Tenderfoot Requirement #4A

4a. Demonstrate how to whip and fuse the ends of a rope.

Morrow Mountain

What an exciting trip we had to Morrow Mountain. Nearly 60 Scouts and leaders filled "Big Brown" and the church van so personal vehicles were needed to get everybody to the park. The trailer was filled to the top with Troop gear, food and personal gear. Mr Smith and I were the Trip leaders and we agreed it was a great Scout weekend.The instructor patrol worked with the Ravens to setup their tents on Friday night and then taught the new Scouts how to cook using the Coleman Camp Stoves on Saturday and Sunday morning.

Things I thought were great:

• The Ravens getting to ride in "Big Brown" for the first time. It is a rite of passage for all Troop 934 members.
• The Ravens setting their tents up for the first of many times in the dark.
• Watching the oldest Scouts working with the newest Scouts to get breakfast on the table.
• Scouts teaching other Scouts during the Fishing Merit Badge session.
• After losing their hooks while fishing I watched a couple of Ravens used their new skill of the improved cinch knot to tie a fishing hook to their fishing line.
  
• Boys handling a wiggling worm for the first time.
• Scouts scaling, cleaning, gutting and fileting the fish they were going to eat that night.
• The new boys being taught knife and axe safety so they could earn their Totin' Chip before summer camp.

Like I told the Ravens: Think of all the things you did this weekend that most of your friends at school have never done. How many have slept in a tent that they set up without their parents being there? How many have prepared a fish so they could eat it that night? How many have ever used an axe to cut up firewood or made their own breakfast and cleaned up afterwards?

This is the start of a great journey for these Ravens.

Mr. Vickers has posted some pictures from the trip.

Morrow Mountain March 09 click to go to web album

Tenderfoot Requirement #2

Tenderfoot Requirement #2

Spend at least one night on a patrol or troop campout. Sleep in a tent you have helped pitch.

On Monday night we had the Ravens practice with 3 boy leaders who showed them how to put up our Troop tents. On Friday night they will have their chance to do it themselves outside and it will be their home for the weekend. We have some older boys lined up to help with the pitching of the tents as needed.

Tenderfoot Requirement #3

Tenderfoot Requirement #3

On the campout, assist in preparing and cooking one of your patrol's meals. Tell why it is important for each patrol member to share in meal preparation and cleanup, and explain the importance of eating together.

On the trip the Ravens will prepare 2 breakfasts (,pancakes and bacon, and eggs and sausage ). They will work on setting up a sandwich lunch and for supper they will clean a fish, prepare it and then help cook it. They will also help with cleanup after the meals--the older Scouts will assist them with these chores.

I don’t think any meal taste as good as one that you prepare for yourself and your buddies.

The Buddy System/Tenderfoot Requirement #9

Here is the Boy Scouts Video on the "Buddy System"

Wikipedia list 4 groups that use the Buddy System:

1. The USA Armed Forces
2. Firefighters
3. Scuba Divers
4. Boy Scouts

Part of Tenderfoot requirement 9b deals with the use of the Buddy System inside and outside of Scouts:


Explain the importance of the buddy system as it relates to your personal safety on outings and in your neighborhood.



The buddy system is a way for Scouts to look after one another, especially during outdoor adventures. When your troop goes swimming, for example, each Scout will be assigned a buddy. You keep track of what your buddy is up to, and he knows at all times where you are and how you are doing. Now and then a Scout leader might call for a buddy check. That means you must immediately hold up the hand of your buddy. If anyone is missing, everyone will know it right away. The buddy system should always be used when a troop or patrol is hiking, camping, and participating in any aquatics activities. It's a way of sharing the good times and preventing the bad. You can use the buddy system when you go places in your community, as well, to help keep yourself and your buddies safe.


Here is the Boy Scouts Video on the "Buddy System"

Mount Morrow Trip

Thanks to Mr. Smith this is the flyer for the Mount Morrow/ Fishing Merit Badge Trip.


Who: Scouts and Leaders

When: March 6 – 8, 2009

Where: Mount Morrow State Park, Albemarle, NC (Home of Kellie Pickler)

Why: Welcome New Ravens and New Leaders

Cost: $20

What: Tired of Winter!!! Enjoy a great early spring weekend in the Uwharrie Mountains camping where the Yadkin and Uwharrie Rivers become the Pee Dee. Planed activities include.
· Learning knife safety
· Working on the Fishing Merit Badge
· Hiking the Fall Mountain Trail
· Hanging with your buddies


What to Bring:

· Bag Supper (Friday Bus Ride)
· Sleeping Bag
· Foam/air pad for sleeping bag
· Toiletries (toothbrush, tooth paste, soap or hand sanitizer etc., etc...)
· Rain jacket (no ponchos)
· Toboggan and also cap/hat if desired
· Gloves
· Pants (dry fit, no cotton)
· Shirts
· Undershirts (dry fit, no cotton)
· Underwear
· 1 water bottle
· Long underwear
· Fleece Sweatshirt
· Socks
· Small Flashlight or headlamp
· Non-aerosol Bug Repellant
· Sunscreen Lotion, if desired
· Spending Money
· Extra jacket (suitable for the weather)
· Personal First Aid Kit
· Cup, bowl, and spoon

Watch the weather in Albemarle to determine clothing.

What not to Bring:

o Electronics
o Snacks
o Cell Phones

Departure and Arrival Times

Friday 5:00 Meet at Church (Bring Supper)
5:30 Depart

Sunday 1:00 Arrive at Church
1:30 Gear Stored – Go Home

Trey Jones Expo

Trey Jones

Trey Jones was a member of Troop 934 and the Expo is in his honor and a tribute to his love of Philmont. This is from the Winston-Salem Journal article.

Trey Jones Journal article

Get Out! The passion of dedicated Scout lives on

By Lisa O'Donnell | Journal Columnist and Reporter
Published: February 13, 2009
A few months after her son died, Jan Jones gathered the strength to sort through piles and piles of his outdoor gear.
A family friend who was helping Jones surveyed the spread of carabiners, ropes, stuff sacks, packs and paddles.
"You know, Mrs. Jones," the friend said. "He really was a gearhead."
Indeed, Trey Jones loved his gear.
And he put that gear to use, most notably during summer trips to Philmont Scout Ranch, a 138,000-acre spread in New Mexico where thousands of Boy Scouts with a taste for adventure have been congregating for more than 70 years.
No question about ‘dream job'
For Jones, Philmont was a magical place where he learned self-reliance, responsibility and leadership skills in the rugged Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
"He thrived out there," Jan Jones said.
She once asked her son what his dream job would be.
"Director of Philmont," he answered without pause.
Jones never got that chance. He died on Dec. 24, 2005 from injuries sustained in a one-person car wreck. He was 22.
It didn't take Jan Jones long to decide how she wanted to honor her son.
"Probably within the first hour, I knew I wanted something done for Philmont," she said.
A scholarship ... a recipient
With the help of friends and family, Jones created the Trey Jones Philmont Scholarship, which will help pay the way for a local Boy Scout affiliated with the Old Hickory Council to go to Philmont for a 12-day backpacking adventure. The scholarship will pay for the travel expenses.
"I hope it will flip that switch for someone like it did for Trey," Jones said. "He was such a changed person."
Last week, the scholarship committee chose Dusty Daub of Pfafftown as the first recipient of the scholarship. Dusty, 16, is a member of Troop 918, which is based at Pfafftown Christian Church.
Mike Lee, the troop leader, said that Dusty loves Scouting and the outdoors.
"He knows it's going to be fun," Lee said. "But he doesn't know how much."
The scholarship is being financed in part by the Trey Jones Gearhead Expo, which is put together by Don Wright of the Village Outdoor Shop in Reynolda Village.
The expo, now in its second year, is a gathering of outdoors-equipment vendors who will be selling their new spring gear and apparel.
Representatives from Mountain Hardware, Keen, Marmot, MSR, Icebreaker, Deuter and Thermarest are among those scheduled to set up at the expo, which will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 7 at the Village Outdoor Shop. Representatives from Philmont will also be available to talk with local Scouts who will be going to Philmont this summer.
More than 120 local Scouts and adult leaders will be traveling to Philmont this summer, Wright said.
A portion of the proceeds from the expo will help finance the scholarship endowment set up by the Jones family and another scholarship that Philmont officials established in Jones' honor.
Wright says he is happy to help with the expo. He had a long relationship with Trey Jones that dated to 1996 when he sold Jan Jones a kayak that she gave to her son.
"I watched him grow up," Wright said. "He was always coming into the store and buying gear."
Philmont, and Scouting in general, helped fill a hole in Jones' life after his father, Burton, died from melanoma in 1995. Jones was in third grade at the time.
"With Trey not having a father, I trusted those Scout leaders," Jan Jones said. "Those men became the adult role models in his life, no doubt about it."
Jones said that her son loved everything about Scouting. She laughed as she recalled her young son's fondness for his uniform. "He just loved that uniform," she said. "I think that, too, ties into the gearhead thing. It identified him as part of a group."
Jones' trips to Philmont began when he was 14 and ended the summer before his death. He took several extended backpacking treks, helped build trails and directed the Roving Outdoor Conservation School, which involved overseeing conservation projects on the Philmont property.
Mark Anderson, the director of Philmont Scout Ranch, said that Jones was kindhearted and industrious.
"People still comment about what kind of person he was, and that means you've left an impression beyond being just an acquaintance," Anderson said.
"You've been a person that someone appreciates," he said. "Trey is still remembered."
Jan Jones said she hopes that Philmont will give to Dusty what it gave her son. Last week, she visited with Dusty and shared with him some of the many pictures that her son took during his trips to Philmont.
He told her he plans to bring his camera and take pictures of everything.
"And when I get back," he told her, "I'll show you my pictures."
For more information about the Trey Jones Gearhead Expo, visit www.treyjonesphilmont.com.