I had purchased a new bicycle rack for my truck that fits in my 2 inch hitch on my truck.  It holds 4 bicycles, and it is awesome!  It will change the amount of riding that I'll be able to do since I can take my bicycle places that I have been unable to get to.

Nights Camping - 2

Total nights camping so far this year - This was my 6th and 7th night camping in 2016.  

Next Campout - The next scheduled campout that I can attend is summer camp in June!  There is a troop campout in May, but that is the same weekend that Thomas will be doing his Eagle Project, and there is an OA campout in May, but that is the same weekend that Lynn and I will be celebrating our 22nd wedding anniversary.  For those reasons, I will miss camping in May.  I told Thomas while walking him to school this morning that perhaps we should have a hammock campout with Tyler (just the three of us), and take our bicycles.

Both the boys picked up too much sun on the Saturday ride.  There was also the "dumptruck party" that Thomas organized at this campout.  I won't put in writing what happened.  I'm sure it will be a story that he tells for the rest of his life.

Orbital Ordeal - Kawida Lodge - Pulaski County Park, Nancy KY April 1 & 2, 2016

Location - Pulaski County Park, Nancy Kentucky

Mileage - I drove the church van.  Didn't keep up with the mileage.  The boys and I left Frankfort at 3:30.  We picked up a Scout from his house at 4.  We picked up additional Scouts and the church van at the church in Georgetown at 4:15.  We stopped in Lexington to pick up two additional Scouts and ritual gear at 5:30.  We arrived in Nancy Kentucky at 7:10.

Weather - NO Rain.  Decent weather Friday night.  Chilly on Saturday during the day.  Windy on Saturday evening.

Clothing - Shorts during the event. I wore my flannel shirt on top of my tshirt.  In the evening on Saturday, I wore my down filled REI coat.

Shoes - Hiking Boots the entire time.

Camping Style - Since I was Elangomat, I was asked to sleep in a tarp on the ground just like the Ordeal Candidates.  I laid my tarp on the ground.  Put my Slumberjack Sleeping Bag on top, and then wrapped the side of the tarp on top of the bag.  By the middle of the night, it was windy enough to blow the tarp off my sleeping bag, so I slept under the stars.  This would not have been possible if it had been raining.  I slept between two trees, and tied a rope (550 paracord) from one tree to the next.  I used a carabiner to keep my water bottle on the rope.  I attached my flashlight on the same carabiner.  This was right above my head as I laid down.  If I heard noise, I shined the light in the water bottle.  It increased the amount of light.  I also had my boots on a carabiner on the rope.  It kept them off the ground during the night.

Sleeping bag & Sleeping - I slept under the stars.  Slumberjack 0 bag.  Camping pad under my bag.  It was quite comfortable.  I've gotten in the habit of sleeping in a cot during campouts, and realized during this campout that it isn't always necessary to use a cot while camping.

It was in the 50s when I went crawled in my bag.  I was a little too warm.

Saturday morning before the sun came up.  These are the Ordeal Candidates along the lake waiting for breakfast.

Main Activities - This was OA Ordeal that my youngest son was going through as an Ordeal Candidate.  I was Elangomat when my oldest son went through Ordeal, and I talked my oldest to joining me as an Elangomat during my youngest son's Ordeal.  This meant that as Elangomat (Lenni Lenape for "Friend"), we went through the same activities as the Ordeal candidates.  They eat sparsely; Elangomats do too.  They work arduously; Elangomats do too.  They aren't allowed to talk; Elangomats have the same requirements.  Elangomats got away with a little more leniency about food during this event, but that is not the normal with our OA Lodge.

This is the group I worked with on the trail. There was another adult with me in the group, so I was covered for YPT guidelines.

I took my group to the Eagle Scout hiking trail in the park which was a mile or so away from the camping area to do trail maintenance.  We picked up a lot of trash along the trail, and we cut drainage ditches on the trail where rain water was eroding the trail.  We did a good job and picked up a lot of trash!

On the way down to the place where Ordeal was held, we picked up the Lodge Chief and another Lodge officer.  We had plenty of room in the van for 2 additional riders.  I think it was good for the OA candidates of my troop to get to know the higher level officers of the Lodge.  On the way there I mentioned how I would love to see a patch for an award that Kawida Lodge had received from last year.  Kawida Lodge had recently received the E Urner Goodman Camping Award, and I told the chief that I would love to see a patch that looked like the award that we received with the year 2015 being the year that Kawida Lodge received it.  The patch was designed while we were in the van on the way to the event.  Hopefully it will come to fruition.

On the way home the Lodge Chief was able to hear the excitement about the Ordeal from our new Ordeal members.  Stories were shared the entire way home.

There were 14 total Ordeal Candidates at the event, and 5 of the candidates were from Troop 215.  We also had 3 additional members of our troop at the event.  It was a very strong showing from Troop 215.  Our troop has not been very active in the OA in years past, and I wanted that to change because OA events are more fun if a Scout has other members of his troop at the event with him.  Thomas and I have been active in the OA for most of the last 2 1/2 years, mostly it was the two of us from our troop alone at the events.

Extra Gear - No extra gear needed.

Nights Camping - 1

Total nights camping so far this year - This was my third campout of 2016.  It was my 5th night camping this year.

Next Campout - New Scout Campout for our troops new crossovers.  The Scouts will be teaching Scout Skills, and we are also starting the Bicycle Merit Badge for the older Scouts.  This will take place April 15 through 17 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.

Finally, all three of us are in the OA.  This means a few things.  It will be a lot more fun with all of the Baker Boys (dad and two sons), and it also means I have to pay more for OA events.  It will totally be worth it!

 This is along the creek at the hiking trail.  I want my troop to go camping soon at Pulaski County Park.

With the exception of Thomas and me, these are the new OA members from our troop.

I sewed the new OA Patch on Tyler's uniform on Sunday night.  His uniform looks really good!  I'm proud of both my boys!

Spring Fellowship - Kawida Lodge - March 18 to 20, 2016

Location - Camp McKee, Levee Rd, Jeffersonville, KY 

Lake Vough Sunday morning approximately 7 AM.

Mileage - I guess the mileage didn't count this time.  I drove my truck to our charter organization, and then drove the church van to McKee.
Weather - NO Rain.  Chilly Friday afternoon and evening.  Cold Saturday and Sat night.

Ice on my tent - Sunday morning approximately 7 AM

Clothing - Shorts on Friday and Saturday during the day.  Long sleeve fleece jacket and rain coat.
Shoes - Hiking Boots, tennis shoes, and Keen sandals.  I wore the sandals mostly all the time I was inside the dining hall.  I didn't know if there would be a Brotherhood ceremony, so I took my boots just in case I had to walk around the camp.  I did some shooting at the shotgun range, so I wore my boots on Saturday morning.
Camping Style - slept in my Slumberjack 4 tent.  I had put up my tent and my cot when I realized that I had forgotten my Zero Bag at home.  I didn't drive home to get it.  I slept on my cot with two camp pads underneath me and I used my extra tarp both nights above me.
Sleeping bag & Sleeping - I have a really good system of sleeping in cold weather.  Before I left the house on Friday afternoon, I took out my 0 bag to take with me to the event, and because of getting my zero bag, I didn't take my REI Co-Op Jacket.  I took my fleece coat and my rain coat because I didn't think that I would spend very much time outside if it got cold.  The week before the event, it was in the 70s.  I knew it was supposed to be in the 30s on Saturday night, so luckily I also took my sock cap and winter gloves.  I also had my "cheater-heater", but I was planning on not using it even after I discovered that I had forgotten my bag.

When I realized that I had forgotten my sleeping bag, I put my tarp over my bed.  It really wasn't very cold when I went to bed around 11 PM Friday night.  Around 1 AM, I woke up cold.  I decided to go in the dining hall (right beside where I set up my tent) to use the restroom.  While I was in there, I was thinking about how I was going to stay warm.  I decided to get a cardboard box to see how it would work  between my body and my tarp.  Afterall, I am the director of a homeless shelter, and a common stereotype is that homeless people sleep in cardboard boxes.  It worked for a few hours, but I still was cold after a while.  I ended up turning on my "cheater heater" with a few hours left until it was time to wake up.

Saturday got VERY cold.  I knew I wouldn't survive the night unless I bought some kind of sleeping bag.  I found an Army Surplus store on the internet (phone) that I thought was in the town next to the camp, but it ended up being too far to drive.  I went to a big box store in the town next to camp and bought a Coleman 20 bag.  The bag said it was long enough for my height, but when I got back to the camp with it, I discovered it was too short, but only after I went to bed at midnight.  I pulled it up to cover my body, and it only came up to mid chest.  I was disappointed.  I was still cold, so I turned on my cheater heater.  The cheater heater fluttered off after only 20 seconds of use.  My fuel tank was empty.  I had to make due with what I had.  I already knew that I would not take the option of taking my cot inside the dining hall.  There were other people in there, but I didn't want to lose a night of camping outside even though it was cold.  I had to make it work.  I unzipped my sleeping bag.  I had on thick socks, long pants, my fleece, my gloves, and my sock cap.  I took out my rain coat, and put the hood over my head.  I zipped it up to my chin.  I then took out my tarp, and put it over the sleeping bag that I had zipped up to the top.  It was quite comfortable.  I went to sleep, and in the morning, I discovered that I had some how gotten my body inside the sleeping bag enough to keep warm.  The rain coat worked.  I had condensation inside the tarp since it had been over my head, but it didn't make my bag wet.  It was almost as comfortable as the 0 bag.  BTW, the Coleman 20 bag is still crap.  It doesn't have a cord to tighten around your shoulders and head.  Without the cord, you lose a lot of heat that is inside your bag.  Spend a few extra dollars and get a good bag if you are planning on camping in the cold, or especially if you are going to send your son out to sleep with a Boy Scout troop...in the cold.

Main Activities - The event was Spring Fellowship. It was a good weekend.  There was a Vigil Honor ceremony on Friday night.  Thomas and I are both Brotherhood Members of Kawida Lodge.  On Saturday there were inflatables that were put up inside the dining hall.  It was perfect.  The scouts loved it!

On Saturday evening I was asked to lead the Scouts Own Service the next morning.  The lodge chief asked me to speak about Fellowship.  I spent 45 minutes on Saturday night putting together what I was going to say.  I used Proverbs 27:17.  As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.  I talked about the importance of fellowship, and how it makes everyone a better person.  I didn't cry. :-)

Here is the reason why I forgot my bag.  This was the first camping event with the OA that there were more people from my troop than just me and Thomas.  There were two other scouts from my troop, and one other adult.  The fact that we were able to use the church van to drive to the event also was very exciting.  In the excitement of all of the changes and what it would mean in the future for my scout troop at OA events, I went off and left my bag.  I didn't even think about it until after I had set up my tent and cot.  The reason why I wanted to camp without my bag at first was because I was sure it would be a good Scoutmaster Minute at the end of a scout meeting.  I have to say that by figuring out how to make it work and not giving in was the outcome that I wanted.  I think I'm better because I figured it out.

One of the scouts from my troop who went to Spring Fellowship with us was not planning on going until I asked him the Tuesday before the event.  I didn't think anyone else had signed up.  I didn't know that he had been elected to the OA and went through Ordeal 4 years before, but hadn't been back to an event since.  He also had stopped going to campouts with our troop.  He went to Philmont the summer before, and that is what made Thomas excited about him going to Spring Ordeal when he finally agreed to go.  He had a good time.  Thomas and the other scout who was with us talked him into going through the Brotherhood Conversion as soon as it is possible for him to go through it.  In other words, we rescued a "Sash and Dash" OA Member.  He was paying his dues, but had no intent of returning to an event.  All it took was an invitation.  I also registered the scout so his dad wouldn't have to figure out how to do it.  It isn't hard, but I didn't want that to be a stumbling block to his registration.

Extra Gear - I had my "cheater heater" just in case the weather was horrible.   I only used it for a while on Friday night/Saturday morning.  The fuel ran out after 20 seconds of use on Saturday night.
Nights Camping - 2
Total nights camping so far this year - This was my second campout of 2016.  This was my 3rd and 4th night camping this year.

Next Campout - Orbital Ordeal, Somerset.  Tyler will be going through his Ordeal since he was recently elected and called out.  Thomas and I will both be Elangomats, which means we will go through the same thing that the Ordeal candidates will go through.  I don't think you will find many OA members who are willing to tell you what it is you go through during Ordeal, so I'm not going to say anything, but to those who have been through it, that is not all that there is to OA.

The following pictures are from a hike I did on Friday morning...the same day as the Spring Fellowship.  Weather had been much better.  I hiked to the top of Cove Spring in Frankfort to test my gear and to have breakfast.  This was also part of why I forgot my sleeping bag.

Scoutmaster Minute - Physically Fit and Being Prepared.

I wrote this Scoutmaster Minute yesterday.  I was going to use it until I received word that one of the Scouts of my Troop was in a car accident with his dad that same morning.  He and his dad were going toward town when their car slid off the road after coming in contact with a patch of black ice.  The car slid into a pond.  As was told by the local television station, the young man cited his experience in Scouting that helped him stay calm during something that was potentially bad.  He explained on camera that he had been through scenarios where he trained for accidents.  That night at the Scout meeting, we did some work on the Emergency Preparation Merit Badge, and ran through a scenario where an assistant scoutmaster touched a broken wire that caused electrocution.  While he was being tended to (in the scenario) a fire was discovered in the wall above where the wire had shorted (still scenario).  It was a good experience for our troop to practice.

The Scoutmaster Minute I presented was the news release for the Scout who had escaped from the nearly frozen pond with his dad.  The following is a Scoutmaster Minute I will use in the future.

I remember going to Scout Camp for the first time as an 11 year old in 1980-whatever.  It had to have just finished my 5^th grade year in school.  I showed up at Camp McKee with the rest of my troop, and I’m sure you’ve heard me talking about it before, we stayed at Skunk Knob – Campsite 9.  I don’t remember too much about camp that summer other than the fact that the first few days of camp I was miserably out of shape, and it made it very uncomfortable to get around.  I remember that by the end of the week, my 11 year old legs were in shape enough to get around the camp without being miserably worn out.

I’m not sure at 11 years old I thought very much about the meaning of Physically Strong, but I think a lot about it today.  From those of you who are going skiing this weekend, how many have been training?  You don’t have to show your hands.

I have been training for the ski trip.  I try to walk in the mornings or evenings.  When I can walk, I get in 3 to 5 miles, and I can do that 4 or 5 times a week.  I walked to the top of a Civil War battle site on Saturday, and walked again on Sunday with Tyler in the snow.  I feel like I could ski on Sunday without having problems on Monday.

But there is another reason why being physically fit can help.  I slipped on the ice yesterday morning.  I really hurt myself, although I didn't break any bones.  If I hadn’t been in “training” for the ski trip, I probably would still be in some serious pain right now.  Other than a few bruises, I’m fine.  No soreness.  That is a great reason to be physically fit.  It helps with recovery from an accident as much as it does to get ready for a ski trip or in preparation for camp.

Breakfast on the Hill - testing the new Solo Stove

I hike mornings, especially when it's cold outside.  I received my new Solo Stove in the mail yesterday.  It's my belief that you have to figure out how to use something new on your own before you take it with you on a camping trip.  That's why I decided to take my stove with me this morning on my hike.  I was going to have breakfast on top of Fort Hill.

I loaded up my small backpack with water, my stove, my fire kit, and my food.  I left home at 8:20 AM,  I arrived at the bottom of Fort Hill by 8:40,  As I was walking up the path, I pulled hanging deadwood off from the trees,  I completely filled my Honduras bag full of small sticks,  When I got to the top of the hill, I laid out all my gear on a picnic table.

I filled my Honduras bag with hanging deadwood.  I pulled deadwood out of the trees as I hiked up the hill to the Fort.  I didn't realize how wet the wood was until I tried to start the fire.  It'll be dry the next time I start a fire.

I placed two cotton balls with Vaseline in the stove.  It has been my best fire starter for years.  On top of the cotton balls, and after I started the fire, I put very small sticks that I had placed in the pill bottle.  It is the perfect size.

 I put the cup with the lid on it on top of the fire.  It took a long time to get the water boiling because I used mostly wet wood to start the fire.  I think I'm going to need to buy some Fatwood to use along with the cotton balls for a good fire.  The Fatwood will keep the fire hot.

It took about 15 minutes to get the water boiling, and the entire time, I fed wood into the stove.  Since the wood was wet, I used my knife to shave off the wet bark from the sticks.  I also kept the sticks quite small.  I will have to do some prepping on the wood at home before my next trip out to start a fire.  I could let it all dry, and then split the bigger pieces in half or quarters.  That will help with the fire.

I had oatmeal and tea this morning on top of Fort Hill.  It was my plan to see how long it took to get my breakfast prepared while on the trail.  It took too long.  I will no longer try to make breakfast on the trail on a weekday.  Weekdays will be for hiking only.  I will make small meals on the trail only on weekends or on Scout trips.

I cut my finger while shaving off the bark from the wet wood.  It is so important that you put duck tape in your hiking kit even if you already have a first aid kit.  I used my first aid kit, but the bandaids in it are crap.  I had to wrap duck tape around the bandaids in order to keep pressure on my finger.  It was a decent size cut, and therefore a lot of blood.  Crappy bandaids alone would not have stopped the bleeding.

This is my first aid kit and my mess after cleaning up from my own bleeding.

This is Fort Hill.  The house in the background was moved from another part of the county, but it was originally build before the Civil War.  There was an actual battle that took place in the earthworks and surrounding in  1864.  The local militia repulsed an attack by Confederate raiders led by General John Hunt Morgan.

I love Fort Hill.  I hike from my house which is below the New State Capitol (built in 1910) to the top of Fort Hill several times a week.  Round trip it is only about 4 miles, but it is good exercise, and it gives me a chance every now and then to practice my Scout craft.

Military Road is a path that leads to the top of Fort Hill from downtown Frankfort.  It is a good path, and was used by local militia to get to the top of the hill during the Civil War.  During the Civil War, the Old State Capital was at the base of Fort Hill.  If the Confederates had taken possession of the Fort during the Civil War, the Confederate Army could have destroyed the State Capitol from the Fort.

Scoutmaster Minute - 40 Day vs a Lifetime of Pause

OK.  The following blog has nothing to do with camping.  Sue me.  No one is reading my blogs anyway.   I have something that I like to write on my own, even though there are tons of websites that I could rely on that wouldn't make me write any thing if I didn't want to.  That is the Scoutmaster Minute.  At the end of the Scout meeting, and just before closing prayer, our troop has a Scoutmaster minute where the Scoutmaster can give a minute of wisdom to the troop.  I wrote this one just now, and I wanted to share it.

February 9.

Did you know that today is the 40^th day of 2016?  I was wondering with a show of hands how many of you made a new year’s resolution at the beginning of the year?  How long did it last?  Tomorrow is the beginning of the season of Lent, which is a season of 40 days before Easter where Christians pause to focus on simple living, prayer and fasting to focus on God and in order to be the best Christian they can be.  Simple living is the reason why it is often asked WHAT ARE YOU GIVING UP FOR LENT THIS YEAR?

Did you know that every time we meet as a troop we pause and make a resolution to be the best scouts we can be?  We do this, of course, by repeating the Scout Oath and Law.  The Oath and Law is a promise we make to be the best person and citizen we can be.  This is so important.  I could keep you for hours telling stories about people who don’t live by a code of honor and duty to others, but that is for another time.  And the way our Oath and Law is different than a new year’s resolution or Lent is that we aren’t giving up anything by following it.  Instead we are adopting a way of living or a way of behaving.  Hold on to these words.  I promise they will change your life forever.  

2016 Klondike Derby - Frankfort KY January 29 to 31, 2016

Location - Frankfort KY

Mileage - I had to drive to Georgetown to pick up the Scout trailer and scouts, and then back to Frankfort to the campout.  I had to repeat this process after the campout was over.  The camping site is only about 6 miles from my house, but I drove more than 40 miles.
Weather - NO Rain.  Cold at night, windy during the day.
Clothing - Long scout pants,  t-shirt, flannel shirt, fleece jacket with no sleeves, and my Marmot rain coat.  I also used my REI Co-op at night.   I slept in wool socks, thermal underwear top and bottom. and a sock cap.  I was smart to have ear plugs in my tent since we camped with a bunch other scouts around us.  I was able to block them out.
Shoes - Hiking Boots - they kept my feet warm.
Camping Style - slept in my Slumberjack 4 tent.  It held up well to the wind.  I also had a cot in my tent, and slept on two different camping pads.  I used my accordion thermarest camping pad, and I used my air filled thermarest camping pad.  The first night I put my accordion camping pad under my air filled camping pad.  I move around a lot while I sleep.  With the slick surface of the air camping pad, this is possible.  The second night I put the air filled camping pad under the accordion camping pad. The accordion pad has a rough surface, and made it harder for me to move around on top of it while in my sleeping bag.  From now on, I'll need to make sure I have my air pad under my sleeping bag all the time.
Sleeping bag - I used my Teton 0 bag.  I had my "cheater heater" with me, but I only used it for a few minutes right before I got in my bag, and a few minutes in the morning.  This way I could change into and from my sleeping clothes depending on which side of the sleeping bag I wanted to go.
Sleeping - I slept on my cot.  I also used my ear plugs.  I slept well.  I woke up early in the morning on Saturday, and I was a little bit cold, but it was only from the air coming in the top of my sleeping bag.  It was below 30 degrees that night.  The second night I was almost too hot  In fact, while I was putting up my sleeping gear, I noticed some sweat on my camping pad.
Main Activities - The Scouts were at the event for a Klondike Derby.  It was my first.  The scouts had to take a sled around to different stations at the event where they had to do different projects or scout skills. The station that we ran was starting a fire and boiling a cup of water.  A lot of troops did some interesting things.  Troop 124 had Fatwood as their fuel source.  I was impressed with it partly because I was a member of Troop 124 when I was in Scouts.  It burned hot, and made the water boil fast.  From the time they put the fuel on the ground to boiling point was 6 minutes and 45 seconds.  I thought for sure they were going to win.  Then Troop 382 pulled out a Solo Stove.  I had heard about the solo stove before, but I had never seen it in action.  I was very impressed.  The patrol used a cotton ball and vaseline to get a fire started.  They used flint and steel to light the cotton ball.  Then they put wood on top of the cotton ball.  With in a minute they had a roaring fire.  When the cup was placed on top of the stove, within a minute or two, the water was boiling.  I have to get a Solo Stove!  In fact, right after the troop left my station, I called my wife to ask her to see how much something like that cost.  It is not very expensive, and I will get one soon.

The problem with using Fatwood or a Rocket Stove (using butane fuel) is that at some point if you use it, you will run out of the fuel source.  It is often heavy to carry around these fuel sources.  With a Solo Stove, you collect limbs and pine cones from the ground.  These get broken up and put in the stove for fuel.  If you hike in an area with trees, you will always have fuel.

Extra Gear - I had my "cheater heater" just in case the weather was horrible.   
Nights Camping - 2
Total nights camping so far this year - This was my first campout of 2016.  Two nights so far.

Next Campout - Our troop has a lock in at our charter organization in March.  It looks like the next time I get to stay in a tent is March 18 through 20, which is Kawida Lodge Spring Fellowship that will take place at Camp McKee.  I hope I can get 25 nights in a tent in 2016.  If I went to every campout that is on my calendar with Troop and Order of the Arrow, I would have more than 30 nights camping this year.  I'm not sure I want to do that much.  I'm not sure my wife will let me be away more than 25 nights.

I didn't take any pictures during the event.  The picture below was from the father of one of our Scouts.  Soon Troop 215 may be lucky enough to have this adult be part of our troop, but until then, he is working with a Cub Scout Pack.