2012 Outing History

2012 Calendar

2011 Outing History

Year-in-Review

Last year at this time I did a Scoutmaster Minute reviewing what the troop did in 2011. I ended with the question of what 2012 would be like for the troop. Well, we now know! - Scoutmaster David Wright

January was our outing to Angel Basin in the Superstations. This was a tough hike that we shared with the Crew. We enjoyed tortillas and honey after a 1000 ft climb up to Tortilla Pass. Scouts used their lightweight shelters and woke in the morning to find frost on their sleeping bags, frozen water bottles and cold fingers.

February was the annual snow outing, which left us all asking “where’s the snow?” Scouts participated in Merit Badge Roundup and Scouting for Food.

March was the annual Cross Over event at Bumble Bee Ranch. We welcomed Riley, Logan, Alex, Chase and Ryan into our troop. We had the usual spectacular bon fire with the new addition of fireworks. It was a long and rainy night resulting in many flooded tents and Scouts sleeping in the ranch’s office next to the stuffed mountain lion. Mr. Ballou held his Aviation merit badge class followed shortly by orientation flights.

In April we did West Clear Creek. Some Scouts saw shooting stars at night. We patched Geronimo tents down at the Scout Pueblo.

May was our Lake Pleasant outing. Fishing, cards and capture the flag in the parking lot at night. Remember our noisy neighbors that kept us up all night? We had our annual Golf Tournament with Scouts hitting golf balls on the practice range as the sun went down and the full moon came out.

June was for Geronimo. We shared our campsite with Troop 613. There were wasps in the Adirondack, the Big “G” Gold award and a car that would not start, resulting in unexpected free time in Payson with trips to the 99-cent store to buy silly string. Brenden Rawlins was awarded his Eagle Rank.

August was the 2013 planning conference at Bumble Bee. After a long day planning the 2013 calendar Scouts played in the pool and watched the movie Avatar. At night, bananas mysteriously disappeared from the kitchen.

In September we went to Aravaipa. Long drive, great trip. The Scouts built a big dam! Did you see the size of that snake? Thank goodness the snake whisperer was with us. Eddi Cini completed his Eagle Project of collecting clothes. Thomas started his Eagle Project of helping the cats with a car wash.

In October we went to Cave Creek Regional camp group for a short outing to fill in for the cancelled camporee. Tanner got up close and personal with a jumping cholla. Eddi Cini was awarded his Eagle Rank (just in the nick of time).

In November we participated in the Crew’s Superstition rescue exercise. Spencer and Spencer survived and where found alive and are still part of our troop. The troop went from having 5 patrols to having just 3.

In December was our Bike outing. It was a beautiful day for a ride through the desert. We hosted Pack 323 and got them excited about joining Boy Scouts.

It was a good year. Thank you Scouts for making this all happen!

What will 2013 bring? It won’t be the same as 2012. You’ll have to wait and see! Whatever 2013 brings remember that it is YOU that will help make it happen and make it unique.

Bike Outing

Troop323's annual mountain bike ride will be in the McDowell mountains this year. This is an 18-mile cross-country mountain bike ride through the pristine desert of north Scottsdale, ending up at McDowell Mountain Regional Park on the edge of Fountain Hills.

Only mountain bikes can participate. Trails are NOT suitable for road bikes, BMX bikes or cruiser bikes. You need to make sure your bike has recently been maintained- check brakes & gears, clean and lube chains.

From LOM we will drive to the ride trailhead which is a pull-off on the east side of Pima Rd just north of Dixileta. This is where the ride will start.

In the morning we will ride to an interesting rock formation at the foot of Granite Mountain. This is a nice place to have lunch. There are large granite boulders leaning against each other forming caves that can be explored, and holes in the ground formed by native Americans for grinding corn (mutates). This initial section of the ride is only 5 miles but involves a 400 foot climb so we will be deserving of our break at this time.

After lunch we will continue south along the foot of Granit Mountain (mostly level) for a couple of miles. Once we reach the edge of the preserve we will turn east under the power lines. This part of the ride is 2 miles long and drops the 400 feet we climbed initially; it is wide and will be fast and fun! This trail ends at 136th St.

We then take roads though the neighborhood that runs along the north side of Rio Verde Drive. The roads are mostly dirt but some are paved; they are quiet, but we will need to be on the watch for cars. We will eventually cross Rio Verde Drive at 150th St. and follow 150th St. (a dirt road) about half a mile until it enters the McDowell Mountain Regional Park. There is no vehicle access here but there is a gateway for hikers, bikes, and horses.

We will finish the ride with 4 miles of a superb swooping single track downhill trail in the park, ending up at the Staging Area Parking Lot. It’s a short ride from the parking lot to the Group Campground where we are spending the night. The campground has bathrooms with flush toilets and showers with hot water!!

Pack 323 Webelo IIs will be joining the troop at the campsite and spending the night with us. They will be assigned, temporarily, into our three patrols and will be helping with patrol duties over the weekend. Once camp is packed the troop will do a short in-park bike ride with the Webelos.

Questions? contact outing coordinator paul Folger

Outing Description
Directions to trailhead
McDowell Mntn Park Campground Map
McDowell Mntn Park Location Map
Mountain Bike Safety - Maintenance
Weather forecast

Wilderness Survival

Crew 323 performs their wilderness survival exercice at Dripping Springs in the superstion mountains.

On Thursday afternoon, Crew members head out in to the superstition mountains with only a day-pack, somewhere around Dripping Springs, They get lost, and must wait for rescue; surviving only on the items in their day-pack.

Forunately, Troop 323 hike out to Dripping Springs on Saturday November 17, and miracously rescues the "lost" crew-members on Sunday morning.

The hike from the trailhead to Dripping Springs is about 3 miles, but it's mostly through a dry riverbed; the river-rocks can make the hike quite strenous.

Questions? contact outing coordinator Darrin Kloostra

Outing Description
Maps
weather

Cave Creek Regional Park

Seven Scouts and four adults participated in the troop's October 2012 outing at Cave Creek Regional Park which is just north of Phoenix.

The group got a great 5.8 mi hike in on Saturday afternoon through the pretty Sonoran desert followed by working some advancement requirements in the late afternoon. The Scouts cooked the troop meals that were planned by the PLC.

At the Saturday night campfire we had a short flag retirement ceremony followed by some campfire games. After breakfast on Sunday the Scouts did a short hike out to Clay Mine before returning to Phoenix.

The Scouts did a great job getting camp packed up before the return trip home.

Thanks to all who helped make this last-minute trip such a success!

Aravaipa Canyon

What: Two-night trip into a wilderness canyon with running water year-round. The first night will be a car-camp and the second will be a backpack campout in the canyon.
Where: East end of Aravaipa Canyon, about 45 miles west of Safford, AZ.
When: Leave LOM parking lot at 5:30 p.m. Fri. 9/21. Return about 4 p.m. Sunday, 9/23.
Why: To experience a rare, isolated wilderness canyon with year-round running stream containing many endangered species of fish, plants and animals.

With backpacks/sleeping bags prepared and packed, we left LOM at 5:30 p.m. on Friday and drove east through Globe and beyond to the Klondyke Road (dirt). It's about 33 miles on dirt to the Fourmile Canyon Campground, where we bivouaced for the night. The campground had running water and flush toilets. On Sat. morning, we got up and drove the last 10 miles in to the trailhead. Here we park and begin the backpack trip.

It is about 2.5 miles in to Hell Hole Canyon, where we camped for the night. Since there is no established trail in the Canyon, we crossed the creek many times and occasionally hiked down the stream. Correct footwear will be essential and should be sealed off with duct tape to prevent pebbles from making you miserable. If you don't have water shoes/socks, I suggest old tennis shoes and socks, again with the sock-tops sealed off with tape.

Excellent hike! This is a beautiful and isolated part of the state. We saw deer tracks and bear tracks. The Scouts encountered a four-foot-long rattlesnake. Everyone had fun hiking in the creek and working together to build a temporary dam across the creek. Thank you to Joe Clements and all the adults who help make this special trip possible. Great job Scouts! - Scoutmaster David Wright

Maps and directions: Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness

Camp Geronimo summer camp

It takes a lot of people to make a trip like this possible. Our SPL and ASPLs planned our week at Geronimo and took turns leading the troop. The troop worked well together and I think the Scouts made the most of the opportunities they had at camp.

The boys made new friends with Troop 613 that shared campsite #2 with us. We might be able to see them again in the future. Also, having Troop 428 (with Bob Ballou) next to us in campsite #3 was fun as well. Our return trip from camp did not go exactly as planned. However, the boys made the best of the delay and seemed to have a good time while waiting in Payson.

Camp Geronimo Leaders Almanac
Merit badges at Geronimo
Must read if you are going to Geronimo

"Thanks everyone for a very successfull 2012 Camp Geronimo Experience!" - Scoutmaster David Wright

Fishing on Lake Pleasant

Fishing, hiking, and just general fun, with scouts and families, at the shores of Lake Pleasant.

The troop reserved the Cottonwood camp-site. This was a hot outing, but the troop caught a sun-fish. The burgers on the barbie was good as was the muffins on Sunday morning.

Please see outing permit for directions and outing details. Questions? contact Glenn

Lower West Clear Creek

This is an overnight (one night) hike, on West Clear Creek Trail #17, starting from the Bull Pen Cave parking area about 7 miles east of Camp Verde on Highway 260. The hike starts at the Bull Pen trail-head of the lower end of West Clear Creek. The troop hikes about two miles to set up camp next to a pool along the creek. This outing is a great introduction to backpacking for new scouts as well as parents. May 2010 West Clear Creek Outing

From the Phoenix area, take I-17 North toward Camp Verde, AZ. Take the HWY-260 (General Crook Highway) East for about six miles and turn right (North) onto FR618 (The sign refers to Bull Pen Ranch). Take FR618 for 2.2 mile and turn right on FR215 (Sign to Bull Pen Ranch). FR215 ends at the trail-head, which is 3.2 miles away. Map High clearance vehicles are recommended. West Clear Creek Wilderness

The West Clear Creek trip is a great first-time backpacking trip and is one of the troop's favorites!
Here are some important reminders about preparing for this trip:

1. The hike in both directions (to/from camp) will involve two crossings of West Clear Creek (that's what makes it fun!). Your feet will get wet! Please see photos from last year. Each Scout must bring a pair of old shoes to change into before the crossings to prevent your hiking shoes from getting wet. Hiking in wet shoes is not fun! Flimsy water shoes are not a good idea as the bottom is rocky and these types of shoes might not give you good support. An old pair of tennis shoes work fine.
2. Hiking poles are recommended for the trip to help a Scout maintain balance while crossing the creek. Given the rocky bottom of the creek, having the hiking poles helps to steady you as you cross. Hiking poles are useful for many other hikes as well and so investing in a pair now is worth it.
3. pants with zip-off leggings (like your scout pants!) are an excellent choice for this trip. Scouts can take off the leggings before the crossings to keep from getting them wet, and yet have a pair of long pants for in the evening when it will get a little cooler.
4. tip that someone gave me last year for this trip is to line the inside of your main backpack compartment with an open large garbage bag and pack everything inside of that. That way, if a backpack does get wet during a crossing the contents (like clothes) in the main compartment will stay dry (thank you Nate Foulger for that tip).
5. Scouts are highly encouraged to bring their backpacks, sleeping bags, and whatever else they think they will be taking on the outing to their Patrol Meeting this week so your patrol can review and make any suggestions. Remember that in packing your backpack you will need to leave some room for patrol equipment and patrol food that you will get the day of the outing.

Outing Description Questions? contact Dan McCarthy

You did an excellent job at this weekend's beginners backpacking outing!! Nobody had any problems hiking, or with their backpacks or equipment. You all did a great job of fitting in with your patrols and in learning to work the "patrol method". - Scoutmaster David Wright

Pictures courtesy of troop 323 historian Andrew Muscatevc.

Cross Over

The Troop welcomes Riley, Logan, Miles, Alexander, Ryan, and Chase (and their families) into Troop 323.

With Mitchell as MC of the evening entertainment, the "sunny days"-skit, with the many Pattys, seemed extra appropriate (considering the heavy rain during the night).

About 15 scouts applied for (and was granted) refugee status (from the rain) at the Bumble-Bee Ranch office. Many thanks to Glenn & Terri for the excellent fare.

Great weekend! The weather made it a bit of a challenge but it was a unique experience! - Scoutmaster David Wright

Winter Outing

The troop stayed at Camp Navajo Army Depot in Bellemont, west of Flagstaff.

On Saturday, it was downhill skiing at Snowbowl. Unfortunately, the Nordic Center was closed, so no cross-country skiing. The troop had lunch in the parking-lot at Snowbowl. Many thanks to Jan Clements for the excellent Chile (and hot-dogs). Remarkably, the scoutmaster was NOT on first-name basis with the nurse at Snowbowl (zero casualties). The troop finished off the day with dinner at NAU.

On Sunday, the sledding, at Oak Hills snow play area, was canceled, again for lack of snow. The troop, instead, checked out the "cold war"-vintage rockets on display at the army depot, before heading home.

Angel Basin Backpack

Jan 20, 21st was the Troop’s backpacking trip to Angel Basin in the Superstition Mountains. We had a group of 11 Scouts and 6 adults. We hiked a total of about 12 miles over the two days with some significant elevation changes. The troop used the patrol's lightweight shelters on Saturday night. We visited Indian ruins on the way out of Rogers Canyon on Sunday morning.

The trail starts at about 4800 feet and then drops to about 3400 feet in elevation. Then it goes back up about 1000 feet and then drops again to the elevation of 3600 feet at Angel Basin where we'll camp. The hike on Saturday is about 7.5 miles to reach our campsite. The ruins are near the campsite. On Sunday the hike is about 4.5 miles back up to the parking lot.