Troop 10 of Great Neck, New York went backpacking in Harriman State Park on a beautiful weekend in October. Fourteen scouts and 4 adult leaders backpacked 4.4 miles with their own personal gear, water, lightweight stoves, liquid fuel, food, tents, and water filters to the Stone Memorial Shelter.
They started at the Reeves Visitor Center, and hiked to the Stone Memorial Shelter with a detour up the Diamond Mountain which afforded beautiful views of the surrounding valleys with fall colors all around. Two more scouts with two adult leaders hiked a shorter route to the shelter after the PSATs, and met the rest of the troop. Firemanship skills were taught or tested depending on the scouts’ level. Using water filters, they obtained water from nearby flowing streams thanks to recent rains.
The patrols cooked one pot meals on the lightweight stoves. The filling dinner included ground beef and rice and vegetables, and one patrol ate vegetarian. Several senior scouts in addition to cooking their own dinners, supervised the younger scouts, for safety, especially regarding the lightweight stoves. Clean-up was easy and, after a campfire and snacks, all slept well. In the morning, the scouts boiled water for oatmeal, broke camp and backpacked 1.5 miles to the waiting cars.
Troop 10 meets at the Manhasset-Lakeville Fire Department on 25 Prospect St. on Mondays at 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on school days. If you are interested to join Troop 10, please contact Dr. Dwight J Rosenstein at djrosenstein@gmail.com.
—Submitted by Dr. Dwight Rosenstein, Scoutmaster
