Trip Report: Camp Hi-Sierra 2021

It’s over for another year! It’s been 2 years since the troop’s ‘annual’ visit to CHS. We had 20 scouts this year, along with seven adults providing coverage through the week. It was a hugely successful event with all scouts gaining screeds of merit badges,  6 Saga rank advancements and 5 specially nominated awards (4 Honor Patrol black beads, Dope Cope Rope climbing honor).

It is with mixed feelings I report that Troop 260 regained its traditional place of a complete no-showing in the camp wide games leaderboard  (knots aside – we monstered that one). But, as always, we competed with tremendous heart and had fun!

Throughout the week, in between the dust clouds, the lost water bottles, the misplaced scout shirts, ‘lost’ backpacks, and occasional sliced finger, much fun was had. Our youngest scouts made great progress on advancement through their early ranks, along with gaining new skills and their first merit badges. Our more experienced scouts undertook some service projects, and helped other scouts review and complete requirements, and navigate CHS roles.

We had one of our largest continents ever at the polar bear 6:00 a.m. swim (the water was MUCH warmer than 2019 probably had a lot to do with this). Our stewards of the day set the table, cleared food, and ensured everybody was well fed.

You can see the many pictures below that tell the story better than I can here. 

Thanks must go first to our scouts for putting their energy into the program and all the achievements they gained and experiences they had. Supporting them are large list of people: 

  • all our adult leadership at the camp during the week – Donald, Cheryl, John, Vince, Kathy, Phil, Sarah).
  • our scoutmaster Scott, and Carolyn Calzia who planned and admin’d the trip
  • All of our drivers (Denver, Richard, Tiffany, Ram, Sudha, Glenn, Whitney, Amie, Dave, Phil, Kathy, Cheryl, Ivo, Kelli, Sarah, John) especially the ones who drove up and down in a single day!
  • John and others for attending many of the CHS briefs and safety protocols evolved over the past 6 months
  • and, of course, all the amazing CHS staff under Bruce, Nate and Conover for making this happen; they are truly amazing.

We leave behind 2 scouts who are joining 2 already there as Counsellors in Training (Emily, and Richard joining Niko and Enzo). And 1 staff member (Harris).

Troop 260 has signed up for week 1 of camp in 2022 – June 26 to July 2. Mark your diaries now!

The 2021 Camp Hi-Sierra album!

Trip Report: Ohlone trail (Boyd Camp)

Less than an hour’s drive took us to the trail head, and from then we took it easy with the steep climb up to Boyd Camp about 2.2 miles in. We made it in a bit over 2.5 hours and enjoyed loads of time at camp to loaf, relax, climb trees, play ninja and cook up some food.

A bunch of us then took an afternoon hike down to William’s Gulch – a short ~1/2 mile but with 500 feet of elevation gain. oof. Lots of water was drunk on the way back up! We found a lovely shaded gulch and some gently moving pools at the gulch and caught a glimpse of the onwards trail to Stewart’s camp.

The scouts were up at 0600 for an 0700 departure and we were back at the cars barely 1 hour later!

This weekend was made even more special as it was a double first:

  • first time for the Troop (if recent history) backpacking on this part of the Ohlone Trail
  • first time with one of our female youth leading trip (thanks Acting SPL Emily C!)

More on this route

The glorious outhouse at Boyd Camp, click image above or here for full gallery.

Pack 259 Bridging

For reasons they may yet come to fully understand (!) the entire graduating webelos class of Pack 259 joined Troop 260 yesterday – w00t.

All 9 (Ben D., Bobby B., Cruz S., David M., Josheph M., Jaden P., Santiago B., Xavier G, Joshua A.) will find new patrols and a new adventure on the next stage of their scouting journey. Welcome all and their families – adventure awaits!

T260 sucks up an entire pack, and there is still room for more (Hilbert’s hotel?) – gallery here, or click above.

#pixnparks 8 (or 7?)… anyway, The Finale!

The perfect ‘rona-safe set of activities for T260 concluded last weekend with our final scheduled Pix-in-Parks challenge: Coyote Lake Harvey Bear. (Those of you with keen eyes that also attended Jimmy’s Eagle Project will have spotted the used fishing line disposal tubes placed along the road along the lakeside)

Despite being close enough to civilization to hear the 101 at times, this 3.5mile loop also offered some lovely forest, and the chance to see deer, birds, cows and even a coyote. We went on a cloudy morning which cleared but still left the skies looking good for some great photos!

For those of you that have done all the Pix-in-Parks “magnificent 7” for 2021, go here to claim you t-shirt of bandana.

A scout stands astride the mighty trail, Click here or the image above for full gallery

updated Covid-19 policy

On 18 May 2021 – SCC moved to “yellow tier”. As a result, we have updated our Covid-19 policies. The Committee ratified this new policy today and it is effective until further modified.

  1. We encourage all our families to get vaccinated
  2. We will request vaccination status from all registered adults and youth – and update it over the coming months
    1. We are now required to gather this through medical forms, but may also need an additional check / register
  3. Fully vaccinated adults and youth will follow the County guidelines – no masks outdoors (with the exceptions observed) – and masks indoors
  4. Non vaccinated adults and youth follow the County guidelines – masks outdoors (when distancing isn’t possible) and indoors
  5. Adults will be able to rejoin outdoor meeting spaces, following relevant protocol (above)
  6. Maintain availability of and use of hand sanitizer
  7. Support any youth or adults choice to continue to wear a mask, even if not required

#PixNParks 7: Calero

A new park for a quite a few in the Troop (and a potential candidate lake for us to do some basic canoeing skills next year), Calero is set in the rolling hills and scattered oak tree landscape that is quintessentially California.

It seems like most of the Troop was out on Saturday morning this time – maybe going early to avoid the forecast hot weather at the end of the day. We had sightings of wild turkeys, snakes, funnel web spiders and a host of birds.

Great views from the higher sections, rounded things off to make this ~3.8mi loop an excellent start to the weekend.

Click the image above, or here, for the full gallery

Quicksilver at a moderate pace

We’re back – with backpacks!

About 25 youth and adults spent Saturday morning doing hike at Almaden Quicksilver County park. This follows our successful Alviso salt flats walk a few weeks ago, but we upped the game, introducing loaded backpacks for anyone wanting to attend this summer’s 50-miler.

It’s been over a year since many of us have had a big pack on, and we need to ramp up to being ready for a week-long trip. For some new scouts, it was their first experience of a few hours under load.

The pace was moderate, the spirit was strong. Excellent work by all.

(PS – Scouts, bring maps next time >;-/ )

Cover photo - Almaden quicksilver 210501 photo gallery
Click photo above to open photo gallery

(not so) Fresh Air

We’re BACK! First weekend activity together in … over 1 year!

Public health protocols are back into Orange Zone – so a distanced, masked, outside event was back on the cards. We dusted off plans from last October / November and gathered at yahoo! global HQ’s very empty carpark for a few miles, flat circuit of the Sunnyvale water retention ponds (hint: sewage treatment works!)

Loads of birds, lovely views across the salt flats – and a great turn out of nearly 30 youth and adults, We split into 2 groups and spent a lovely couple of hours chatting, listening to Scoutmaster history nuggets, and – occasionally – holding our noses.

We also got a chance to review the contents of our personal first aid kits, personal gear as a refresher after so long not being out.

Click on the image above, or here, for the full gallery

#PixNParks 5&6: Rancho san Antonio & Hellyer

If you want to park at the weekend at Rancho san Antonio, you have to get up early! Being so close to the city, we turned up around 0800 (or possibly even earlier) and were out of luck in all the car parks 🙁 The surrounding streets for at least 1.5 miles are all parking hostile and so we abandoned the effort and came back later in the week. Most T260 families managed to make it work and there are some great pictures of wild deer, flowers and views over Mountain View and San Jose.

Hellyer Park was a short few miles walk / bike up the Coyote Creek Trails – one of the main Class A trails in San Jose that stretches from near Historic Park in downtown San Jose to Morgan Hill. Shaded with trees mostly, and clear from the homeless encampments that mar the northern sections this was a nice walk / bike ride finishing at the popular pond (with ducks!).

Click above, or here, for the full gallery

#PixNparks 2&3 : Mt Madonna & Lexington

A combo (and backdated post) to catchup on the 2nd and 3rd mini-trips in this series. Gorgeous weather greeted our weekend walkers at Mt Madonna, with several family groups bumping into each other on the way (but avoiding the horses, thankfully).

Lexington was busier: accessible from the reservoir side and from the houses to the North, this was a quick circuit to get an excellent view of the reservoir and hills. It was a bit concerning to see the reservoir water levels so low barely into spring.

Click pic above, or here, for full gallery