(front to back) Liam Martin, Owen Quiroz and Alex Sebastiao, with scout leader Jason Fife, take a break at a summit to enjoy the beautiful fall landscape views.
Troops 260 and 262 completed another section of the Appalachian Trail in Connecticut on a beautiful fall weekend in October. The scouts hiked a total of 14 miles from Cornwall Bridge to Falls Village. Since 2022 the Troops have hiked a different section, with an end goal to hike the entire 55+ mile portion of the trail in Connecticut. At the conclusion of every trip our scouts gather in a circle and go around and say what was positive (rose), what was negative (thorn), what are they looking forward to (bud).
The roses of this trip were plentiful. All the scouts LOVED their meals. It is exciting cooking on their personal stoves and eating ramen or a Mountain House dehydrated meal is so satisfying after a after a long day hiking. The scouts enjoyed meeting multiple thru hikers. The hikers’ stories were interesting, and the scouts admired their adventure. It’s hard to imagine hiking 2200+ miles for six to eight months. For one group of scouts their rose was being lucky enough to see a porcupine sitting curled up high on a tree branch.
Roses come with a few thorns. One of the thorns for our youngest scouts was hiking with their ‘heavy’ backpacks. For them this was their first overnight hike and first time on the Appalachian Trail. The section the scouts hiked had a fair number of ups and downs, so the up hills were a thorn at times, but they were rewarded with beautiful views, which was a rose. During the night the temperatures dropped to the mid-40s, so a few scouts were a little chilly sleeping. A lesson learned was it’s worth the extra weight to pack a knit hat, and it’s important to sleep in dry clothes, because when you sleep in your sweaty clothes it’s hard to get warm.
After this long hike the resounding bud by most was looking forward to taking a shower! The scouts also are looking forward to their urban navigation adventure in NYC in November.
After the stories are told and the roses, thorns and buds are shared, leaders close the circle with a final question, “Are you prepared?” in which the scouts respond “Yes, we are prepared.” Every trip makes them more and better prepared. They will learn lessons from the thorns they experienced, and the roses will serve to encourage them on the next adventure.