Edition 1, November 2000

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The Wild Wild West

Congratulations on signing up to be a part of our Grand Canyon 2001 trek. You will be one of the few who will experience AmericaÃs best-loved natural wonder in a very unique way. Backpacking, rafting and mule riding will enable you to immerse yourself in the spectacular vistas, deep cool waters and 2-billion-year-old rock. Bonus side trips will include Painted Desert National Park, Meteor Crater and Arches National Park.

Yes you can. However, it will take a lot of preparation on your/our part. The trip requirements will help to ensure your success. You will also need to do a great deal of preparation on your own. Spend 30 to 45 minutes 4 to 5 times a week in a good aerobic workout. Begin in January and start out slow. By June you should have built up enough to carry a 30 to 40 pound backpack up and down the side of Englewood Dam for an hour. If you do not adequately prepare for the trip, you will endanger not only yourself, but also the other members of your crew as well.

Crew Chief Jeff Gardner has organized a backpacking skills night for November 29^th from 8-9:00 p.m. at our meeting room. Although attendance is not required, it is strongly recommended! If you absolutely cannot attend then please send someone in your place. Not only will basic skills be covered, but also those unique to Grand Canyon backpacking. Jeff has paired Scouts up in groups of two and assigned them a skill to teach. All necessary skill information was sent via email. John will also have a brief slide show of the troopÃs 1986 Grand Canyon trek.

1. 13 years of age by 1/1/01

2. Earn First Class Rank. If already First Class then advance a rank between 11/1/00 and 5/7/01. (Eagle Scouts are exempt from this requirement).

3. Class A medical form signed by a doctor by 5/7/01

4. Permission slip signed by a parent/guardian by 5/7/01

5. Have parents attend an informational meeting on 2/5/01

6. Participate in four of six backpacking trips.

• Dec. 1-3, Ten O' Clock Line, 16 miles
• Jan. 27, Winter Bushwhack, 12 miles
• Feb. 23-25, Clarke State Forest Trail, 20 miles
• Mar. 2-4, Red River Gorge, 20 miles
• Apr. 27-29, Zaleski S. P., 12 miles (required)
• May 11-13, Mischa Mokwa, 21 miles (required)

• $50 deposit; nonrefundable after 2/5/01
• $200 nonrefundable deposit by 2/5/01
• $200 nonrefundable deposit by 5/7/01

Adult requirements are 3, 5, 6 and 7.

The May preparation hike falls on MotherÃs Day weekend since so many of us had conflicts with the other remaining weekends. Jeff Gardner called everyone to see if this was a problem. He has not received a response from one crew member, but other than that, everyone else is okay with this. Therefore, the dates above are now final.

1. The trip is tentatively scheduled for June 17 to July 1. However, obtaining backcountry permits may can these dates. We will know a final date by mid February.
2. Check out our 1986 Grand Canyon trip report on the troop web site. Your trip will be very similar. Also, we have a page on our web site for our 2001 trip. Please check it periodically for updates.
3. Anybody interested in throwing a pre-trip party? If so, pick a date and let Jeff know.
4. Hey Christmas is just around the corner! Ask Santa to bring you Boy Scout clothing. You will need an official Boy Scout shirt, shorts, socks and belt for the Grand Canyon trip. Also, we will use troop t-shirts for our class B uniform. Orders will be taken for these around March.
5. Make it a priority to check out these links:

Safety/Prevention: http://www.hitthetrail.com/safety.htm

Gear: http://www.hitthetrail.com/equipment_initial.htm

Troop 19: http://www.troop19.org/gcnp42k/gcnp42k.htm

Troop 325: http://my.ohio.voyager.net/~joeyd/gc.html