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HIGH ADVENTURE
PHILMONT
In 2014, Troop 19 Middleton went on a 12 day, backpacking trip to Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, NM. We prepared for months before to make sure we had all the gear and supplies we would need for our journey into the New Mexico wilderness. We carried 40 pound backpacks and all our food for around four days at a time. It also didn't help that we had chosen to do our trek during monsoon season. If you didn't think it could hale and snow in New Mexico, you are wrong! The entire first half of the week was down pouring ad all our gear was soaked. We saw really cool rock formations, an old gold mine, and hiked up Mt. Philips (11,742′). This was not an easy climb due to a wrong map reading, altitude sickness, and mild hypothermia. As the week went on, the sky treated us better giving us a few days of moderate to no rain. Our first day of sunshine, we took everything out of our bags and laid everything out to dry in a yard sale fashion. We went fishing and traveled to a Mexican style village. We finally ended our escape from the digital world by summiting the tooth of time and went down the trail of tears. Can't say there were actual tears as well. The trip definitely ended by giving us a final taste of the awful weather with a hail and lightning storm as we went back into Basecamp. Overall the experience was life-cahnging and I'm really glad I got to spend it with my friends and especially my dad.
Cyphers Mine
Preparing for Philips
Yard Sale #1
SeaBase
SEA BASE
In 2015, Troop 19 Middleton did a high adventure trip to Sea Base. Our group did a boating trip around the islands in the Bahamas with stops at the native islands and reefs. We each had a chance to steer the ship, cook, clean, and take care of the boat for five days on the water. We saw everything from small fish to a maroon tiger shark. We had some time to fish with a total of five caught throughout the week. Every night the adults would sleep under the deck, leaving us to sleep under the stars, which was absolutely mind-blowing. There was almost no light pollution down there, which made the stars super clear in the sky. Some of the days, we got to snorkel in natural coral reef off the coast of some of the islands. It was cool to see the different shapes of the coral and the fish the lived around them. On one occasion, we got to explore a small boat that sunk a few years prior. It was interesting to see how well the reck stayed together after the years of being untouched. We even met some of the natives who run restaurants on the islands, who have lived on the islands since they were kids. There were so many things they did not have that we have in our community, and it defiantly put my own life into perspective.
Mid-week Catch
Departure Photo
Island Lunch
NorthernTier
NORTHERN TIER
In 2016, Troop 19 Middleton did a high adventure trip out to Northern Tier in Minnesota. We had two crews that did opposite routes meeting half way along each of our treks. The paddling became more difficult as the week went on and I could definitely feel it in my arms by the end. Whenever we would have to change lakes, two people would grab the gear and the third would portage the canoe. Some of these stretches of land were almost a quarter-mile in length, and it definitely didn't feel any shorter. We had good weather for most of the week with the occasional thunderstorm. The scariest part was when we had to cross one of the lakes during torrential rain, with waves that would crash into our canoe. I honestly thought we weren't going to make it across. The food during the trip was all cooked by the scouts, and it wasn't bad except for the crunchy rice on the last day. There were a few occasions where we got to go ledge jumping, which was fun after a long day of canoeing. The biggest problem we had was the countless amount of mosquitos we had at every place we camped. We were however prepared with face nests and long-sleeved clothing. In the end, I am very glad I got to experience the trip with my crew and I hope will be able to do something like this trip again.
E072216I
Northern Tier Sign
Triple Crown Crew
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