On May 2nd 2009, Troop 202 attended the annual Aklan District Camporee in Bort Meadows. Troop 202 attended as two patrols this year, the Cobras and the Beavers.

The point of the Camporee is to demonstrate scout skills in a competition against 43 other patrols from all over the Bay Area to see who is most prepared and skilled in scouting to survive in the outdoors because the Boy Scout Motto is "Be Prepared".

All activities began at noon to five o' clock. There were a total of 13 events and one of the most memorable was the wall. The Cobra patrol completed the wall in 3 minutes and 27 seconds, which was the third fastest time in the entire Camporee. The wall is a 12 ft. wall, where the scouts in a patrol have to help each other make it over this 12 ft. wall in a time limit of 8 min. Both Zane and Spencer, the experienced members of the Camporee for our troop were the big contributors in helping the Cobras complete the wall in this astounding time of 3:27. They were the two muscle men at the top of the wall pulling each one of their members up with all their strength and this was what caused the excitement; how fast they had accomplished it.

This year both patrols included first time Camporee participants who are new to the troop and a couple of them include Ben C. and Kyle M. These rookies impressed everyone at how skilled they were in scouting and how eager they were to compete in the events.

This year overall both patrols did a lot better than they did last year, with the leadership of Derrick B. who prepared us for the events in the Camporee. Both patrols last year finished in the bottom rankings, but this year the Cobra patrol finished with a red ribbon and the Beaver patrol with a yellow ribbon. Both patrols did better this year and with the experience from this year, Troop 202 will be one of the stronger troops attending the Aklan District Camporee next year. Aaron

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Tenderfoots Connor, Kyle, William, Cassius and Cheyenne with Adult Leaders Mr. Merritt and Mr. Prime did a short backpack via Briones Crest Trail to Wee'Ta-Chi Group in Briones Park on Saturday April 18th.

All tenderfoots brought personal first aid kits and worked on safe use of knife, saw and ax. The Tenderfoots made a dinner consisting of Trader Joe's marinated chicken, gnocchi and carrots.

After dinner, scouts played king of the hill on a grassy large hill entered by squeezing through a fence. One team would position themselves up on the hill. The advancing team had to get one member to the hill top to win right for their team to be king of the hill. Any advancing scouts tagged returned to bottom of the hill and started advance over. -Rick Prime

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The Philmont crews undertook a strenuous hike that covered a good deal of elevation (appox. 2,700 ft over two days) on Friday (3.5 miles) and Saturday (6.5 miles). Sunday was a 10 mile hike. Hikers packed personal as well as crew gear and their own water.

Attending the hike from Crew 1 was: Stephen F, Jacob BM, David M, Aaron L, Andrew WO, Mr. Barnes, Ms. Hsieh, and Crew Chief for the outing Diego R. Crew 2 members: Jaime M, Baxter S, Mr. Will, Ms. Orrego, Mr. Brocket, Mr. Rocha, and Crew Chief for the outing Spencer W. Both Crew Chiefs worked on their planning, organizational, and communication skills with their crews and adult leaders. Three cheers for the Crew Chiefs!

The weather was great (no rain!) but it was the hottest weekend to date and both crews were able to see from a distance that some hikers were air lifted out of the park but Troop 202 was able to make the trek without incident. The vistas of the SF Bay Area, when we stopped to sneak a peak, were stunning and the wild flowers were in full bloom. The cows were ok also.

The outing was undertaken in preparation for High Adventure, which will take place at Philmont Scout Reservation in northern New Mexico this coming July.

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Write up in Progress

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Write up in Progress

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Write up in Progress

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Write up in Progress

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Troop 202 assembled at the Mountclair Teacher's Parking Lot at 8am Saturday, November 8th, 2008. The first task for the day was the scouting for food drop off. The witnesses to this event did not recall how many drivers there were, or who drove.

By noon the troop arrived at Los Mochos camp site, which is near Livermore. They had lunch.

After lunch they set up sleeping quarters which was in a cabin with several bunk beds. The troop did orienteering and compass work, which was called "Jake's Big Challenge".

Later the cooks were dismissed to the mess hall to prepare dinner which was stir fried

It rained most of the night at Los Mochos. It finally stopped raining in the morning.

For breakfast the troop had muffins. Some of the boys went off to do archery at the range which was fairly close to the camp.

At 11am, the troop departed for home.

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On Friday, 10/10/08, our troop arrived at the Hodgkin’s Meadow Campground where it had already started to get cold. After setting up our tents and kitchen, some of us played a seriously fun game of football. Then, it was dinnertime and we had chicken and tomato soup with buns.

The next morning we woke up to 18 degree Fahrenheit cold. One of the scouts almost got hypothermia but the troop took care of him. We made a fire and had oatmeal and hot cocoa for breakfast.

Our hike that day was on the Mist Trail, which goes up to Vernal and Nevada Falls. On the way up to Vernal, my crew had a major incident with one of the adult leaders. Luckily, nobody panicked and our older scouts (Jake, Derrick and Mark) took perfect control of the situation. The adult leader was escorted back to Curry Village.

At Vernal Falls, where we ate lunch, we met the other group, who came along the switchback trail and arrived hungry. We made sandwiches for everyone and then my crew began the ascent of Nevada Falls. We got amazing views and got to the very edge of the falls. It was scary but the fence at the top made if feel safer. However, the best part was watching Derrick’s water bottle roll under the fence and off the falls into the rocks below! We laughed and laughed but not everyone was happy. While we were at the top, it started to snow a little. We also saw beautiful icicles formed on frozen little waterfalls along the trail down.

According to the Thorns and Roses that night by the campfire, everyone really seemed to enjoy their day in the valley, especially the ones who finally made, after years of waiting, it to the top of Nevada Falls.

That night was also really cold and one scout in particular (no names, er, Jake!) forgot his sleeping bag on the trip but was helped by everyone to stay warm. Everyone survived this night better. Meanwhile, we sang a Zulu song at the campfire.

The next day we ate Mountain Man Meal in the Dutch oven pots. The food on this trip was a great improvement over last year. We were more organized and it was a great trip! After cleaning up the site and packing, Mr. Bostick led the troop in a meditation circle in the real Hodgkin Meadow with the warm sun and silence. It was a nice way to close the trip. Many went back to Yosemite and others went home. Great trip!

- Matan B. 10/14/08

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One Saturday in September our Troop, 202, went to the Russian River. The weather threatened to be rainy but turned out perfect. We started from a point in the river and canoed about eleven miles. The river was running good, even in late summer. As a result, we capsized a lot by getting caught up in the brambles and overhanging branches as the river kept pushing against the boats.

After a lunch break, even the electronics boat, loaded with everyone.s cameras, capsized. Mr. Will.s camera, among others, was ruined. The was the unfortunate price of too much fun. Now, some fish are trying to take digital photos of each other but still can.t keep from being scared away by the flash.

When we arrived to our campground, we (over)cooked ramen noodles for dinner and had a nice campfire and the usual circle of .Thorns and Roses.. Everyone had a great time, especially the new scouts.

-- Matan B.

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