Camping soon in Hetch Hetchy??  A Second Yosemite Valley.

by Nick H.

            Hetch Hetchy was a valley in Yosemite National Park that was very similar to Yosemite Valley.  It was also made by a giant glacier and has domes and waterfalls.  It was dammed in 1923 to provide water to the San Francisco Bay Area.  The name of the dam is O’Shaughnessy Dam.  John Muir of the Sierra Club fought against the dam being built because it flooded a valley almost as pretty as Yosemite Valley.  There is a plan to take out the dam and restore Hetch Hetchy Valley.  It is very controversial because we get so much water from that reservoir.  We also get hydroelectric power from it.  The people that want to do it say that we can still get the water from dams lower down the Tuolumne River.  Other people say we should keep the dam the way it is.  Taking the dam down would take only two years.  And then the first grasses and shrubs would only take two years, but to completely restore the whole valley it would take about 100 years.  It will be interesting to see what gets decided involving the valley in the years to come.  If they take out the dam, someday we may be able to camp there.

From when Boy Scouts got started by Lord Baden-Powell on Brownsea Island in 1907, it has spread to almost every country in the world.  193 different countries in the world have scouting organizations, the only countries that don’t have scouting are Cuba , North Korea , Myanmar , and Laos .  How scouting is organized is very complicated.  There are 488 separate national organizations and most countries have more than one.  The biggest international organization is the World Organization of the Scout Movement or WOSM.  The small purple patch we wear on our uniforms is a WOSM patch.  Some countries don’t belong to WOSM because they think it is too different from the original ideas of scouting.  They think we should follow Baden-Poweell’s 1908 program and uniform almost exactly. 

The Scout Oath and Laws is similar in most countries but there are always differences.

This is Great Britain ’s Scout Oath: 

On my honour I promise that I will do my best

to do my duty to God and to the Queen,

To help other people and to keep the Scout Law

This is France ’s Scout Oath:

On my honor, with the grace of God, I promise to do my best to serve God,

The Church, my country, and Europe ,

To help my neighbor in all circumstances,

To keep the Scout Law

This is Great Britain ’s Scout Law

1. A Scout is to be trusted
2. A Scout is loyal
3. A Scout is friendly and considerate
4. A Scout belongs to the worldwide family of Scouts
5. A Scout has courage in all his difficulties
6. A Scout makes good use of his time and is careful of possessions and property
7. A Scout has self-respect and respect for others

The is France ’s Scout Law:

1. A Scout wears his honor to deserve confidence
2. A Scout is faithful to his country, his parents, his leaders, and his subordinates
3. A Scout exists to serve and to save his neighbor
4. A Scout is a friend to all and a brother to all other Scouts
5. A Scout is polite polite and chivalrous
6. A Scout sees in nature God’s handiwork: he likes plants and animals
7. A Scout obeys without retort and does nothing by half
8. A Scout is master of himself: he smiles and sings in difficulties
9. A Scout is thrifty and takes care of the welfare of others
10. A Scout is pure in his thoughts, his words, and his actions

A website that has a lot of information about international scouting is: www.troop97.net

By Steven F.

          There are many, many scouting activities for the scouts to have fun on.  But one of the best Scouting activities is Moaning Caverns. Moaning Caverns is a high adventure Scout outing. The best tour in Moaning Caverns is the ‘adventure tour’, where you rappel down 165 feet into a giant cave, and then you spend one to two hours spelunking through small passages and chambers.  During the rappel, you go down a chimney (which is a small opening that goes down for more than twenty feet) and then land on a small ledge.  You lower your rear end into the next chimney.  It seems dark at first but you get used to it.  Ten feet after you started, you drop out of a hole in the bottom. You are hanging there on the top of the main chamber.  You get butterflies at that moment.  You remember if you let go of the rope then you are dead.  You rappel twenty or more feet down to a very slippery rock.  Once you are there you must walk down the wall on your feet.  You might slip a couple of times.  Then, once you pass the rocks, you rappel in open air the rest of the 165 feet down to a platform.  Then you start the cave exploration through the small passages and chambers.  That is very weird because most of it looks the same.  You really depend on the guide to get you through.  Moaning caverns is a very fun trip and I would do it again any day.       

The Adventuress

by Michael J.

            Last summer, I went with the troop on a sailing trip to Puget Sound, Washington State. It was one of the best trips I have ever done with Boy Scouts. First, we flew by plane from San Jose to Washington and then we took a bus to a motel in Anacortes, about an hour from the ferry. Our room had a TV (a definite plus) and they had really big root beer floats at the A&W next to the motel. After that we got to go bowling, played arcade games and made Tanner bowl a perfect game by changing the score on the computer.

The next day we woke up around six thirty (we were very tired) to take the ferry to Friday Harbor where we would board the schooner the Adventuress. Before we went onboard we played some games to get to know each other since we were with some scouts from three other troops.  Once on the ship we went choose our bunks. Mine was near the ceiling.  I soon found out I couldn’t sit up too fast or I would bump my head. The bathrooms, or the heads, in the ship were very small; I could barely fit in. When we were done with choosing bunks we got into our swimming trunks and the crew soaked us with buckets of cold water!

The meals on the ship had to be non-meat because of the lack of space to refrigerate food.  But the meals were still okay.  Some of the troop took turns cooking meals and before every meal the cooks had to give a skit on what they cooked. These were pretty funny. When we were done with our meals we had to scrape all of the waste food into a bin and wash our plates off.  At the end of every day we had a resource report to see how much food waste there was, how much water we used, and how much power we used.  Also, we were required to give a night watch for an hour.  This was bad for me because I am a heavy sleeper. Luckily I was woken up by the watch before me. Every night we anchored somewhere new, but we never anchored at a dock over night.  Sometimes we were allowed to go on shore to buy snacks (or something made with meat) while the ship refueled. 

On the ship we learned how to coil ropes and tie knots.  Also, we got to raise and lower the sails. I had the most fun climbing the net ladder up the side of the mast. It was about a 150 feet climb but it seemed much higher when you were up there.  The crew was very trusting and nice enough to let us steer the ship and even tack (turning the ship into the wind). Every patrol had to swab the deck, clean the floors of the inside, wash the dishes, or clean the head every day. Our patrol was the lucky patrol…….we got to swab the deck twice! 

Halfway through the week the schooner docked at an island where we went on a hike to the most northwestern point in the continental US.   We could even see Canada from where we were standing.  We had good winds throughout the whole trip. It rained just a little. When the Adventuress docked at Friday Harbor on August 5^th it was hard to say good-bye to the ship and its crew.  But our trip wasn’t over yet.  From Friday Harbor we took the ferry back to Seattle but we didn’t go straight to the airport. We went to the EMP museum.  This museum is all about music.  We went into soundproof rooms and where we could play the keyboard, drums, and the electric guitar as much as we wanted.  We could also change the volume on the amplifiers if we wanted.  After the EMP we took a bus to the airport then a plane to San Jose.  When we landed the captain of the plane made an announcement over the speaker, welcoming our troop home.  This trip was one of my favorite scout trips and I recommend you sign up the next time Troop 30 gets to go.

     For those of you who are in our troop I am sure you have heard of the vigorous trip to Howdy’s Hole, the camping spot of the boys and parents who are staying for two weeks during the middle weekend. For those of you who haven’t gone to Howdy’s it can be a hard trip for the younger scouts but it can be hiked by some of the stronger new scouts. I myself went on it my 2^nd year and then my 3^rd year and I could easily feel the difference. Although many other people I have talked to felt the last half is the harder half, but in my opinion it is way more fun because you have a great view where every year Jeremy takes another picture, and you get to rock climb with a backpack on. Last year the very beginning, when I am starting to get numb to effects of backpacking, is the harder part of the hike.

            When you arrive at Howdy’s hole you really start having fun. You can go fishing in the hole, or go swimming. The hole has a drop of around 15 feet which makes for an excellent jumping spot and casting location. For those of us who are slight fire lovers you can build a huge fire because there are plenty of dead trees in the surrounding area. Last year our fire was so strong you could barely stand within a 5 foot radius of or else you would get to be as hot as a turkey fresh out of the oven, and the year before that we had so much hot ash in the fire pit that even though we thought we had put out the fire the next day we were able to relight the fire from a few embers that were still smoldering in the fire pit.                                             

Overall the trip to Howdy’s Hole can be tough if you are younger but it definitely worth it once you reach the top of the trail and see  the marvelous view, and the cascading waterfalls a short distance from the hole.

An activity I enjoyed while being a part of Troop 30 was the Elkhorn Slough kayak trip on September 15, 2002 . My friend Austin and his dad came to our beach house the day before so they could sleepover.  We arrived at the slough at the same time as everyone else but had the privilege of waking up an hour later.  When we got there we ate some doughnuts, and then got our wet suits and paddles.  Next, they gave us all our kayaks.  My dad and I had a two person kayak with him in the back and me in the front.  It was fun just paddling but we also go to see many different things.  I don’t remember how long it took us but it doesn’t matter I just remember having a blast.  Kayaking is very fun and this trip gave me courage it to do it again in the Galapagos Islands , Monterey Bay and New Zealand .

Dear Mr. John Crouch

My name is Nick H. and I am a Boy Scout from Troop 30. I am taking the Communications Merit Badge and one of the requirements is to write to an Eagle Scout from our troop that is out of scouting.

       I attend St. Simon School and I am in the 8th grade. I enjoy playing many sports such as lacrosse, soccer, basketball, and track. I also enjoy hanging out with my friends and biking around town.

   There has been many exciting activities in the troop in the past year we went on a sailing trip in Seattle and went snowcamping twice. The troop also did a lot of backpacking and a lot of whitewater rafting trips. We still go to Oljato every summer too.

       I have a few questions I wanted to ask you. During your journey in becoming an Eagle Scout, did any older Eagle Scouts help you? I was also wondering if any skills that you learned while in Boy Scouts ever helped you out in life? Lastly did becoming an Eagle Scout help you in getting into colleges or getting jobs?

   Thank you for replying to my Email. I hope sometime you will visit our troop on a Wednesday night for a scout meeting.

Sincerely yours,
Nick H.

Nick,

    Thank you for your letter. I remember taking the Communications Merit Badge myself not all that long ago. Scouting will always hold memories of what I consider to be some of the best years of my life. I would not be the person I am today if were not for the values and confidence instilled in me through Scouting and Troop 30 in particular. Scouting is an extremely valuable resource that you can draw from long after you have achieved Eagle. I have found throughout my life, since leaving the scouts, that the principles and skills learned there has not only allowed me job positions in leadership, but also aided in the saving of lives.

    I am a Firefighter/Paramedic for the City of Sunnyvale and have put into practice skills such as rope rescue, first aid and more that I FIRST learned in Scouts. Later, I recieved more advanced training from the city to perfect the skills I already had from scouting. The rank of Eagle is a special honor and is highly regarded in the business world today. When I was testing for jobs all over the state after college, it was my Eagle scout rank that gained me approval for many positions I had applied for. On more than one occasion, I was told by my interviewers, that I was chosen over others becuase of my Eagle Scout status. I was told that having attained the rank of Eagle, it proved to them that I possesed dedication, honor and commitment. My employers knew that I had leadership skills and problem solving ability and that I was trustworthy. These simple things are most often the most sought after traits employers look for, no matter what the trade or job classification may be.

    You have asked if any of the other Scouts helped me out? The answer is yes. If it were not for many of the older Scout's leadership and dedication to helping the newer Scouts, I most likely would have had a long hard road on the way to Eagle. I learned from their example and gained useful knowledge that aided in becoming a leader myself. The road is not always easy on the way to Eagle. It takes courage, dedication and perseverence to achieve your goals. In the end, it provides you honor and recognition above others. You will be noticed and others will look to you for leadership. Take this humbley and stay true to your course no matter what that is.

    Life is made up of obstacles and struggles, but your training and skills learned in Scouting will ease some of those and may give you that extra drive that others lack. This may be the difference between those around you giving up and calling it quits, and you pushing forward toward your goals. I thank you for you letter and extend an invitation to you or any of your fellow Scouts, that may need help or advice through your scouting career. Please feel free to contact me anytime by email or cell phone. Scouting will always be a part of me and I hope that it leaves a lasting impression in your life as it has mine. Good luck on the completion of this merit badge and on toward Eagle.

Sincerely

John Crouch
Firefighter/Engineer/Paramedic
Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety