Troop 87 Active Over Weekend of May 17-18

ERMA – Troop 87 of Tabernacle United Methodist Church in Erma divided to achieve two different goals. The scouts that qualified hiked on a section of the Appalachian Trail while the remaining scouts participated in a beach cleanup at Douglass Rotary Canal Park.
Eight scouts and three leaders worked alongside other volunteers for several hours to pick up trash all up and down the beach to rid it of the pollution and to better the environment. They worked under the direction of Judy Gills. One of the driving reasons that this cleanup was held was to prepare the beach for the escape the cape triathlon. Now that the beach is spick-and-span, it is prepared for the race. On top of this, the beach is in a more presentable condition to those that visit the beach. Troop 87 further plans to help out in the Triathlon by volunteering to help in the actual race on June 8th.
Six scouts and two adult leaders traveled to Delaware Water Gap to go backpacking on part of the Appalachian Trail. They started out of the parking lot at noon with thirty pound backpacks up onto Mount Tammany which was a grueling 1.5 mile hike to summit where they gained 1,250 feet in altitude. From there the scouts proceeded down the other side of the mountain. Once in the valley they followed the trail further into the valley. At this point in the trail, the scouts had to negotiate river crossings in four different locations on the trail. After successfully crossing the stream, packs and all, they continued up the next ridge to meet up with the Appalachian Trail. From there they walked south on the trail to the backpacking campsite. The scouts rolled into camp at about eight o’clock after hiking about 10 miles on some of New Jersey’s toughest trails.
The next morning, from their 1,000 foot high camp, the scouts witnessed a beautiful sight of the surrounding area being covered in fog creating a sea. After breakfast they broke camp and walked about three miles back to the parking lot.
Overall, the trip was a success; the scouts had fun taking a hike through the woods in a natural setting. A few of the scouts even earned a merit badge from the hike. The Scoutmaster said, “We may have bit off a little more than we planned, but we did it.” Even though the trail was more than the scouts expected were, the scouts persevered and made it through.
These two events were some of the last in this 2013-2014 school year as the scouts meet every Thursday night at seven O’clock from September through the beginning of June. Every scouting year culminates with the Scouts going to summer camp for a week. This year they look forward to an exciting week at Camp Rodney in Maryland where scouts have the ability to rank up by achieving merit badges. After their weeklong camp excursion, the scouts wait with anticipation for the fall when the scouting action starts up again.