Home.28 November 1999
Well, back by popular demand of - oddly enough - many of the newer families in the Troop. We'll see if I can't make them regret it! I will see how well I can keep up with the "Minute" this time around - it was definitely becoming a chore prior to my "semi-sabbatical." Of course, I wasn't on the computer every night then like I am now, so maybe it will be easier; we'll see....
The Troop has gained over a dozen members in the past 3 months, including Webelos, walk-ons and transfers. I don't quite have all the data yet, so am going to hold off detailing all the new additions until the next edition. However, be aware that we will likely be rearranging Patrols, and generating a new Troop Roster, in the immediate future.
We start off this month's lengthy advancement list with our two latest Eagle Scouts: Tim Hupalo (#61) and Greg Brady (#62) both finished "the long run" with their Boards of Review Friday night, March 26th. Tim, another Pack 111 Webelos/Arrow-of-Light to Eagle success story, entered the Troop in June of 1992. His Honor Roll:
Timothy J. Hupalo
His Eagle Project was a multi-aspect trail improvement at Potomac Overlook Park, and included relocating large concrete benches, rebuilding a large retaining wall, re-routing a small stream, rebuilding an artificial erosion barrier, and mulching several hundred feet of trail, for a total of about 150 man-hours of work; a very nice project. Tim, a graduating Senior at Yorktown, has Virginia Commonwealth University on the top of his college choices.
Gregory W. Brady
His Eagle Project was resealing all the cracks in the St. Agnes School Parking Lot (saving the Parish thousands of dollars in more costly treatments and repairs), taking about 115 man-hours to complete. Greg, a rising Senior at Bishop O'Connell (and an active football and lacrosse player), is considering the School of Engineering at Virginia Tech.
Thanks to Tim Arthurs, Hank Dettmar (Chain Bridge District Eagle Board Representative), John Manning, Rita Rooney and Jim Smith (Board Chairman), who came out on a Friday night to run a double Eagle Scout Board of Review.
It's also been a busy two months on the Merit Badge Front:
Personal Management: Tim H., Nathan K., Neal K. and Michael S. Personal Fitness: Will K., Nathan K., Nicholas M., Adam S., Michael S., Dan T., Nick T. and Chris T.
Communications: Tim H. and Nathan K.
Citizenship in the Nation: Brendan M. and Christopher T.
Note to All: If any of this does not agree with your records, or if something is missing that you earned since February 1st, please let me know ASAP. Thanks!
1) This Monday Night's Meeting - Since so many families are out of town this week (Public School Spring Break) or next week (Catholic School Spring Break), we're trying to keep everyone on module track by arbitrarily deleting each Scout's "Spring Break meeting." Thus, except for those Scouts who are finishing module makeups, if you came to this past Monday night's meeting, you should NOT come to this upcoming Monday night's meeting (known exceptions noted below), and if you missed this past Monday night's meeting - for whatever reason - you should attend this upcoming Monday night's meeting. This way, all Junior Scout advancement will be back on track on Monday, April 12th. If Scouts want to come for the heck of it, we have photos and Projectoree patches to organize.
Exceptions include: Christopher B., Matt G., and any new Scout's Parents who did not turn in their paperwork this past Monday night.
2) Spring Court of Honor rescheduled - In order to give the system time to run Tim and Greg's Eagle paperwork through the mill, we're pushing the Spring CoH to Sunday, May 23rd, late afternoon. Please mark this date on your calendars. Many more details forthcoming.
3) Projectoree - The permission slip is now posted.
4) SPL - With Greg Brady's "graduation" (and heavy-duty participation in an active lacrosse season), Brendan M. has agreed to pick up the reins of the SPL-ship, as he marches towards Eagle himself. Patrol Leaders take note.
5) O/A Elections - Brad J. is the Chapter Chief for the Chain Bridge District Order of the Arrow Chapter. "OA" is an honor/service patrol of active Senior Scouts with excellent camping skills; it is based on an American Indian theme. Other than Brad, we have not been involved in OA for years, as the Patawomeck District Chapter was a moribund organization. With the advent of Chain Bridge District, however, plus Brad's heavy duty involvement, OA may once again be a worthy organization dedicated towards helping Scouts throughout the area. We also have a new ASM coming in from Germany within a month who is an OA fanatic - Josh G. Virtually every Senior Scout in the Troop is eligible to be elected to the OA - the question being, of those eligible, who is willing to put forth the *extra* effort to fulfill his duties as an Arrowman? If the answer is "none," that's fine; if the answer is "20," that's fine too. I am dedicating time during the April 12th meeting for Brad to run an election. Senior Scouts must self-nominate to me by email, phone or in person by no later than Sunday, April 11th; only nominees can be voted on. Voting Scouts must have been in the Troop for at least 6 months. We can also nominate (I believe) one Adult if any Scouts are nominated; note, however, that I am far too busy to take on the extra duties associated with OA (so don't elect me!) Elected Scouts and Adult(s) will be "tapped out" at the upcoming Projectoree campfire. For additional information on OA, contact Brad or ASM Larry H.
6) Speaking of Photos.... - Many non-Bob photos were taken at the VA Beach Fishing Trip, 25/10 Hike and Webelos Bridge Crossing. I would appreciate getting these at this Monday's meeting, for signing and distributing. Remember, 4 x 6 prints ONLY! (and bring the receipts, too.) Thanks!
Although March has been a weird weather month, it's been a busy one for the Troop. Mid-month we traveled to Virginia Beach for our "Second Annual Beach Campout/Headboat Fishing Trip." Friday night, March 19th marked a very lengthy drive down I-95 (made *much* easier by use of the HOV-3 lanes), then east on I-64 to Virginia Beach. Parents Note - the Scouts all well marked the opening of King's Dominion on Saturday, March 27th! Pulling into First Landing State Park, we made the mistake of heading back to the same campsites we used last year - missing a postage stamp-sized sign which indicated we were actually supposed to go to the other end of the park. Not surprisingly, we had the place all to ourselves! After a quick camp setup, we headed down for a walk on the beach, finding all sorts of neat sea trash (shells, etc.) and enjoying a starkly beautiful view across the water to far shorelines illuminated by geometrically perfect rows of lights (I'm glad this wasn't a co-ed trip!) Back at camp, we held a driftwood campfire while yours truly played a few songs off the new Troop guitar, then headed for bed under starlit skies and a gentle breeze.
Saturday came with a very early wakeup call, breakfast and lunch prep under almost clear skies, and a now more brisk breeze. After some consideration, we went ahead and decided on anti-seasickness medication all around (better safe than very, very sorry!), and headed through the town and down to the docks for a full day aboard the "Rainbow," about a 40 foot long headboat. Another headboat run by the same company - the Bobbi Lee - was already filled by the time we arrived, but we ended up at about two thirds capacity with 40 total fishermen. Oddly enough, we left about 10 minutes before the "Lee," but they soon proved why they were the more popular boat, quickly passing us and beating us to the fishing grounds by at least 20 minutes. The trip out was about an hour and a half of serious swooping and rolling, thoroughly enjoyed by the Scouts who had chemical assistance, and less so by several fellow passengers who did not! The very brisk wind was partially offset by a bright sun - which led to some very "interesting" sunburn patterns around ski goggles and face masks by the end of the day - so it was nippy but not cold.
Finally at the site, and down went our lines - triple rigs of orange, red and yellow plastic tubing, about three inches long, designed to imitate baby eels. Each rig had about a half pound lead weight on it to keep it on the bottom, and the protocol was to jig the arrangement up 2 or 3 feet, let it sink to the bottom, and repeat - endlessly. Things started off fantastic - one of the mates demo'd the rig, handed it to me, and I caught a double header of Boston Mackerel within 30 seconds. Unfortunately, that was the only two fish caught at that spot, and we eventually headed off for a different hole. The fishing turned out to be pretty capricious all day - an hour of nothing, move to a new spot, another half-hour of nothing, and then - bingo! - seemingly half the rods on the boat nailed within 30 seconds, often with double or triple hits. Frustrating but still fun. We caught just over 110 fish, and gave them all away to our fellow passengers, save for a few small ones released to fight another day, and a sand shark that I caught but let a very seasick little girl reel in (she need the diversion.) Top fishermen of the day honors went to Neal S. with 13 and Rusty P. with 12. With that, we headed back in with another 90 minutes of swooping and rolling, docking about 4:30 or so.
Back at camp, we were "busted" by a local park policeman for being in the closed area, who chose to inform us from a standoff 100 yards away (by his vehicle PA system) that we now had to move over to the other end of the park; an odd way to do things. Another dozen camping groups were similarly chased out. Well, that kind of threw a wrench in our plans to go play miniature golf, but the Scouts did a bang-up job of breaking camp and moving it a half mile to a new site (wasn't there a MASH episode along these lines?) Dinner was Rotini with meat sauce, by the light of a propane lantern - and delicious after a long, hard day on the water. Most of the Scouts opted for another campfire session, with snacks, but a few of us went back down to the beach for another walk in the sand. Windy but a bit warmer than Friday night, still starlit but with a few clouds moving in. Coming back to camp, we passed some Druidic group doing an equinox ceremony to welcome in Spring (8:46pm); weird indeed. There were also two other Scout groups in residence, both from VA Beach. A rather eclectic mix of bedfellows, shall we say??? An "earlier" bedtime tonight, and quickly a very quiet campsite! No Scouts were sacrificed to the Druidic Rites of Spring (at least none from Arlington, anyway.)
Sunday, we got up early again (heavy rain predicted), broke camp and headed down to Our Lady of the Valley Church, for an excellent Mass with a Father Mooney, formerly of St. Agnes! With that, it was off for the long drive home, through some very heavy rain, starting within 5 minutes of leaving Church. Overall, a great weekend!
Attendees included: John B., Max D., Matt G., Sam F., Dan H., Tim H., Will K., Stefan N., Rusty P., Thomas S., Carl S., and Neal S., and with grateful appreciation to Jay B., Bill N., Hugh S., and Fred S. Congratulations to Stefan Novak, who will complete his Life Practical with this trip.
Next up on Saturday, March 27th, was our Fourth Annual 25/10 hike - 25 miles in 10 hours - using the Mt. Vernon and Custis trails, plus an extra mile or so of Glebe Road and Lee Highway. This was actually our Third Annual 25/10 Hike, as 1996 was an Alonzo Stagg 50/20 hike! (Only 3 of about 40 participants completed that one, so we've scaled it back to something a bit more reasonable, with apologies to Alonzo.) Although signups for this one went slowly (doubtless hindered by an unfavorable weather forecast), by the actual day of hoofing we had a pretty good crowd of 28 total attendees. Mother Nature smiled, and we enjoyed very pleasant walking conditions - partly cloudy, temps in the lower 40's to lower 50's, and only a fairly moderate breeze; we've done worse, believe me.
We started at Mt. Vernon, and quickly broke into about a half-dozen groups of differing speed, all stopping for our first break at the 7.5 mile marker (Belle Haven Marina) for snacks and drinks. Interestingly, this was the rescheduled Potomac Shorelines Volunteer Cleanup Day (the original date was a snowy mess), and we saw a number of groups participating, including both Boy and Girl Scout Troops. Lots and lots of trash collected, done just before Spring covers all with a carpet of green. At Belle Haven, Chris W. and I bailed out to go work on Mike S.'s Eagle Project (see below), so I am unable to give a blow-by-blow description of the rest of the day. Everyone else continued and qualified for at least a 10 mile hike (12 Scouts qualified for a 20 mile hike.) Nine Scouts and eight Adults finished the entire 25 miles, qualifying for Ted G.'s fabulous pizza dinner at Joe's Pizza and Pasta. Oh sure, the first year I had to bail out, and they serve free pizza; it's enough to make this fat little Italian boy cry!
Participants included: Christopher B. (15 miles), Charles B., Matt C. (15 miles), Jeffrey Carr (20 miles), Todd G. (15 miles), Matt G. (12 miles), Daniel H. (20 miles), Ryan H., William L., Matt M., Stefan N., Patrick P., Michael R., Carl S. (20 miles), Neal S., Chris Y., Chris W. and Eric W. (7.5 miles.) The 7 finishing fathers were (and Thanks to) Tim Arthurs, Baxter C., Ted G., George L., Frank P., Frank R., Mark S. and Rick W.; other fathers were David H. (15 miles), Hank M. (7.5 miles), and Fred S. (15 miles.) Additional Thanks go out to David C., Joy G. and Hank M., who staffed the food and First Aid Stations along the route, and especially to Ted G. for his organizational assistance (and free pizza dinner!) Congratulations to Matt C., who will be completing his Life Practical with this event. Same bat time, same bat station, in Y2K!
If I'm missing any Scout in the above listings, or if I have your mileage incorrect, please let me know so that I can properly credit you for your Hiking Merit Badge Hike.
Last up was the aforementioned Eagle Project by Mike S. - and a killer Project it is, too! Mike is building a rock staircase on the long Environmental Awareness Hiking Trail at the Arlington Outdoor Lab near Haymarket, Virginia. The trail was poorly designed, and basically does a "straight-up-the-side-of-the-ridge" routine, for about 50 yards of a 30 degree slope. It's a pretty dangerous spot due to its steepness, numerous tripping hazards and exposed rocks, and apparently a number of school children and staffers have been injured on this stretch over the past few years. Unfortunately, the remedy is not an easy one - normally, rock staircases are built with moderate sized "stepping" rocks sunk into the ground below the freeze-line (otherwise, they'll shift every Winter and you'll soon have to re-do them.) In this case, however, we're building right on a scree slope with minimal dirt, so it's not possible to get below the freeze line - at least not without a copious supply of dynamite! The solution is a brutal one - you have to build your staircase with extremely heavy rocks, interlocking them step by step and outlining on both borders with additional "leaners" that help "compress" the stairs from the sides. Done correctly on an otherwise stable slope without extensive waterflow, good for about 80-100 years before requiring resetting. By the way, "extremely heavy" means between 100 and 1000 pound rocks, with most in the 250 pound range. Just the ticket after a brisk 7.5 mile hike! Fortunately, Mike had recruited about a half-dozen friends from the Yorktown wrestling team, plus his older brothers, who are both just absolute gorillas.
We worked from 1 til dusk on Saturday, and again from 9 til about 5 on Sunday. Chris and I left at about 3:00 for the final Projectoree Organizational Meeting (at St. Agnes) - at which point I felt like I'd been tied to a barn door and beaten with a 2 x 4 for about two hours, so I have only a rather hazy recollection of the Projectoree meeting! Mike's staircase is about half-finished at this time, and he's taking smaller work crews out through the course of this week to collect additional rocks (each good rock is successively just a bit further away, you understand, and we're already ranging about 100-150 feet left and right looking for candidates); we're ALL hoping to finish it this Saturday. Troop 111 participants (thus far) are John A., Nathan K., Steven S. and Chris W. More in the next "Minute."
- Bob
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