Busy weekend for Troop 1916.
It started bright and early with our Scouting for Food efforts nobly lead by our very own Jason Coopersmith. Due to his brilliant and perfect leadership we managed to haul in approximately 1,700+ lbs of food. An awesome effort by all concerned and our biggest haul ever.
And then the fun really started. Our Kepler Overlook campout.
We met up at the church and then headed out west. Perfect, in not a wee bit chilly, weather was forecast. 24 scouts and 9 DADS parked up at the bottom of the hill and loaded up our packs and started the 3 mile walk up 1,100 feet. Within maybe 300 feet of the start most had already discarded sweatshirts and jumpers.
The trail winds aimlessly up a gentle incline for about ¾ of a mile and then takes a sharp turn UP. The next two miles are hard hiking but I was super impressed by ALL the guys. There was no moaning, no complaining and no melt downs. Just a bunch of tired dudes who made it to the top. Once at the top our usual spot was already taken and so we had to go a little further along the ridge and found possibly an even better spot. The views are breathtaking.
We set up camp, found enough wood for a month’s worth of fires and then cooked up various freeze dried culinary delights for supper.
As we ate the magic of Kepler began to unfold. The skies were crystal clear, the sun was setting to our west and to our east the Super Moon was rising. To me it doesn’t get much better than what happened in that hour. It got chilly but not as cold as was forecast. The star of our morning activity, Mr. Coopersmith, made sure we kept warm by designing some high rise “Jenga-type” wood construction in the fire bit that would have burned for days if not for the valiant efforts of Mr. Forrer to put it out when we all decided to turn in for the night.
We woke around 6:30, all having survived the night, and then the magic Part Deux began. Sitting up on the rock outcrop with a few of our younger guys we watched the sun rise over the Shenandoah Mountains. Some low misty clouds hugged the valley floor and as if on cue for our own personal show hot air balloons began appearing way below us.
We then packed up camp, headed back down the hill and then back to McLean.
Having the opportunity to go to a place like Kepler so close to DC is special. Max and Aaron, our two newly minted Eagle Scouts who have just aged out, made a point of coming on this trip because they love the place.
We heading out again next month and our hope and expectation is to get most of the scouts to come out. It’s not too cold, it’s not too wet, it’s not too hard. Get ‘em out and let them build memories that will stay with them forever.
See you all tomorrow at the meeting. Photos will be up soon.
MWS