Troop Meeting - Planning for our 50 miler

Troop Meeting - Tonights meeting, Steven L finished Photograph merit badge by presenting a slide show presentation of photographs he had taken at Foster Falls. We spent the rest of the meeting planning for our summer camp this year which will be a 50 miler down the Collins River. We use Google Earth and a projector to plan out how far a day we will go and where we will camp. Scouts attending, Harrison H, Hayden P, Graham P, Cole M, Bryce C, Ethan H, Tyler T, Anthony H, Will G, Ethan G, and Steven L. Leaders there were Cody G, Jake M, and Adrian H. William H, and Jared K met at Gordon's.

Virgin Falls

April 8, 9, and 10th we hiked into and camped at Virgin Falls. Boys attending were Anthony H, Hayden P, Graham P, Harrison H, William H, Alexander H, Cole M, John N, and Bryce C. Leaders attending were Travis W, Jake M, and Adrian H.
We left the assembly hall a little before 12:00 noon on Thursday. By 1:15 we were on the trail. The trail has 4 legs. Part 1 goes from the parking lot to the first crossing at Big Branch Falls. This portion is a bit over a mile and mostly level. Part 2 leads to Laurel Falls and is also about a mile, perhaps a little over. This portion of the trip follows the creek and is a fairly steep decent. At Laurel Falls, we are about 1/2 way. Part 3 is slightly up hill, a bit over a mile and leads to a fork. Along this portion of the trip, you can start to catch glimpses of the Caney Fork River. At the fork you can go right to Sheep Cave or Left to the Caney Fork River or Virgin Falls. This last portion is also fairly steep. The entire trip is about 4 miles. We arrived at camp between 3:15 and 3:30.
We camped right at Virgin Falls. We left on Sat morning about 8:00 and left the parking lot at 10:20.
The temperatures were colder than expected. We have been having temperatures in the 80's but these two nights saw temperatures dip into the low 30's. Daytime temperatures were in the mid 60's. Many of us did not bring clothes or sleeping bags warm enough. On Sunday, several of us realized we are covered with Poison Ivy. Travis' eyes are almost swelled shut and would have been if not for receiving a shot from Dr. Foster. All in all, I think a pretty good trip.