Advanced T4 Scouts plan, prepare and lead 22-mile backpack.

By James Taylorson —

We started our backpack at Chantry Flats then hiked down to Spruce Grove. We decided to continue on into the night. I was a bit disappointed hearing that we were going to have to  go 4 more miles in the dark but we pushed on with our headlamps until we reached Devore Camp at around 8:30pm. It was pretty cool and worth it. We set up camp, ate dinner then went to sleep.

On Saturday, we woke up and broke. We started the trek to West Fork where we bushwhacked through overgrown shrubs, fallen trees and made at least six stream-crossings. We stopped at West Fork to snack and water up for the hike to Mt. Wilson. Some of us dipped our heads in the water which felt really good!

Then we started back up the trail. When we reached Mt. Wilson at around 3:00pm, we got more water and admired the view of the city. Then we started the long trek down to Hoegees Camp, about 7 miles down hill. When we got there, the camp was totally full with Scout Troops, so we had to find a place off the beaten track.  We didn’t have to go far–about 150 or so feet from Hoegees–and found an old badminton court filled with big leaves. We set up camp and ate dinner then went to sleep.  We woke up the next morning and hiked back to the cars.

All in all it was a fun and eventful trip!