With gas prices continuing to rise, the cost of fuel has to be weighed even when deciding on backpacking and hiking trips. Not that backpacking in Silver Falls isn’t worth the 6 hour drive (it is), but our current discretionary income mandated something closer to home.

Did you know that Bainbridge Island has miles and miles of trails? These are surprisingly well developed. The only drawback is that you need to be creative (read, route some distance on the roads) for longer distances. Four of the northern trail systems link together; the rest are somewhat scattered around the island.

Great Forest East – Great Forest West – Forest to Sky – Battle Point & Ferry Dell point to point.
Just off highway 305 and Sportsman’s Club Rd is NE Wardell. It’s a quiet road, and you can add a little over 1/2 mile to your hike by starting at the beginning of Wardell. After 1/2 mile, the road turns. STAY STRAIGHT to go up the big hill to the trailhead. The trailhead is clearly evident (and so is the evidence that it’s used by horses). Use your map to choose the mileage you want. You’ll want to end up at the parking area at the junction of Mandus Olson Rd NE and Mandus Olson Rd NE (no, unfortunately, that’s NOT a typo).

From here, travel 4/10ths of a mile due west to get to the Grand Forest West trailhead. Yes, you’re going the right direction. It’s not very clearly marked and you might think you’re headed into someone’s driveway — as long as you continue west, you won’t be. (Note: if someone is looking for an Eagle project, trailhead signage might be a good one. The signage pictured is for the Miller Road trailhead.) Grand Forest West is a great place to practice your map and compass skills. You want to end up in the northwest corner parking area on Miller Road.

The Forest to Sky Trail is directly across Miller Road. There’s no crosswalk, so please be careful when crossing. Look for the little sign at the trailhead. This trail is just about a mile and straightforward. Toward the end you might feel as if you’re walking through people’s backyards, but rest assured that you are on an easement as long as you stay on the path. You will end up in Battle Point Park, a magnificent recreational area with ball fields, a planetarium, public garden, and more trails.

Add to your mileage on the walking trails, or head straight to the northwest corner parking lot. Across and just east of it is a short walk to Ferry Dell. It’s very pretty and worth the extra distance.

Fay Bainbridge Park is the only public camping area on the island. Beautiful? Absolutely. But when you add in the frogs (make sure to choose a site as close to the day area for less frog noise), the undisciplined children who scream until 10 pm and then begin screaming again at 6 am, and the dawn power tools from the homeowner next door, bring your earplugs if you plan to get any sleep. There are a lot of private rentals where people are willing to make deals, especially outside of summer. Or you might be able to make a joint outing with one of the BI troops, some of whom surely have a large backyard for tents.

This trip also included Manzanita Park Trail (meh) and Hidden Cove Park Trail – a nice walk through the forest once you find the trailhead, and a neat little park on the marina. Some of the southern trails could probably be stitched together, and we’ll likely head there next.

There are TONS of Geocaches on the island. For us, navigation was jumpy in most spots, but if you have a better GPS, you might find a lot of treasure.

Difficulty rating: 2/9 (Easy) Hard pressed to think of one easier.

Day 1: Start at Ceres Hill Trailhead. We had hoped to start at the Spooner Road Trailhead, but the bridge was out. It wasn’t something that could be waded. Must have been an incredible storm to have washed away a railroad trestle.

The Willapa Trail is long and flat, almost perfectly so. It’s packed gravel, and would be excellent for trail bikes. This is a rails-to-trails conversion, and it shows. Very well cared for trail, excepting some downed trees along the way. Ceres is at about milepost 10, give or take 1/4 mile. Shortly after milepost 12 1/2, there is a parking area. It was a good check-in point for the solo hiker. The trail crosses the road in a few places, but it is clearly marked with warning signs on the roads for the drivers to slow down. We didn’t see much traffic at all. Near milepost 15 1/2 is the cut-off to Rainbow Falls State Park on the left. The sign is down in a ditch. Look for the skull ship and Dryad’s Keep on the right. If you continue straight ahead, you’ll end up at another impassable bridge, after Chandler Road. You can make a left on Chandler, and another left on Leidenhaus Road and get to the park that way if you miss the cut-off.

If you like to backpack or hike alone, this is a good choice. I saw only one other person on the trail.

32 degrees outside, with weather that moves from sunny to hail to snow and rain within minutes. The plan was for 7.5, but after 6, the decision was made to warm up and do more tomorrow, when the weather was forecasted to be sunny.

Rainbow Falls is interesting. You can see the major cleanup and reconstruction that’s happening, but the campsites themselves are in need of repair. It didn’t help that it was cold, dark, and muddy. Tent up, but no stakes. Gatorade bottles to the rescue. Untied the survival bracelet to find only three feet of cord. Better than nothing. Very, very cold night worthy of the extra weight of the down sleeping bag.

Mileage: 6 miles (calculate your mileage at http://gmap-pedometer.com)

Day 2: Back the other way. Today was also 32 degrees, but at least it was cold and sunny, without a rain cloud in sight. Needed to make up the other 3 miles, so after a brief rest at Ceres, it was off for a mile and a half out and back. Dinner and reading books.

Day 3: Drive home.

Best part:
The scenery
The weather on Day 2
Sprinting the last 3 miles

Lessons Learned:
Keep your rain gear where it is easily accessible so you don’t have to take off your whole pack to get to it.
No water on the trail (except rain water); make sure to bring enough
“Check to make sure you packed the tentpoles” really means “Check to make sure you have the tentpoles and stakes.”

In the summer time, this could be a great opportunity to get in (2) 10-mile hikes with a camping night between them. With all the work that needs done at Rainbow Falls, I’m sure some sort of deal could be worked out with the ranger. All the heavy stuff is being done by the state parks folks, but the small clean-up stuff seems perfect for a Scout troop. They have showers (lukewarm, 50 cents for 3 minutes), cooking facilities, a ballfield, and a lot of trails to explore.

Merit Badge Counselor for:
Camping
Computers
Cooking
Electronics
Emergency Preparedness
Family Life
Fire Safety
Hiking
Nature
Leatherwork
Oceanography
Personal Fitness
Personal Management
Public Speaking
Rifle Shooting
Shotgun Shooting
Swimming
Wood Carving

District: Sinclair

How did you get started in Scouting?
My wife, myself and several people restarted Pack 4549 at Holy Trinity in October of 2005. By February of 2006, the original leaders had left for various reasons and I “volunteered” to put my name in the Cubmaster slot in order to recharter the unit. Another Dad, Felix, and I pretty much shared the Cubmaster / Den Leader roles for the next few years.

Were you a Scout?
Yes. I was a Bear, Webelos (1 year?) and a Boy Scout from about 1979 to 1983. I made it to 2nd Class Scout, was a Patrol Leader, and remember needing only a First Aid signoff to complete my 1st Class rank. I attended nearly every outing that our Troop scheduled, but I seem to remember that the Troop meetings became very boring for me.

What’s your favorite badge?
None in particular, but I do enjoy the outdoor badges more than the behavioral badges.
Why?
It allows me to see more of the Scouts’ effort, details and personality in hands-on badges than I do in some others. Some badges are more ‘in your head’ which is great but not as exciting to “watch”.

What do you like best about merit badge counseling?
As a former Navy and current corporate and BSA trainer, I like to discover how the Scouts learn about things, how they form and work in teams and what interests them. Leaders live for those “AHA” moments. Counseling improves my interpersonal skills and makes me a better leader and Father. There are many parallels between team dynamics in the corporate world and the Scouting world if you pause, look and listen.

What’s the best way for Scouts to reach you?
E-mail – jayklega@yahoo.com

Day 2: aka E’s Bataan March
Note to self: Don’t ever let the kid who runs half-marathons set the pace. For some, it’s about the destination. For others, it’s about the journey. The two don’t mix so well. We covered the first 7.5 miles in less than two hours. Not a big deal if you’re just hiking or jogging. A much bigger one when you’re carrying a full load. When we got to the top of the hill where the highway would carry us across Copalis River, G was spent. “We are stopping NOW. That or you’ll be calling an ambulance.” Truthfully, G didn’t look so good, and isn’t in the best shape, and the 30 minute break was probably not enough. We hiked to the Copalis Beach bridge, and then decided that maybe we ought to turn back to the campsite we’d seen along the way and call it a day.

We had planned to go a little further, but G needed to stop. Stayed at Sunrise Resort. They’re a membership RV group, but they let us purchase a day camping pass. Hot showers! Neat-as-a-pin, obviously well cared for grounds, nice people, a clubhouse, and heated bathrooms. Heaven after a strenuous day. Since this was a no-campfire trip, J fired up the backpacking stove and we had a hot dinner. The Alpine Design Hiker/Biker Tent is made for one, but sleeps two teens. G slept under the stars. That worked out okay even with the rain because of the tarp covering the sleeping bag.
mileage: 9.5 miles

Day 3:
Cold, wet morning where nobody really wanted to get out of their sleeping bags. But up we went, packed up and were ready to go. “Just 5 more minutes until the clubhouse opens and there is hot coffee,” J wished as E took what seemed forever to retrieve his boots from the heated bathroom. With coffee in hand, we made our way across the bridge again to a gorgeous, foggy beach. The casino near Ocean City State Park was visible almost from the start, and seeing it actually made the walk feel longer rather than shorter. “I’ll meet you there.” J and G were pretty happy to hear that, as E took off at his marathon pace. He may have gotten there an hour before us, but he missed all the neat things along the way: a baby seal, huge eel, and baby walrus (dead, unfortunately), rotting jellyfish, men prospecting (and finding!) flour gold at the mouths of the creeks, a ghost ship made of driftwood.

Something really interesting was that there’s an airport ON THE BEACH at Copalis. We didn’t actually see any planes, but it was strange knowing that they could land there. Cars drive on the beach there, too.

When we finally got there and had lunch, we all agreed that we were not too tired to start our journey back. It was raining some, and we decided it was better to backpack in the rain than sit in it. So the packs went back on and we headed back the way we came. Rain and dust, and sand in our shoes. Not the most fun way to hike. Although we passed Sunrise and looked longingly at its hot showers and warm clubhouse, we opted for Echoes on the Copalis River. It was cold, starting to rain, and the facilities worked but needed some attention. The tent went up very quickly. A FlameDisk for a quick, hot dinner, and then everyone was so tired that it was in to bed for a long night’s sleep.

Well, sort of. G was sleeping on the ground under a tarp — one that crane flies didn’t seem to have a problem infiltrating. We were glad to have a screened tent!
mileage: 12 miles

Day 4:
By now, our feet are hurting. Wishing I would have brought more socks. But we’re on the home stretch, and that’s a good thing! The clouds have parted, the fog receded, and it’s a gorgeous warm and sunny hike. Amazing weather and views! Made it back to the resort in good time. Set up the tent, had dinner, lattes, a hot tub, and went to the movies (smart idea to make the resort the last night, after all the mileage had been completed).

That night was rainy and VERY windy and the tent fluttered in J’s face all night, but it was the last night to sleep on the ground.
mileage: 8.5 miles

Day 5:
Wake up to E’s alarm and him saying, “Start the car.” 10 minutes to pack up and leave. 3 hours to get home to a hot shower, hot meal, and long nap.

Lessons Learned:
* When someone says they NEED to stop, stop. Need is different than want. Also, keep an eye on those who are not in as good shape to make certain they’re okay.
* The FlameDisk is worth its weight in gold. It fired up immediately, gave us 30 minutes of cooking heat, and there was no smoke for E. Though the backpacking stove and sterno fuel are smaller, the disk was easier and lighter.
* E had terrible leg cramps (probably from pushing us too hard!), but Gleukos came to the rescue. A couple of packs mixed with water and the cramps were no more. I think we’ll bring this on every long hike.
* Sleeping under a tarp with no tent worked surprisingly well and didn’t require the weight of a tent. A light screen might be in order during bug season. G pegged down one side and slipped the sleeping pad and bag underneath. Worked even when raining.
* We had a hike plan in place, but chose to modify it due to the rain. It worked out well. Flexibility is a good thing.
* Left the keys in the wheelwell this time.
* Packed light, light, light. Should’ve left the jeans behind, though. After the first day, they were just a heavy, stinky extra thing to carry. Wore old t-shirts that could be ditched after use. Lots of socks – changing them really helped.
* Line of sight is probably not the best rule when you can see for miles. E ditched us while still remaining in view. We had cellphones, though.
* Tuna packs were a great idea. Lightweight, but full of protein. The rice was dumb. It was heavy and didn’t cook properly, so I carried it the whole way for basically nothing. Crackers held up surprisingly well, and the salt was a good thing after so much exertion.

Other notes:
* You have to pay the normal camping rate to park at Pac Beach, even if you’re not there. So we asked the business by the Post Office if it was okay to take one of their spots. Hooray for nice people!
* Water sources: We planned it to stay at places with sinks and spigots. Additionally, there was a rest stop on the beach.
* So much to see – this could have been a great time to do Bird Study, too, if we had been prepared. We saw brown pelicans, thousands and thousands of least sandpipers, rats with wings, plovers, sanderlings,

Filed 11.1012 by J, E, and G

Dungeness Spit - I wouldn’t recommend this hike because it’s blazing hot at noon, and freezing cold at 4:00; and windy ALL the time. The trail was flat. It wasn’t difficult; the only problem was the weather.

See Crew 42’s Dungeness Spit report.
See 220’s Dungeness Spit report.

Lake Wynoochee – I wouldn’t recommend this hike because it felt like it almost never stopped raining. The trail was rough, and we had to move a tree. Colin ripped two ponchos; I wore a windbreaker. The trail was ten miles.

Green Mountain Summit from Wildcat Trail (ten miles) – The Wildcat Trail is a hike I would recommend. The weather was perfect. The trail was straight-forward. The downside was that I took too big of a pack.

Staircase – I would absolutely recommend this ten mile hike. The trail was a little rough, and the weather was cold.

Lower Lena Lake – This 6-mile trail was a side hike to build endurance.

Mt. Townsend (ten miles) – We hiked this on 07/25/10. We had a fun and sweaty time. The view was beautiful. We saw Mt. Baker, Glacier, Rainier, St. Helens, Adams, Crescent Glacier, and Mt. Townsend. We gained 3400′ of elevation. It took us six hours to get to the top. There were a lot of dogs on the trail. When we got back to the car, there were seventy hikers going up the trail. I would recommend this hike!

As a light rain began to fall, everyone loaded up to drive down to Hamma Hamma. As soon as we reached the turnoff and started up the Hamma Hamma River Valley, it started raining in buckets. A hard rain. The kind of rain with the wipers going full speed and you still can’t see more than a car length in front of you. We parked at the FS Trail #810, mounted up, and started up from the Trail head. It’s not a difficult or technical trail, but with the heavy rain, the trail bed soon changed into a creek. We joked about taking a kayak back down and retitling the event as a Whitewater Backpacking. There was no one behind us, and everyone we encountered was coming down to escape the weather.

At Mile 3.0, we crested the ridge line and the rains finally abated. We dropped a hundred feet or so to the base of Lena Lake, and started looking for a large enough site to accommodate all 18 of us. As luck would have it, we found an open site with several adequate flat spots that were fairly free of rocks and even had a few tree stumps that could serve as tables for our camp stoves. We quickly set up the fly for our packs and pitched our tents, setting aside 2 of the Crew to start putting dinner together. Needless to say, we were just a little moist, so the hot meal hit the spot. Temperatures plummeted as soon as the bear bag was hoisted and the sun fell, so the more valiant of us set about to find as much dry wood as could be gathered; the small campfire was started with flint and steel, and while no one could claim to have been warmed or even dried out by the fire, the stories started and morale soared.

Amazingly, we awakened to a beautiful cold blue sky with alto-cumulus. The tent rain-flies came off and were set out on lakeside logs to dry in the sun….along with the rest of us. While we were breaking camp, we found a old bronze plaque bolted to a rock: Welcome to Camp Cleland, Tumwater Council, 1939. Wow, imagine that, this place was dedicated over 70 years ago by Scouting. Not surprisingly, we all stood up a little taller and hiked out in less than half the time it took to hike in the afternoon before. Day hikers coming up the trail commented incredulously, “You really camped up there last night? In that weather?” I guess there’s only a short gap between being mentally tough and just being plain stubborn. We hauled out a lot of trash and wondered what Camp Cleland would look like in 2081. Back at the cars, we reflected on the weekend and promised to come back in better weather and swim the Lake.

As reported by Crew 1042. Used with permission. Are you interested in an active Venture Crew (for young men and women 14-20) in the Silverdale area? Contact Crew 42 for information.

National Outdoor Awards may be earned in the following categories: Camping, Hiking, Aquatics, Riding, and Adventure. The NOA awards are tracked on ScoutNet as national awards.

Camping

Most Scouts will earn the Camping segment without any extra effort save keeping track of those Scout campouts. The requirements are:

1. Earn the First Class rank.
2. Earn the Camping merit badge.
3. Earn two of the following three merit badges: Cooking, First Aid, Pioneering.
4. Complete 25 days and nights of camping – including six consecutive days (five nights) of resident camping, approved and under the auspices and standards of the Boy Scouts of America – including nights camped as part of requirements 1 through 3 above.

Hiking

1. Earn the First Class rank.
2. Earn the Hiking and Orienteering merit badges.
3. Complete 100 miles of hiking or backpacking under the auspices of the Boy Scouts of America, including miles hiked as part of requirement 2.

Including? The MINIMUM hiking requirement for the badge is 70 miles. For Scouts who like to hike, this is a no-brainer.

Aquatics

Do you swim regularly? Like to sail? Here’s a nod to you. The Aquatics segment requires a lot of hours, but they can be split across badges. Spend some time with your local Sea Scouts to bring the number high enough, if you’re short.

1. Earn the First Class rank.
2. Earn the Swimming and Lifesaving merit badges.
3. Earn the Mile Swim BSA Award.
4. Earn at least one of the following merit badges: Canoeing, Rowing, Small Boat Sailing, Whitewater. Complete at least 25 hours of on-the-water time, applying the skills that you learned in the merit badges.
5. Complete at least 50 hours of any combination of swimming, canoeing, rowing, small-boat sailing, or whitewater activity under the auspices of the Boy Scouts of America, including time spent in requirements 2 through 4.

Riding

Future Lance Armstrong in your patrol? The Riding segment is for him.

1. Earn the First Class rank.
2. Complete at least one of the following:
1. Cycling merit badge and 100 miles of cycling; or
2. Horsemanship merit badge and 50 miles of horseback riding.
3. Complete 200 miles of riding activities, either on a non-motorized bike or a stock animal, under the auspices of the Boy Scouts of America, including the miles in requirement 2.

Adventure

The final segment is one that I predict will be the rarest.

1. Earn the First Class rank.
2. Complete either the Wilderness Survival or the Emergency Preparedness merit badge.
3. Complete 10 of any combination or repetition of the following adventure activities under the auspices of the Boy Scouts of America:
1. A backpacking trip lasting three or more days and covering more than 20 miles without food resupply.
2. A canoeing, rowing, or sailing trip lasting three or more days and covering more than 50 miles without food resupply.
3. A whitewater trip lasting two or more days and covering more than 20 miles without food resupply.
4. A climbing activity on open rock, following Climb On Safely principles, that includes camping overnight.
5. Earn the National Historic Trails Award
6. Earn the 50-Miler Award
7. Attend any national high-adventure base or any nationally recognized local high-adventure or specialty-adventure program.
Items 3a-g may be repeated as desired. A single activity that satisfies multiple items in 3a-g may be counted as separate activities at the discretion of the unit leader. Similarly, a single activity that doubles an item in 3a-d may be counted as two activities at the discretion of the unit leader.

That’s a LOT of trips, and they don’t look like the inexpensive sort!

When you’ve earned one of the badges, have your unit leader fill out this form and take it to your Council service center.

Feeling REALLY adventurous? The National Medal for Outdoor Achievement is the highest recognition that a Boy Scout or Varsity Scout can earn for exemplary achievement, experience, and skill in multiple areas of outdoor endeavor. This medal requires a Wilderness First Aid course, and Leave No Trace certification.

For further information, see National’s page at http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/Youth/Awards/NOA.aspx

Have you earned any of these? Tell us about it! Sorry, comments are closed due to spam, but email us and I’ll post your experience.

The hike along the beach was great. It was a beautiful day with no rain in sight. The tide was out, so much of the hike was on packed, grainy sand. A few hours into the hike, the tide moved in somewhat and pushed us to rocks. That was okay except for the person *cough*adult*cough* who equated “beach” with “soft sand” and wore tennis shoes instead of boots. Along the way, we identified a lot of different birds, animals, weird creatures, and rocks. We passed Ebey’s Landing, Pratt’s Preserve, and Perego’s Lake. 200′ up to the Bluff Trail. On a skinny switchbacked path. Halfway up, Duane informs us that he’s afraid of heights. He managed. Whew. Finally up at the top. Remember that little break in the line that the ranger wasn’t sure of? It was the END OF THE TRAIL, an impassable gorge. Augggh!

That meant backtracking all the way back to Ebey’s Landing, to where we would have been in the first place if we had taken the other route (not that I’m saying “I told you so”). We hiked through the incredibly beautiful Ebey’s Landing, through some neat-as-a-pin farms, past a very cool cemetery, and on to the Kettles Bike Path. A few miles up the road, and everyone’s feet were feeling it. “Only two more miles… oh, wait; those are whole miles, not half miles.” We found the Kettles Trailhead and felt that we were on the home stretch. By the end of the two miles (two real miles) to the other end of the trail, it was getting dark. Which way? Without going into details, let’s just say we got a little turned around and made a big circle. We were on a road, so not too terribly concerned about staying lost, but we gained some practical experience about hiking close in the dark, keeping the smaller people in the middle, and making noise as we went. When we were nearing the end of our pleasant moods, we got to a sign that read, “Falling can be deadly!” — the bluff trail that would lead to our campsite. That wouldn’t do. Lakeside Middle School was camping out nearby and gave us a bus ride to the camp (roundabout, would’ve added another 1.5 miles). Bless them! [$21 cash-only for camping. Same with Casey.]

By now it was 10 pm, we were all tired. Forget a lengthy prep for dinner. Cup o’ Noodles to the rescue. We cooked up the meat that had to be eaten that night, and otherwise ate noodles. Into bed for a well-earned sleep!

Mileage: conservatively 11 miles. That doesn’t count any “lost” mileage. My feet say closer to 13.

Day 2:
7:00 is NOT sleeping in. Go back to bed, Caleb! We were all finally up by 9:00. Breakfast, then breaking camp. Ready to go by 11:00. The park host told us there was beach access near the bunkers. She lied. She was misinformed. It was a nice walk and certainly was interesting, but we ended up backtracking (again) to Kettles Trail. Out to the road; the two miles seemed much faster in the daylight. We followed Kettles Bike Path into the town of Coupeville. By now, the familiar call of teen-aged boys (”I’m hungry”) could be heard with regular frequency. There’s a Pizza Factory on Main Street, and it was a welcomed sight! Hmmmm… and a bus stop. We’d already hiked 5.5 miles (at least) today plus the 11 (at least!) yesterday, so mileage wasn’t an issue. Did we want to hike down the road and get to camp in time for dinner and sleep, or did we want to take the bus and have some time to explore Ft. Casey? It was a unanimous decision. Made even better when we found out the bus was FREE.

Ft. Casey is great! What a wonderful place to explore. We set up our tents across the street from the ocean, then headed to the Fort to play. Came back to fix a late dinner, Caleb built a huge fire, then we stayed up and talked. 5.5 miles meant that we weren’t very tired, but we all slept pretty well.

Day 3:
We headed out for a nature walk where Duane helped us with plant identification. Then it was off to the beach for shells and rocks for our Nature merit badges. We skipped breakfast because we were less than an hour from getting on the ferry, and knew we could have a big lunch back in Pt. Townsend. Packed up and headed out.

Conclusions:
Absolutely beautiful!
Next time, we will go with the map as written rather than with unknowns.
Would be a blast to go cycling here.
The trip was fun except that it took so long for us to find our campsite the first night.

~Alex, Caleb, David, Duane, Patrick

We headed to the south trails just to get our feet wet – literally. There was mud everywhere, and puddles that grew into ponds. It was interesting trying to cross logs and balance with a pack on. Very different than doing it with just a daypack. Campground Trail was a flat and easy walk, albeit very wet. We missed the cut-off to 214 and ended up backtracking to almost the beginning. Duane spotted it on the way back, and we were once again on track. It hooked into the Howard Creek Loop after about a third of a mile. Some elevation gain/loss on this trail; much more interesting and beautiful with all the vegetation, creeks, ponds, and bridges.

Since we weren’t in a hurry, we had planned on three hours for five miles. Our pace was un*char*ac*ter*is*ti*cal*ly [8 points for Alex!] closer to a leisurely mile an hour, stopping to look at things and talk, and so we ended up hiking back after dark. Alex had a pretty powerful lantern with him that let the rest of us save our batteries.

Sandwiches for late dinner. We needed to bring more food, and to double-check that everyone packed what they were supposed to. Monopoly and hearts, then off to our tents for the night. It rained pretty heavily all night long, but we had chosen our tent sites well and were mostly very dry.

Mileage: 4.5 miles

Day 2:

Duane and Mrs. G up early to … snow? Only for half an hour or so, but snow in April? It was followed in quick succession by hail and then rain. Oatmeal for breakfast to keep us warm for what looked to be a miserable day. Since our tents were wet, we cleaned them up and dried them off in the bathroom. That was sort of strange, but it worked. Trekked our gear to Horse Camp, our second site. Set up tents with frozen hands and rechecked the rain gear. It wasn’t too hard to set up tents, even with cold hands, and I was surprised how quickly they came up and down.

We started out toward the Trail of Ten Falls with an ugly, grey sky above. Oregonians have a saying, “Don’t like Oregon weather? Wait a minute.” Thankfully, it’s true. “Good weather would be nice, God.” From Duane’s lips to God’s ears – beautiful blue skies! Our spirits buoyed, we quickly covered the area to the trailhead.

Wow! Breathtakingly beautiful South Falls loomed before us. Through the heavy hail, we could see specks of people at the bottom. With careful steps we made our way down the switchbacks. Majestic is the best way to describe it. South Falls was worth the whole trip. We talked a lot on the trails and I enjoyed getting to know everyone better. This was a good mix of people, and everybody was interesting to talk to. I liked that it was only a few boys, and we all get along well and have a lot in common. Age is a lot less important than liking the same things.

We reached several more falls on a trail that had very little elevation gain — don’t let that fool you; little NET gain, but it was a lot of up and down. Although South Falls was easily the most spectacular, Double Falls allowed us to get close. Lower South Falls was deafening, and the sheer amount of water was incredible. We would definitely like to come back, though doing it as a day hike without the packs would be better!

Exhausted (well, SOME of us were; Caleb’s energy knows no bounds), we reached the top – where Duane promptly left his lunch on the side of a tree. We need to remember to pack pain relievers and anti-nausea medicine for the next trip. Alex had twisted his ankle – two miles back. It wasn’t sprained (just painful), but David took his pack for the walk back to the campground. The walk back seemed a lot longer! Inside the park, Mrs G and Alex hitched a ride from a ranger to the Horse Camp. She told us that we were camped near a mountain lion trail and to move our tents closer together. How comforting! She said for us to consider moving to a more populated site since we were the ONLY people in the horse camp. Safety first – tents taken down yet again (we are getting to be pros!) and moved to the main, populated campground.

Dinner was Cup of Noodles. Good stuff and easy to carry! Probably should have brought more, though. I think for the next trip we should bring some actual dinner, though. We had a stove and could have made better use of it. Played cards until bed. We should probably bring some other games next time, too, like Mille Bornes or Uno.

Distance: Mrs. G, Alex – 11.7; David, Duane, Caleb – 12.9

Day 3:
A leisurely breakfast of leftover food and protein bars. Pack up camp, and head out. Because of the upper campground closure, we backpacked so much the day before that we were well over our minimum, and we had done most all of the trails. A LONG drive home to our own beds – hooray!

Conclusion:
I would definitely love to return since it was truly amazing.
The experience was definitely worth it.
A very beautiful place that I would like to return to.

~Alex, Caleb, David, and Duane

Do you have a hiking or backpacking trip report that you’d like to share? Simply email kitsapscouts@gmail.com.

See Hike Reports on various places here. Feel free to add your own. Requirement 7 states, “After each of the hikes (or during each hike if on one continuous “trek”) in requirements 5 and 6, write a short report of your experience. Give dates and descriptions of routes covered, the weather, and interesting things you saw. Share this report with your merit badge counselor.” If your counselor agrees, you can use one of the same formats as those posted.

Hiking Resources

Kitsap Volkssporters takes monthly hikes of varying lengths and difficulties. If you’re working on your badge without the rest of your troop, this could be a good alternative.