Don Leger will soon be stepping down from his position of Advancement Chairman.  Please contact Bruce Porter if you would be interested in serving in this role.

ADVANCEMENT CHAIR DUTIES:

·      Check to see that scouts advance in rank.

·      Maintain all scout advancement records.

·      Work with troop librarian in building and maintaining a library of merit badge pamphlets.

·      Make prompt report on correct form to council service center when troop board of review is held.

·      Secure badges and certificates.

Upcoming Events:

Troop 373

Scout Leadership

July-December, 2001

Jamboree

by Matt D.

This years Jamboree was one of the best Scout "camps" I've ever been to!  Starting out with a great week long tour of Washington DC, New York, and Gettysburg, then two weeks at the Jamboree itself at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia. With 42,000 Scouts there, one got to meet people from all over the country, and the world! Personally, I met Scouts from Great Britain, Japan, and Korea. Activity centers were a big hit, the Arena shows were like a campfire times 4 billion, and patch trading was a great way to meet people from around the country, and get their Council Strips. The two weeks went by way too fast, and it was sad to see the Jamboree area disappearing off into the distance behind the bus. This is a great thing to do for all you younger Scouts who won't be 18 by 2005, or who want to attend the World Jamboree in Thailand!

Camp Alexander

By anonymous

Camp Alexander is the nicest camp the Troop has been to.  This year 27 scouts went to camp, only 25 survived the week.  Our campsite was on "Cardiac Hill" the first few days were rough getting used to the climb.  The staff had spotted a mother and her cub and a 450 pound male.  Trash patrol became important because this time of year the bears are looking for easy fattening food.  The next campsite over had a bear in their trash.  We just had a raccoon get into our trash, a bear would have made a better story.  Personally I think the bears just didn't want to climb the hill up to our campsite.  Some of the ASM were pretty funny all bleary eyed in the morning making Cowboy Coffee to get their morning caffeine.  Regardless of what they tried, they always ate grounds and our hot water for cocoa and cider was saved.  Fishing was one of the merit badges a lot of the guys were signed up for. Wed. was catch and keep day, the only guy to catch a fish wasn't going for the merit badge.  We all learned how to gut the fish.  It was gross to kool depending on who you talk to.  We cooked Kile's fish at the campsite and ate it.  It was much better than the "catered food from the Marriott in the chow  hall." A rumor I don't believe.

We had a lot of FUN and did do merit badge requirements and rank advancement.  The Kiva was great for open and closing ceremonies. I think we are all looking forward to another week at Camp Alexander.

Tall Ships

by Byron S.

When the nine of us left DIA on July 8^th we knew a little of what to expect, but it would not compare to the experience that we would have for the next week.  We took a shuttle van from the Seattle airport to the ferry at Anacordus.  This ferry took us to Friday Harbor, where the SS Odyssey awaited us for our trip.  Once aboard the ship we were read the rules and divided into two watches.  After this one was on the deck doing the work that was required to clean or sail the ship.  The watch that was below deck either cleaned or you might have a few precious hours with which were your own, the most highly thought of use of this time was to take a nap.  we were behind on sleep for the whole week this was because we had to stand a two hour watch every night to make sure the ship did not drift, or drag the anchor.  But mostly we had a of fun as we learned the basics of sailing a ship.  The crew made very sure that we knew all of the stuff that involved sailing the ship.  By the end of the week we knew the difference between a sheet and a sail, a toping lift and a halyard.  Every night we got to row the two ships boats to shore to do something, like go on a hike, take a shower, or go into a town and walk around.  We had beautiful sunny weather the entire week which as rather odd for this area.  This was by far the best high adventure trip that I have ever done, I would gladly do it again.  It was sad that the week was over so quickly as we flew back the morning of the 14^th

Eagle’s Nest Wilderness Trip

By Will M.

The llamas Paco and Sergio leads us up the trail to the Eagles Nest Wilderness for a beautiful summer weekend of fishing.  Eighteen scouts and 12 dads hiked up to Slate Creek.  We went on hikes, played games, and worked on the fishing merit badge. evening fun included telling ghost stories, playing capture the flag and roasting marshmallows.  A good time was had by all.  Even the llamas didn’t want to leave.

11th Annual Red Cross Fat Tire Classic

By Scott L.

On the third weekend in June, a small group of scouts and their fathers from Troop 373 participated in the 11th Annual Fat Tire Classic.  Thirteen of us hiked and biked the trails at Winter Park.  The following is a synopsis of the weekend's events.

I rode with Assistant Scoutmaster Mike Page, Alex Page, Scoutmaster Wally Werner, Matt Werner, Mr. Swalm, and Byron S. at Winter Park’s biking rally.  Mr. Page and myself chose to be “Gonzos,” as crazy people are referred to in Winter Park, and ride an extra hard loop, while the smarter members of the group took a moderate trail to the next aid station.  The whole day was a lot of fun, even though there were times when you wanted to be somewhere else, instead of riding up 2 miles of steep incline at Tipperary Creek.  We started close to the base of Winter Park, and immediately encountered a pretty good warm-up hill.  From there we went to Lower Cherokee, to Ice Hill, then to Blue Sky.  These rides were all downhill, mostly singletrack, and they had a lot of rocks and natural jumps that were fun, and this was all topped off by a scenic ride through a meadow.  We then took a paved road to D4, our first “Extreme” course.  This course was fun, and surprisingly, not too extreme.  The main challenge was the switchbacks going downhill.  After that, we were on a country road for awhile.  We then followed No-King-Creek Shortcut to Tipperary Creek.  This is where Mr. Page and I split up and followed the T. Creek trail.  The first 2 miles were the worst, as they were all uphill.  Then came the fun part: 5 miles of downhill, technical singletrack. After the singletrack, we followed a country road to the aid station near Safeway, then rode on paved trails through the home stretch. All and all we rode 32.36 miles!

We were all tired from the tough ride the day before, so we decided to take it easy for the second day of the Fat Tire Classic.  We were on wide gravel trails most of the day.  We had a long, steady incline for 3 miles to start us off.  At the “top” of the mountain, there was an option to go up, or go down.  Mr. Page and I chose to again be mentally unstable and ride up, only for the promise of cool downhill once we make it to the top.  This time, however, we had some company, as Mr. Werner, Mr. Swalm, and Mr. Griffes joined us.  The uphill was hard, but the downhill was great as promised.  From there we took an easy ride back to base camp, finishing off the great weekend of riding.

After eleven years of hosting the event, the Red Cross was very well organized and prepared throughout the entire weekend.  The food was tasty and plentiful, there were plenty of Aid Stations on the trail, and Saturday’s activities ended with live music.  Thanks to our Scoutmaster, Mr. Werner, for suggesting this outing.  Reserve the third weekend in June 2002 for the 12th Annual Red Cross Fat Tire Classic.  We hope to see you there!

Atikokan Canoeing

by Ryan K.

On Friday, August 3rd, a group of 8 adult leaders and 13 scouts made its way to Duluth, MN and the Duluth International Airport (it only has 4 gates).  After a relaxing dinner and a movie it was time to get some rest at the Econolodge.  With fewer than five hours of sleep, it was time to load the bus that would drive us to Atikokan in Ontario, Canada, just five hours away.  We found a small restaurant to have lunch at right across the border, and nearly overwhelmed the place.  When we neared Atikokan the A/C on the bus died, making us all very miserable.  After check in and orientation it was time to try to sleep-hard to do in 100+ deg F temperatures and with billions of mosquitoes eating you alive.  The next day we headed out on the trial in two separate crews.  On the trail we were able to become acquainted with Canada, especially its food.  Smarties made by Nestle are the Canadian version of M&M's, Aero Bars are chocolate bars with funny little air bubbles, and a Canadian energy bar is like congealed baby food.  For breakfast and dinner we joked that we were fed animal food. First dog food (canned ham) and cat food (canned chicken) for dinner and then horse food (dry oats) and bird food (hydrated bird seed) for breakfast.  Even with such unusual meals the trip was truly awesome.  The scenery was beautiful and the fishing was great.  We were able to see some beautiful sunsets from our campsites and enjoy evenings of laughter thanks to our resident comedian.  The chance to portage through knee deep mud and paddle down 'fastwater' was unforgettable.  On Saturday, August 11th we traveled back home.  Beginning with a 5:30 AM wake up call for breakfast and ending with a 2:00 AM (Sunday) arrival at home and a total of six hours in airports as a result of layovers the day never seemed to end.  All of the unusual and unexpected aspects of this trip made it even more memorable.  It was a great experience that I would recommend for anyone-it is truly something you will look back on for the rest of your life.  We had an amazing crew-we couldn't have done it without each other.  On behalf of all those who attended I would like to thank Deb DesMarteau and Howard Entin for doing such a great job organizing this trip.

Troop Committee

June 2001