Boy Scouts of America

Troop 282

Blue Elk District • Heart of America Council, BSA

A Chartered Organization of Trinity Episcopal Church

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Archive for the ‘High Adventure’ Category

July 15th, 2015

Grand Canyon or Bust in 2017

Yes, Boy Scout Troop 282’s next High Adventure Trip will be to the Grand Canyon. 

A Grand Canyon Rim to Rim hike allows a scout and a scout leader to experience breathtaking views and the vast expanse of the canyon. There are few experiences more spectacular than seeing both the North and the South Rims at the same time from the bottom of the canyon. This Grand Canyon hiking trip has you backpacking from over 8,000 ft. in elevation from the North Rim to the almost 7,000 ft. South Rim. Along the North Kaibab trail, you will pass a couple of waterfalls (Roaring Springs and Ribbon Falls), hike along Bright Angel Creek, visit Phantom Ranch, dip your toes in the Colorado River and see evidence of ancient civilizations that once called Grand Canyon their home. 
Anyone can participate in this trip, even if you are a first time backpacker with an above average level of fitness. If you don’t currently feel you are in shape for such a hike, the High Adventure Trek group will be training to get everyone into shape for this once in a lifetime trip. The group will be hiking the main trails of the canyon where there are amenities such as toilets, running water and even a canteen at Phantom Ranch where you can buy lemonade or a Snickers bar! The trails we will be hiking are well maintained and over 6 feet wide in most places. 

grand canyon

Day 1 
Let the adventure begin! Today you will be off to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We will begin with a 6 hour drive from the pick-up location in North Scottsdale Arizona. From the trailhead, we will hike 7 miles and 4,200 feet down to Cottonwood Campground. We can then jump into Bright Angel Creek to cool down or wander along the shore for a relaxing evening. The average time to reach Cottonwood camp is approximately 5 hours. 

Day 2 
After breakfast, we will follow Bright Angel Creek another 7 miles and 1,500 feet down to Bright Angel Camp. On the way, we will drop the packs for a side hike to Ribbon Falls – a 100 foot water fall that spews out of a side canyon. Bright Angel camp is nestled between the Colorado River and Bright Angel Creek. It will take us approximately 4.5 to 5 hours to reach Bright Angel Camp, including the time to hike to Ribbon Falls. 

Day 3 
After our gear is packed, we will start the hike out of the canyon along Bright Angel Trail. After 5 short miles, we will set up camp at Indian Garden. The hike will take us 1,400 ft. up in elevation. Since the hike only takes about 3.5 hours, we will have time to take a side hike to Plateau Point for stunning sunset views of the inner canyon and the Colorado River or one of many other side hikes available. 

Day 4 
We have reached our final leg of the trip. Up, up and away! Although this hike is only 4.5 miles, there is a 3,000 ft. increase in elevation. This leg of the hike will take us approximately 4.5 hours to complete and take us to our final destination, the South Rim. The group should have a couple of hours to grab a bite to eat, souvenir shop and hang out with all the bus tourists before heading back to Scottsdale. 
What is the next Step? 
If you are interested in taking part in the 2017 High Adventure Trek to the Grand Canyon with your scout: 
• Add your name to the participant list in the scout room 
• Speak with Mr. Wyatt regarding your interest in participating 
• Start attending the High Adventure Trek meetings 
• Complete an ‘Agreement’ form 
• Take part in the fundraisers 
The next meeting will be August 10 at 7:00 PM in the Parish Hall of Trinity.

January 6th, 2015

2014-2015 High Adventure to Disney World

By Stacy Howell

Wow! The Disney World High Adventure Trip was amazing. Although there were many bumps along the road, overall the trip was very successful. Basically I was the only one who encountered the bumps in the road, however the participants experienced 7 days of fun & excitement. The group spent many hours of fundraising to reduce the overall cost of the trip and we even had fun while fundraising. By the time we boarded the plane to Orlando, FL, we were one big happy family.

This was the troop’s first experience flying as a group. Overall, the flights were great & if the troop chooses to participate in another High Adventure Trip to Disney World, we will definitely be flying again. We stayed at The Disney All Star Sports Resort which is located within the Disney World complex. This resort is a great option for groups. A few of the participants tried out the swimming pool but I heard they didn’t stay in the water long because it was quite chilly. Each participant also had a MagicBand which is pretty amazing. Everyone got to choose the color of their MagicBand and they also have each person’s name inside the band. The MagicBand was used to access your room, to enter the amusement parks and access the FastPasses. The six Boy Scouts earned 3 Merit Badges, American Cultures, Movie Making and Aviation. 

We were divided into two groups. Our group had 15 people and we went almost non-stop to ensure that we saw almost everything there was to see in the four Disney World amusement parks. Everyone in the group stayed together except when we were in the resort rooms. Although the parks were very full because of the Christmas holiday, we did not spend much time standing in line because we utilized the FastPass option which allows you to reserve a time to ride the attractions. The few times we did stand in line, we visited, laughed and got to know each other better. 

The entire group of 29 participants spent the last few hours of New Year’s Eve together in the Magic Kingdom amusement park. We watched the Electric Parade and the ‘special edition’ of the New Year’s Eve fireworks. All I can say is, ‘WOW’. I don’t think I have ever seen so many fireworks in such a short time. I will never forget such a great New Year’s Eve celebration with 28 great people (and the thousands of other people). 

Disney World Group Photo

I would like to thank the other 28 participants for making this trip great. I truly hope everyone enjoyed the experience. I especially would like to thank Melinda Newberry for taking the time to purchase a beautiful glass Mickey Mouse head Christmas ornament and a cute Cinderella’s Castle phone case as a gift of appreciation from all the participants. I am ready to start planning the troop’s next High Adventure trip to Disney World. Is anyone else going with me?