Don't feed the Bears?

This is an awesome commercial. Almost brings a tear to the eye...

Cobb Cornfield Maze a tribute to Boy Scouts

The Cobb Ranch Corn field maze has been very popular over the years here in the Central San Joaquin Valley. This year in 2010 they are dedicating the maze to the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America. you can visit their webpage here.

They are offering free admission to all Boy Scouts dressed in Full Uniform! That is a $10 saving folks! WOW!!!

Here is a PDF file of their Flyer

Happy Halloween!

November Shotgun Outing

The troop will be visiting the Sun Mountain Gun Club to experience the sport of Trap shooting. This outing requires a couple of permission slips to be turned in to the troop by November 8 so that the troop can have a proper headcount and buy the proper amount of ammunition for the day.

The troop Permission slip can be downloaded here

The Sun Mountain Gun Club permission slip can be downloaded here

Both forms and the activity fee must be turned in by November 8, 2010

Our goal for this outing is to give all of the scouts of Troop 116 an opportunity to learn how to properly handle a shotgun and try the sport of trap shooting.

The Gun Club has a snack bar on site and will have lunch available for purchase. Scouts may also bring their own lunch to eat on the premises. The activity fee for this outing is $30 per attendee. This will cover the costs of the range fee and ammo for 2 rounds of traps.

Mr Nishimoto has prepared a FAQ for the outing it can be downloaded here

For any other questions please contact Mister Nishimoto.

Tenderfoot through First Class Videos Now Online

Scouting.org now has training videos for new scouts needing to work on their rank advancements. Follow the following link to the Videos. Quicktime is required to view videos online. THis is a great tool to early Rank Advancement. Watch the videos and talk to your Scout Leader about the rank advancement requirements you have met.

Find Videos here on Scouting.org

Backpack Group Buy

The Bridge Store has offered to sell backpacks at a great price to the troop. The Backpacks available are manufactured by Everest Trading Company, Model numbers 8045DLX and 8045D. The 8045DLX is a Semi-external frame pack and the 8045D is a frameless pack. Bridge Store is making these packs available to the troop for $35 for the frame pack and $25 for the frameless pack.

Both Packs are available in BLACK, NAVY, FOREST GREEN, RED, AND ROYAL BLUE.

You can see the packs at the manufacturer's website here: EverestBags_8045DLX or Everestbags_8045D

I would describe these packs as economy or Value Packs. They are well made but do not have all of the bells and whistles of the Big Name or Big Dollar packs. Everest Bags does place a lifetime warranty on the materials and workmanship of the bags and can say that they are very well made, the material appears to be of high grade and the stitching seems strong. But for $35 the frame pack is well worth the money. The 8045DLX has a main compartment divider that utilizes a drawstring rather than a zipper. The divider can be opened completely so that the full pack area can be accessed through the top or the bottom access. There are tie down straps available everywhere on this pack. The Pack's total volume is approximately 2700 Cubic Inches or 44 Liters.

The only negative points I see with the pack are that Hip Straps are difficult to quickly adjust, and that some of the tie down straps are sewn so that they can not come apart. The Side compression straps also pinch down on the side pockets. The Hip strap issue maybe solved by setting it once and then leaving it in that position.

Mr Nishimoto will bring sample backpacks to the next few meetings so that scouts and parents can view and try on the backpacks. A group order sign-up sheet will be available for orders. Payment can be made to the Troop. The Order will be submitted after the meeting on Monday, September 13, 2010. The packs should arrive within one week.

Cora Lakes Backpacking Trip Report

The long hike is finally over but I bet a lot of scouts are still feeling sore from it. On Friday, August 13, we left for Strawberry Tungsten Mine from the Madera United Methodist Church. The mine was unavailable at the time so we changed our base camp location to Granite Creek Campground.

We found parts of the 5 mile uphill trail to be quite challenging. It was well worth it with the nice scenery and the cool lake, where Mr. Chadwick caught a 12 inch Rainbow Trout. All in all, it was a great first time experience for most of us. Scouts that attended were: Samuel, Tommy, Joshua, Jordan, Ethan, Jesus, Dalice, Jared, Elijah, Clayton, Juan, Ricky, Aaron, Zack, Taylor, Brandon.

Also big thanks to our adult leaders who also attended: Mr. Chadwick, Mr. Allen, Mr. Gong, Mr. Govett, Mr. Haney, Mr. Nishimoto, Mr. Sharp, Mr. Thelander, and Mr. J. Thornton.

Submitted by: Tommy

Philmont Bear Protocol

The following is from the Philmont Boy Scout Bear Protocol and Policy - Upon arriving in camp, place all "smellables" that are not immediately needed under the dining fly and place all dishes near the sump. If you are not looking at it, hang it! Smellable items are suspended away from people -- don't forget spilled food on clothes. The following are bear bag items:

1. All foods and trash
2. Medicine (place in boot if needed at night)
3. Soaps (including Camp-Suds) and shampoo
4. Foot powder
5. Chapstick
6. Sump Frisbee & condiment bag with all spices
7. Water bottles
8. Feminine hygiene products
9. Extra batteries/film/disposable cameras
10. Toothpaste/toothbrush
11. Sunscreen
12. Clothes that have spilled food or drink on them or you hiked in
13. Unwashed dishes
14. Tobacco
15. Deodorant/anti-perspirant
16. First Aid kits
17. Insect repellant
18. ALWAYS HANG ANYTHING THAT YOU ARE UNSURE ABOUT

It is also suggested to not apply bug spray less than 2 hours before sleeping. It maybe inconvenient but better to be safe than sorry. All snacks and food will be consumed in the food area. NO FOOD IN CAMP AREA.