Picacho Peak

This month we went to Picacho Peak. I was glad that the boys decided to go there because I have driven by the peak about a million times going between Phoenix and Tucson and I have always wanted to hike it. The peak is located almost equally between here and Phoenix and was a great weekend to be hiking. Several other scout troops thought the same thing because we ran into boys from all over the state including Tucson, Sahuarita, Gilbert, Tempe, and Mesa. We made the accent in about a hour and a half but it only took us 45 minutes to go back down. The boys started moving really fast when I promised them Dairy Queen if they beat the eleven year old scouts to the bottom. The hike was really fun too because there were some challenging spots that had cables to help support our climb. I would recommend the hike to anybody looking for a short adventure during the cooler months of the year.






I was acting like I was falling. I ended up just looking dumb.

2008 Stake Young Men's Campout

Last weekend we had our annual Stake Young Men's campout. This year it was held at the Double-V Scout Ranch near Old Tucson Studios. The focus of the camp was how small decision can have a huge and lasting effect on the boys life. All of the skits that the boys did were based around the theme as well. Our boys (shown above) did really good at the wilderness survival workshop. I was surprised at how well the held up considering that they went to bed around 5:00 AM and I had them up at 5:30 to get ready for breakfast. They really enjoyed the fire starting part of the workshop. Especially when they found out that they could burn holes in shoes (shown below). Stake functions have been sporadic at best lately but this activity definitely was a great event. I think that things are starting to look up for the youth program here in the stake.

Rose Canyon Lake 2008

After our great fishing success last year with the Eleven-Year-Old scouts we decided to go again this year with the High Adventure Scouts. The picture above sums up the entire trip; we caught one small fish (which I caught). The boys learned a valuable lesson about sleeping in and missing out on the good fishing. I tried to wake them all up with my beatiful singing voice at 6:00 AM but was unsuccesful with most of them. We didn't get to the lake until about 9:00 AM. At this point most of the trout weren't interested any more with our bait and the lake was full of anglers around the entire lake. While last year, the boys were up at 4:30 AM and we were fishing by 6:00 AM. We caught 25 fish on that trip.

Eventhough we didn't catch many fish, we still had a lot of fun. Some of the boys went down stream and found a nice little watering hole to relax in while others soaked up some sun and relaxed. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

High Adventure Super Activity

This last week was awesome! We spent the first three days backpacking in the West Clear Creek Wilderness. While we were backpacking we went fishing, swimming, cliff jumping, and inflatable raft racing. The weather was brutal with high temperatures averaging 108 degrees! It was a great opportunity for the boys to learn how to survive the heat and still have enough energy to keep hiking.

After we got done backpacking we came back to Camp Verde and setup our base camp along the Verde River. Our meals improved greatly when we didn't have to pack it all in. We ate shish-kabobs, cheeseburgers, and Philly cheese steaks to name a few of our meals. We also had the opportunity to go to A&W to get root beer floats and enjoy an unlimited root beer tap. We hung out there during the hottest part of the day the final three days and really got our money's worth. While we were at base camp we went funyacking, which is basically kayaking on an inflatable kayak. This was the preferred choice for the Verde River because the funyack sits above the water which was very low at certain points. Also the learning curve was very short. They also came with water cannons providing great water fights. The final day was spent mountain biking and exploring some Indian Caves along the Verde River. We quickly decided that it was more fun to have the truck drop us off at the top of the big hills and let us just cruise down them on the bikes. We definitely got those bikes moving.

We kept the boys smelling great by doing the Polar Bear swim every morning. I have to admit that the first two days in West Clear Creek were pretty warm so it actually felt nice to take a morning dip. However, at base camp we saw dramatic temperature swings. On Friday the High was 110 degrees however Saturday morning was 52 degrees! The cold outside temperature made it a little difficult to get out of the water.

I look forward to next year's adventure! Enjoy the pictures!

Peppersauce Caves

I have heard many stories about Peppersuace Caves but I have never had the opportunity to go personally. The caves lived up to their reputation of tight places, fun exploring, and muddy clothes. After our earlier experience at Cave of the Bells, the boys were well prepared for what Peppersauce Caves had to offer. There really wasn't a whole lot that scared these boys. In fact, many boys wanted to explore the entire cave system. We made it to the end of the major cave pathway and signed our names in the ledger book. Some of the boys even left their phone numbers for some lucky girl to find! We did well at following the buddy system until the end when I lost my buddy...woops. But everybody made it out okay and with only minor bumps and bruises. All in all, I would call the campout a success.

Before

After (front)

After (back)

Jonathan's shoe (it blew out at the deepest point in the cave)

Say cheese!

We didn't need to bring a gun with Jason around!

Winter Campout

Our crew went on another adventure this past weekend. We went to Sunrise Lake to do some sledding, ice fishing, and snow caving. We drove up to Sunrise Lake on Thursday with plans on staying until Saturday. We had a blast as you will see from the pictures below. While our ice fishing wasn't very successful, at least we had a fun time attempting something new. After our failed attempt at ice fishing we decided to hit the slopes for some tubing and sledding. The boys would tackle the steepest hills available with little displayed fear. They especially liked the hills with jumps on them. On Friday afternoon we noticed that the wind was becoming very fierce. We quickly built our snow caves and prepared for the worst that mother nature could give us. The wind continued to increase and the amount of snow falling also increased. The boys weren't giving up though. A concerned snow plow driver stopped to discuss the possiblity of moving our cars closer to the side of the road. He said that there was a larger storm coming in and that the snow plows wanted to use the area that we were in to turn around after dropping off their snow. They also stated that due to the size of the storm as well as the lack of visibility, there was a chance that our cars might be hit by an unexpecting snow plow. Also, the next day was a weekend and the snow plows weren't going to be plowing the area that we were in which could mean that we could potentially be stuck. He then said that there was a chance that we might be asked to leave in the middle of the night by the forest service because of the severity of the storm. At this point, we decided to vote on what to do. Although the boys were fearless on the slopes, they decided that it would be a better idea to just head home. Five hours, two pit stops, and a taco bell run later, we arrived at home around 11:15 PM. We were all completely exhausted, but very satisfied in our trip. The only downer was that we didn't get to sleep in the snow caves that we spent three hours digging.

Before the storm

After the storm

The aftermath

Cave of the Bells

Now that I am the Young Men's President, I also serve as the Venturing Advisor which is similar to a Scoutmaster in Boy Scouts. We are working on getting our Ranger Award and have decided to do the Cave Exploration Elective. The first cave that we explored was the Cave of the Bells located in the Santa Rita Mountain Range southeast of Tucson. The Cave is well known for the lake that is in the bottom which is heated from sources beneath it (i.e. magma or steam). I was shocked at how challenging and adventurous the cave would prove to be. Our path was full of tight spaces and sudden drop offs. It definitely wasn't a trip for the weak of heart. No body got seriously hurt and the boys felt triumphant for overcoming their fears and challenges. I tried to take pictures of the inisde of the cave, but due to the lack of lighting and my weakness in photography, none of the pictures turned out very well. So I guess you will just have to experience the cave for yourself.

Picture of the crew after the adventure

Eric found some soiled underwear which was later burned


All of the boys slept on the ground without tents

Breakfast Burritos! Yummmmm!

20 Pushups for littering