November
13
- 15
Kings
Mountain
State Park
Kings Mountain National Military Park
Blacksburg, SC
21
scouts
and 7 ASMs departed Apex Crossing around
5 pm on Friday and
began the journey to South Carolina. The
trip was uneventful and went
as planned. The first stop was at CiCi's
Pizza in Kannapolis, NC about
2 hours into the trip. After about 45
minutes we were full and heading
south again for Kings Mountain. We
arrived at Kings Mountain State Park
around 9 pm to set up camp for the
night. The site had plenty of space
under the large oak trees. The cloud
cover was gone and the sky was
bright with stars. This was a primitive
campsite but still had a
central water source and a privey. Call
to quarters was 11 pm with
11:30 lights out. Many scouts and
leaders were heard talking late into
the night. It was refreshing to get away
from it all and reconnect with
our friends.
Saturday morning wake up was at 7 pm but
half the camp arose with the
sun. Cooking was allowed for breakfast
since a long day and back
packing was the order of the day. Most
patrols needed hot water for
breakfast so clean up was fast and easy.
Breaking camp and repacking
our packs was another experience
entirely. We were a bit late in
leaving for the Kings Mountain Military
Park for our daytime activity.
Back Packing seemed slow at first with
everyone getting used to their
packs and some of the
less experienced scouts needing a hand
from the older scouts. The 2
mile hike to the military park took over
an hour.
Mr. Brawn
who had gone earlier in the morning to
get us checked in and to stage a
car,
backtracked toward us to check on our
condition.. Slow but sure we
pressed ahead and made it to the
Military Park.
At the Military Park we were able to set
our packs down for a few hours
and enjoy the history; a movie, a 1.5
mile history hike, and lunch! We
learned about the Battle of Kings
Mountain that occurred October 7,
1780. This battle, won by patriot forces
during the revolutionary war
is credited for turning the tide against
the British which eventually
led to US Independence. What a great
place this was to visit and enjoy!
Most of the scouts and leaders completed
the requirements for the
Historical Military Patch.
After lunch we checked our packs,
refilled our water and began our 4
mile hike into a more remote area of the
Military Park. Again it was
slow going the first mile but after that
the troop settled in, we began
to make good progress. We reached our
remote camp site around 3:15.
Most of us were tired but we knew we
were fighting daylight so we
pitched tents, had a quick snack and
rested for a few minutes. At 4 pm
we went back to a stream we had crossed
to filter water and to get
cooking water for dinner.
By 5 pm we were back at camp heating
water for dinner. As the water was
cooking the scouts gathered some
firewood. The older patrol enjoyed
Chicken Soup and Mashed Potatoes, the
younger patrol enjoyed Chicken
and Rice, and the adults had a variety
of backpack meals (just add
boiling water). The scouts were looking
for a trash bag all evening
long so the central theme was "what you
pack in, you pack out,
including your trash"! This was a great
lesson learned by everyone
involved!
After dinner the scouts opted for tents
over a campfire... many were in
for the night by 7 pm, a few of us sat
around the unlit fire ring until
about 8 pm until we retired as well. The
backpacking seemed to tire us
all out. So it was early to bed for
all.. No one made the 9 pm call to
quarters.
Sunday morning we were up by 6 am. We
ate breakfast and broke camp
quickly and of course repacking the
packs was the biggest challenge..
We departed the site by 7:45 am and made
the trek back to the visitors
center by 9:30 am. We made really good
time on the return trip. The
leaders collected the vehicles and we
were back on the road by 10:15. A
brief stop for lunch at Hardy's, boy are
they hard to find, and we
arrived back at Apex Crossing at 2:10
pm.
Several scouts took turns leading,
navigating and pacing the troop.
Many of the older scouts did a great job
helping the less experienced
back packers, with general leadership,
tying boots, helping with heavy
gear, tightening packs and general
helpful instruction. The first
timers rose to the challenge, they
persevered over wrenched knees and
ankles, ill-fitting packs, and many
miles of hiking with 30+ on their
backs! When it came down to it the
Troop banded together and
was
eager to help and encourage each other.
What a great troop and a great
weekend!
The planned backpacking for the weekend
was around 10 miles but we
covered
over 12 per the GPS. Not including the
day program.
Yours in Scouting
Emerson Sox and John Hibbard
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