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Troop 1849 BSA Springfield Virginia |
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High Adventure
Hello Outdoor Adventurer! Are you ready to get out of the house and into an adventure that will leave you enjoying the magnificent world around you? Then High Adventure is for you!
High adventure is a type of outdoor experience. It typically is meant to include activities like backpacking, hiking, kayaking or canoeing. It may also include mountaineering, rock climbing, mountain biking, orienteering, hang gliding, caving, paragliding, rafting, mountain biking, rappelling, rock climbing, sailing, scuba diving, skiing, snowboarding and hot air ballooning; just t name a few.
While some of these experiences may seem a bit extreme, Boy Scouts offers a number of safe, credible and exciting programs to various Troops to make these experiences possible. Whether your desire is to explore the surroundings in your own backyard or elsewhere, check with some of the adults Scouts in your troop as well as with your Scoutmaster, Sandy Rothberg, about what interests you. These persons have a wealth of knowledge in various areas of expertise that are waiting to be untapped.
Below you'll find this month's adventure described.
2009 February's Outing - West Fork Trail in Gladys, WV
1849’s Forever Scouts (AKA the Old Goats) were off exploring for another
hi-adventure site for the Troop in February. This time it was the West
Fork Trail, with a trail head starting point at Gladys, West Virginia.
While fully prepared for a cold weather winter adventure, there was
definitely more snow on the ground at Gladys than at Springfield and the
Goats soon found out that “a chance of snow showers” translates to 3 to
5 inches of new snow when one crosses the boarder into wild and
wonderful West Virginia.
(from left to right) Jim Silverthorn, John Tindall At 23 degrees, you have to be careful of one's Pete Davidson. Now that's what I call winter! drinking water changing physical properties!
John Tindall, Pete Davidson and Dan Wynne take in the splendor of Mother Nature without the concern of motorized wheels on their heels!
The trail’s website states that in 1881, by act of Legislature, the
Potomac and Piedmont Coal and Railroad Company was reorganized as the
West Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railroad Company (WVC&P), with Henry
G. Davis as president and Davis' son-in-law, Stephen B. Elkins, as
vice-president. The railroad's main line was completed to Elkins, WV, in
1889. Davis formed another railroad, the Coal & Iron Railroad, in
December 1899. On August 1, 1903 the C&I completed a rail line from
Elkins connecting with the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway (C&O) at Durbin.
On November 1, 1905 Davis sold the Coal & Iron Railroad to the Western
Maryland Railway Company. At that time it consisted of 46.4 miles of
main line track and 5.8 miles siding used initially to haul lumber out
of the Cheat Mountain area and upper Greenbrier River Valley. The
railway began hauling coal from the Cheat Mountain and Point Mountain
coal fields after the decline of the timber industry.
It later became part of the CSX Transportation network. With the switch
from timber to coal the traffic on the section of track from Greenbrier
Junction to Durbin dropped off. This 28 mile section of track was
eventually abandoned. In 1986 it was taken over by the US Forest Service
and became the West Fork Trail.
The Goats chose a ten-mile trek and overnight campout which was truly
made spectacular by the falling snow. Pete Davidson, Jim Silverthorn,
John Tindall, and Dan Wynne managed to stay warm and dry, enjoyed a
wonderful evening meal around a crackling campfire. Despite a slow
4-wheel drive crawl to get back to the main road after the walk-out, all
agreed that this winter trip could be a great addition to the Troop’s
winter adventures which include our famous Freeze-O-Ree. Special thanks
to Pete Davidson for mapping the route and driving.
Dan Wynne casually enjoying a rest stop Jim Silverthorn is ready for the cold and to get going! and taking in the beauty of the landscape.
2008 October's Adventures
Hiking...in October....in Maryland
Three of 1849’s adult Scouters took part in a true “scouting” outing on
18-19 October. Bill Florence, Pete Davidson, and Dan Wynne did a 20.4
mile backpacking loop through Maryland’s Green Ridge State Forest and on
part of the C&O Canal Tow Path Trail, while scouting for future Troop
activity sites and as a "warm up" for the November 8th Hike-O-Ree (a
mere 9.5 miles). They covered 13.3 miles on Saturday and enjoyed the
wonderful fall scenery as well as traveling through the Paw Paw Tunnel.
The tunnel is 3,118 feet long and you can just barely see the light at
the other end. It's kind of spooky, especially in the middle where it's
dark…and cold…and wet...perfect for a group of young (or not so young)
Scouts There is a steep alternate hiking trail around if you don't like
dark and wet and creepy places.
Green Ridge is Maryland's second largest state forest consisting of
46,000 acres of oak-hickory forest in the Ridge and Valley Province of
the Allegheny Mountain chain. The region's average annual precipitation
is the lowest in the state -- just 36 inches -- creating pockets of
prairie like habitats known as shale barrens. Unusual plants, like the
Prickly Pear Cactus, Large Blazing Star and Kate's Mountain Clover are
found here. The unique plant and animal diversity of the forest is
preserved in several designated areas as State Wildlands.
Prickly pear cactus Blazing Star Kate's Mountain Clover
After an overnight campout back in the State Forest (and a chance to
celebrate Dan’s 56th birthday around the campfire),
they enjoyed the fall vistas along Maryland's Log Roll Trail and
Town Creek Valley before returning home. All deemed this loop
was a great way to work toward the Hiking Merit Badge, Camping
Merit Badge, or just a High Adventure Outing.
Dan
The Backpacking/Camping Diehard Adventurers -
Bill Florence, Pete Davidson and Dan Wynne
