Boy Scouts of America

Grand Canyon Council, Thunderbird District
 

Venturing Crew 323, Phoenix, Arizona

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Quick News

  Crew Advisor, Mr Russell, Recognized with Venturing Advisor Award of Merit

Congratulations to Mr Brown Ruseell for being awarded the BSA's Venturing Leadership Award of Merit.  This is an award that is put in for by the Crew's Venturers themselves, and is awarded by the Grand Canyon Council for outstanding leadership and crew development.

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  Election of New Crew Officers

Congratulations to the following for their election to leadership roles in the Crew:

President: Sean Murray
Vice President - Programs: Joe Wright
Vice President - Admin:  Andrew Russell
Treasurer:  Jeremiah Miller
Secretary:  Andrew Leonard
Quartermaster:  Sam Clements

Thanks go to the outgoing officers for a job well done!

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  End-of-Year Trek to Grand Canyon

The Crew had an amazing end-of-year trek into the Grand Canyon from June 2 to 11, 2009.  7 venturers and 2 adult leaders went on the trip, whose objectives were: Physically challenging; Fun; In the back-country; Interesting scenery and locations; Not traveled by many other people.

Our itinerary was as follows:

Day 1 (travel day) - Drive to North Rim; car-camp at Crazy Jug Point in the Kaibab National Forest
Day 2 (first hiking day) - Shuttle a car 11 miles to our exit point; depart on the Bill Hall Trail at Monument Point; descend to the Thunder River Trail and cross the Esplanade, camping overnight on the Esplanade looking over Surprise Valley; assume no water available on this day [7 miles]
Day 3 - Descend to Surprise Valley, hike through Surprise Valley and descend to Thunder Falls (first water on our trip); descend again to Tapeats Creek and hang out in the shade for the afternoon at Upper Tapeats campground; descend to the Colorado River, camping overnight at lower Tapeats Campground; water available at many places along Tapeats Creek and at the campground [ 12 miles]
Day 4 - Follow the Colorado River to Deer Creek, camping overnight at Deer Creek campground; water available at a few places as we neared the river and at the campground [5 miles]
Day 5 - Descend through Deer Creek Narrows to the Colorado River; follow the river to Fishtail Canyon, camping overnight at Fishtail campground; water available at a few places along the river and at the campground [5 miles]
Day 6 - Follow the Colorado River to Kanab Canyon; water available at a few places along the river and at the campground [5 miles]
Day 7 - Boulder-hop up Kanab Canyon (Kanab creek always flows, but we are unsure if there will be pools we have to swim); visit side canyon to explore the Slide of Sussurius, camping overnight at Shower Curtain Spring; water available all day from the creek and at the campground [10 miles]
Day 8 - Boulder-hop up Kanab Canyon to the intersection with Jumpup Canyon exiting the National Park and entering the Kanab Creek Wilderness (we are unsure if there will be water in Kanab Creek after Shower Curtain Spring); hike up Jumpup Canyon (a narrow slot canyon most of the way) to the intersection with Sowats Canyon; hike up Sowats Canyon to Mountain Sheeep Spring (we are unsure if this Spring will be flowing) [10 miles]
Day 9 - Hike up Sowats Canyon, until it meets the Ranger Trail #8; climb up Trail #8 onto the Esplanade; cross the Esplanade and ascend the Jumpup-Nail Trail to the rim; shuttle back to collect the car we left at Monument Point; [5 miles]; Drive 40 miles (4WD) to Jumpup Point, car-camping looking over the Kanab Creek Wilderness
Day 10 (travel day) - Drive out of the Kaibab National Forest; cooked breakfast at Jocob's Lake; drive back to Phoenix.

The trip was over 50 miles in length with a total of over 5,000 ft of elevation gain (but due to the frequent ups and downs, the cumulative gain was much more).  We lucked out with the weather since our day-time high temperatures ranged from mid 90's to low 100's (whereas the seasonal norm can exceed 115 Deg F).

 

 

        

                    

Overall this was one unforgettable trip!

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Troop 323 Gets 2 More Eagle Scouts

3 Crew members recently became Eagle Scouts:   On Tuesday, March 6, 2009, Joe Wright and John Russell passed the Boards of Review followed by Sam Clements on April 2.

Congratulations on a marvelous achievement!

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  Whitewater Kayaking & Rafting on the Upper Salt River

On the weekend of March 13 - 15, 2009, the Crew went to the Upper Salt River.  4 adult leaders, 6 venturers, and 2 guests joined the outing.  

We set up camp opposite Cibecue Rapid on Friday night and put in on Saturday morning at Canyon Bridge, 40-miles north-east of Globe on the US-60.

Mr Clements captained the 16' inflatable raft which had a number of the less-experienced venturers on board while the rest took one-man inflatable kayaks (IK's).

The water was flowing at about 1,000 cfs which is ideal conditions for the Upper Salt River.  Most rapids were Class III /IV and made for an extremely fun trip.  There were plenty of challenges along the way, and a few rapids that needed scouting out ahead of time, and careful planning before we took them on.  We had some spillages but our planning ensured everyone and the equipment was always gathered up safely.  On Day 1, we went all the way downstream of Mescal Rapid - a particularly nasty rapid with an evil-looking hole we had to avoid.  We drew an audience for this, our last rapid, from the side of the river, and even though we were all cold and tired, everyone made it through flawlessly.

On Day 2 we shortened the trip so we would have time to clean up and return to Phoenix.  We went as far downstream as our camp ground at Cibecue Creek.

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  Kayak Training

On Saturday March 8, 2009, the Crew went to the Verde River to train new venturers in the art of whitewater kayaking.  We put in at the White Bridge access point at Camp Verde and kayaked to Beasley Flats.  Water flows were moderate, but there were some challenges on the route downstream.

At one point, we encountered a tight s-bend that threw a number of kayakers into bushes at the side of the river and overturned some of them.  After gathering up our Crew and regrouping on a nearby beach, we looked up and saw gear, then an empty kayak, and then a kayaker float by.  One of the Crew caught the gear and the kayaker made it ashore while the rest of us ran up the river bank to find his wife panicking on the far bank after coming out at the same spot we had had trouble.  Using rope and a kayak, we managed to bring her back across the river.  The two did not have appropriate experience, equipment or fitness to continue their trip so quit there and had to figure out how to get back to their car.

We continued our trip to Beasley Flats without further incident. 

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Marsh Valley/Black Mesa Hike

On February 14 -1 6, 2009, 6 venturers, 3 adult advisors and 3 dogs went on a 20-mile training outing into the Superstition Mountains.  We started at the 2nd Water Spring Trailhead near Canyon Lake Marina.  An initial climb soon dropped down into La Barge Creak and over into Boulder Creak.  Both Creaks are normally dry, but with recent high rainfalls, water was plentiful and creak crossing meant finding suitable stepping stones.

By mid-afternoon, we took the Cavalry Trail up intro Marsh Valley, a beautiful desolate area that took us back into La Barge Canyon.  Conflicting trail markings on the various versions of maps we had caused some confusion until the Crew applied their orienteering skills to pinpoint our location correctly.  We decided to camp for the night just short of White Rock Spring facing some magnificent bluffs.

Overnight temperatures fell below zero and frost covered all our equipment by morning.

As soon as the sun rose, we hike to Bull Pass where we stopped for an hour to dry our equipment.  We then climbed the pass and dropped back down to the head of Boulder Canyon, followed by a long ascent up to Black Mesa.  This trail took us down to Garden Valley where we turned toward 2nd Water Spring.  The Spring was quite busy with day hikers and a few overnight campers, so we decided to continue back to Boulder Canyon meeting our initial trail in, and back over to La Barge Creak where we camped for the night. 

After a fun-filled campfire event led by Joe Wright (as a requirement for his Eagle rank award, we spent a warmer night of sleep before a short, steep hike out to the trailhead.

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Canyoneering in Trap Canyon; Peter's Mesa Hike

On January 17 - 19, 2009, 5 venturers, 3 adult advisors and 4 dogs set out on an 18-mile hike though a lesser-travelled part of the Superstition Mountains.  We started at the Tortilla Flat trailhead aiming to hike the Hoolie Bacon trail via the Whiskey Spring Trail to La Barge Spring by nightfall.  At mile 5, we opted to take a short-cut via Trap Canyon, a challenging 1.8 mile scramble.  Due to giant boulders blocking the trail and water our path, we made slow progress, climbing the canyon wall to avoid pools and passing unwilling dogs from hand-to-hand.  By 9:30 pm (6 hrs after we entered the canyon and 3hrs after darkness had fallen) we had only made about a mile's progress, so decided to camp among the rocks and start again the following morning.  It took another 2 hours the next morning to finally exit our short-cut and reach La Barge Spring.

Eager to make up lost time the Crew then marched at full pace along La Barge Creak, climbed up and over Peter's Mesa into Peter's Canyon, where a major battle was fought with the cat claw.  The cat claw won, but the Crew continued bloodied and beaten to climb once again towards Kane Spring, where Mrs Russell and Sara met us having hiked in from the trailhead that morning.

After an overnight camp near the spring, next morning we hiked back to the trailhead, and drove to Apache Junction in search of Broccoli turnovers.

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  Mountain Bike Orienteering at McDowell Mountains

On December 13 & 14, 2008, the Crew assisted Troop 323 with it's annual bike outing at McDowell Mountain Regional Park.  The event was organized by Mr Wright with courses laid out by Ian Foulger as part of the requirements for his Orienteering merit badge.  

Mr Paul Foulger and his brother Dave, with the help of other parents, planned and cooked a big feast for the 30 scouts plus parents who came to eat.  They served pork, duck, corn, stuffing, turkey, lamb stew over homemade noodles, and French fries.  For dessert, the Venture Crew baked 5 chocolate cakes in a Dutch ovens.  

The temperature on Saturday was a pleasant 60 degrees.  The predicted rain held off until we were done riding.  The next morning we had a good breakfast of breakfast burritos.  Most scouts went home after camp clean up, but some went on a short, harder ride after that.

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  Troop Finds Missing Venturers in the Superstitions

4 Venturers and one of their advisors (Mrs Russell) spent 3 days and 2 nights "lost" in the Superstition Mountains from November 7 - 9, 2008.  Their exercise was to simulate a day-hiker lost without any equipment except a basic survival and first aid kit, and it fulfilled a requirement for their Ranger Award.

Scouts hiked 4 miles on Saturday November 8 to a base camp at Dripping Spring at the intersection of Fraser and  Randolph Canyons.  On Sunday morning they set out to find the lost hikers, simulating a search and rescue team.  

All Venturers were found safe and in good spirits.  They made a one-hour presentation at their camp sites to their rescuers, describing their experience and demonstrating their survival shelters and fires.

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John Russell's Eagle Project Helps Forest Service

On the weekend of September 13 & 14, 2008, John Russell completed my Eagle Project in the West Clear Creek Wilderness Area.  His project was remarking stream crossings to make them more obvious for hikers, blocking off side trails, rebuilding cairns, installing trail markers, and clearing out the overgrowth.   This will make hiking in the area safer, as well as keep people on the trail and protect the Wilderness Area. 

A team of Venturers, Scouts and adults went up to the Bullpen Ranch trailhead early on Saturday morning, where we met with the Forest Service Ranger, Mr. Hill.  He supplied us with tools and led us to the first crossing, where he showed us what he wanted done.  We managed to clear out and extensively improve three trail crossings and mark a fourth on Saturday, before camping at Bullpen for the night.

 

John and his family prepared a great feast around the campfire for all helpers on Saturday night, and on Sunday morning we completed work on an additional crossing intended for horseback riders.

John felt that overall his project went very well, and he was very happy to have such a large turnout and get a lot done.

Click here to see more photos in the Crew Gallery

Mr. Hill was also very thankful for our work; his ranger district covers six Wilderness Areas and has only three active field rangers to manage them.  West Clear Creek trail hadn't been improved in three years.  

The Forest Service has many more potential projects for any interested Scouts.

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Corey Giesemann - Latest Eagle Scout!

On September 4, 2008, Corey Giesemann passed his Eagle Board of Review and became our latest Eagle Scout.  Corey is a former Troop 323 Scout who was a founding member of Venture Crew 323 and its first President.

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Expedition to Honduras

The Crew's 2008 end-of-year outing was a 16-day expedition to Honduras from May 28 and returning June 12, 2008.

The expedition took us to the rain- and cloud-forests of the Mosquito Coast (La Mosquitia) - one of the last great wilderness regions in Central America.  It is recognized as a world-class conservation area, with rainforest, cloud forest and an important coastal-marine area.  These are home to wetlands, lagoons, mangroves and the world's second largest coral reef.  The Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve, within the Mosquitia area, has the largest relatively intact area of rainforest remaining north of the Amazon.  In 1982 the United Nations Educational and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) recognized the reserve as a world heritage site because of its rich natural and cultural diversity.

The Mosquitia region is home to four indigenous groups - the Miskito, Tawahka, Pesch and Garifuna - who have maintained the forest for centuries.

We visited local villages by dug-out canoes (motorized and poled), hiked Pico Dama mountain up into the cloud forest, camped out in the jungle, and took part in a conservation project at Plaplaya where the leatherback turtles were nesting.

     

      

     

We then went to Los Cayos Cochinos (the Hog Islands) - a Biological Reserve declared by the Honduran Government and the Smithsonian Institute, where we snorkeled and swam pristine coral reefs.

     

     

Click here to see more photos

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Golf Tournament Success 

Thanks to all those involved in organizing and supporting the fund-raising Golf Tournament.  Special thanks to Mr Petkiewicz for his leadership, and to Mr Baranowski, Mr Derrick and Mr Hawk.  The final tally is not yet known, but the level of participation and support no doubt means we have met our goals for 2008/2009.  ...................................................................................................

James Harris - Crew 323's Latest Eagle Scout!

On May 1, 2008, James Harris passed his Eagle Board of Review and became the Crew's latest Eagle Scout. 

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Verde River Whitewater Kayak Outing (Beasley Flats to Childs)

By Spring Break, 2008, the Verde river had risen to a flow of over 2,500 cfs.  The Crew decided to take a 3-day trip from Beasley Flats to Horseshoe Lake - a distance of about 58 miles.  As it turned out we were only able to make it to Childs in the available time due to the challenging nature of the conditions we faced.

16 venturers and adults joined the outing.  We had 13 IK's plus a 16' inflatable raft rowed by Mr Joe Clements (former professional Grand Canyon boatman), with 2 guest venturers on board.

We put in on Saturday morning (March 15, 2008).  The river was flowing around 7 miles per hour, and rapids were very swift.  Early in the trip, we encountered the falls - due to a mis-communication from another group, after the raft successfully made it down the falls, we had a number of kayaks tip and equipment scattered down the river.  It took so many hours to recover from this that we only made about 3 miles on our first day. 

Saturday night's camp was on a sand beach between 2 rapids - and was a welcome end to our tough first day.  Sunday morning was cold - it had dropped about 20 degrees over night.  The major event on Sunday was anticipated to be Punk Rock - a Class III rapid that was flowing like a Class IV on this day.  As it turned out, we had very few problems here, but soon encountered a lot of spills on a downstream rapid.  With a lot of people in the water, it started to snow, so we decided to stop and warm everyone up by lighting a fire and taking lunch.

After lunch we encountered a number of rapids where the main channel was not well-defined and there were many tress blocking our way.  Andrew Russell and Joe Wright got tangled in strainers (trees in the water) which resulted in Joe's tipping and having to fight his way free of the trees.  At the very next rapid, we took the wrong channel and had to drag the raft back upstream after it got stuck in reed beds.  Once we got the raft back down the right channel, Mr Tim Hawk, Mitchell Rutherford and Joe Wright all followed it.  Mr Hawk found it stuck once again and helped to work it free.  Mitchell got stuck in the reed bed and Joe threaded his way past all the hazards and made it through.  After recovering Mitchell, everyone else portaged around the rapid and we got on our way once again until we found a camp site.

Sunday night was much warmer and spirits were high again.  On Monday we made the last few miles to Childs without incident, stopping for a break at the hot springs.

Unbelievably, we had managed to make a phone call on the river to our shuttle team to ask them to bring the cars to Childs instead of Horseshow Lake (way to go Sprint, and many thanks to Mr & Mrs Harris and Mr & Mrs Murray).

Click here to see lots of photos and video clips of this trip.

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Verde River Whitewater Kayak Outing (Beasley Flats to Gap Creek)

With all the rainfall this winter and the large amount of snow in the mountains, 2008 is already showing itself as the best whitewater season in Arizona for 20 years.

On Sunday, Feb 10, 2008, Crew 323 rented inflatable kayaks ("IK's"), wet suits and helmets, and organized a trip down the Verde River.  Putting in at Beasely Flats, just outside Camp Verde, the rive was flowing at around 900 cfs (cubic feet per second) around 7 times the seasonal norm.  Our day took us 8 miles downstream covering 6 or 7 rapids from Class II to Class IV. 

Some of the more venturous members of the Crew took on the notorious falls while the rest portaged around.  Everybody managed to get through all the other rapids before getting out at Gap Creek.

he water was cold and many of us experienced a good swim as well as a good day of kayaking.  

The day ended with an arduous climb out of the Verde valley about a mile and uphill all the way carrying kayaks and gear.

Check out our photos and video clips of this great day!

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Wing Mountain Backcountry Ski Trip

Can you say cool?  The Crew’s Wing Mountain Backcountry Ski Trip was cool, way cool.  OK, maybe a little chilly.  Alright, downright cold. OK, OK already, it was frigid.   I mean way way way cool.

On Jan 19-20, Venture Crew 2323 conducted its first ever backcountry skiing and cold weather/snow camping trek.  The purpose of the trip was to introduce Crew members to the special challenges and rewards of backcountry skiing and camping in cold weather and snow.  This was a major new event for Phoenix based (and therefore desert-oriented) Crew 2323.

5 Venturers, one guest and 3 advisors participated.  Wing Mountain Snow Play Area is located northwest of the San Francisco Peaks in northern Arizona.  It is a major cross-country skiing destination.

Learning to travel in the wilderness on Nordic skis and to camp and live in cold weather and snow is an essential part of becoming an expert and well-rounded 4-season outdoor adventurer and athlete.  But, while it is not easy, it is very uniquely rewarding.  As the Boy Scouts' Fieldbook says, "Cold-whether camping is among the most challenging and rewarding of outdoor activities."

The weather was beautiful, although just on the chilly side.  It was sunny, with no wind, and just slightly cooler than Phoenix. During the day, temperatures were in the low 20’s; at night, the temperature fell to around -5° F.

This is cold, serious cold.  Here is how "Winter Hiking & Camping" describes those temperature levels:

The Teens to Low 20°’s

In many respects, this is the ideal temperature range for winter outdoor recreation.  The environment is solidly frozen and dry, the air at a temperature that allows you to work hard without easily overheating, and any precipitation will come is nice, dry snow slides off sell clothing and makes for smooth for travel. Clear, windless days at this temperature are blessings to be cherished.

0° to 10° F

Being outdoors begins to grow more challenging when the thermometer slips down into single digits. Our bodies have a more difficult time in this kind of cold. Exposed skin, especially extremities, can go numb quickly and be hard to warm. The need to wear gloves and/or mittens virtually all times hinders dexterity, complicating manual tasks. It's harder to keep feet warm. If you don't take precautions to prevent it, your water bottle and contents may freeze, as can many food items. Any emergency automatically becomes more serious.

 

Below zero to the Teens below zero

This enters the realm of "severe cold." Everything described in the previous paragraph gets multiplied.  A bottle of water can freeze solid remarkably quickly; you have to perform tasks with heavy handwear on at all times and pay close attention to body parts at particular risk of frostbite.  Unless you're going to set up a full campsite, you'll need to keep moving almost constantly to maintain warmth.

After skiing 2-3 miles, we made camp in a small clearing covered in about 36+ inches of soft powdery snow.  We tramped down places for tents, shoveled out an area for the kitchen, and set up a cooking table and started melting snow for water and cooking.  Dinner was wonderfully hot, and then the Crew retreated to one of the tents to play cards.  The adults remained outside watching the stars and drinking hot chocolate.

The next morning, which dawned clear but quite cold at -5°, revealed that some participants had experienced “equipment failure” to one extent or another.  In particular, two Thermarest pads had had leaks, and a couple of sleeping bags were not really suitable for below 0° F sleeping weather.  This meant that almost half the group had issues with their sleeping systems - absolutely the most critical part of winter camping.  The group decided to spend the morning skiing without packs around the north side of Wing Mountain, and then to return to camp for lunch.  Although the trip was originally planned for 2 nights, the group also decided that forcing participants with sleeping system problems to brave another sub-zero night would not be the charitable thing to do.  We broke camp and skied back to Wing Mountain Play Area later in the afternoon, and celebrated our initial winter trip with dinner at the Crew’s traditional watering hole, the Denny’s at Camp Verde.

The trek was an outstanding initial introduction to the challenges, equipment, skills and rewards of cold weather backcountry skiing and camping.  As Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “A mind this is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.”

More pictures will be available soon on the Crew website.

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Crew Advisors Canyoneer Wet Beaver Creek in a Day

Following the Crew's trip through Wet Beaver Creek last fall carrying packs, camping gear and food for 3 days, the Crew Advisors wondered if it could be done in a day using the latest in "stealth" rubber-soled canyoneering shoes and no gear.  So on September 15, Mr Russell, Mr Foulger and Mr Wright set about trying.

The rubber technology made rock-hopping much easier and safer, and not carrying packs (other than first aid kit, snack bars, Kendall Mint Cake, water and a camera), they successfully made the 16 miles of hiking, wading, hopping and swimming down the canyon in 9 hours 40 minutes.

No technology could make their legs work that night, however.

Click here for some more photos...

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Summer 2007 Expedition to Copper Canyon & Baja California Sur, Mexico

Some Crew members and guests embarked on an overland expedition to Mexico from June 3 to 17, 2007.

We took 2 vehicles and 10 people and drove from Phoenix to Creel, in Chihuahua state - the entry point to Copper Canyon.   Copper Canyon is truly a world-class geological feature - it is 25 times the size of the Grand Canyon, deeper and verdant.  It is home to the Tarahumara Indian tribe who live a protected nomadic lifestyle.  [Map]

After a few days around the rim of the Canyon we ventured into the heart of the canyon system - firstly taking a dirt road 80 miles to Batopilas, a former silver mining town, and then 4-wheel driving for over 100 miles through unmarked, unmapped rocky trails, crossing rivers and climbing canyons.  Very few people ever venture into this area.

We passed through the small pueblo of El Rodeo, onto the mining town of Tubarez, into Choix and emerged at El Fuerte, an old fortress town, before heading to the coast to take a ferry to Las Paz in Baja California Sur for the second part of the adventure.

From La Paz we headed south and took another dirt road to the Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park.  This park is home to the only coral reef on the western coast of North America, and is abundant in tropical fish and sea lions.  It is visited by whale sharks and giant manta rays.

We spent 4 days snorkeling along the reef inshore and out in deeper waters, as well as experiencing the rush of snorkeling among the sea lions (these creatures are huge!!).

After that we set off on the "white knuckle" 1,000-mile drive up the Baja back to Phoenix, visiting Todos Santos, Loreto, Mulege, Santa Rosalia, San Ignacio Kadakaaman, Guerrero Negro, El Crucero and Ensenata.

Our last night was spent in Mexico's wine country with a visit to a winery and a night of luxury, camping in the back yard of a hotel that had a pool and video game room!

We headed back to Phoenix via Tecate and crossed the border at San Luis, south of Yuma.

Many adventures were had including:

*  Pick-up soccer with school kids in Batopilas
*  A flat tire (plus failed pump & flat spare) in the middle of nowhere in Copper Canyon;
*  Sliding backwards down a hairpin bend with a 1,000 ft exposure on one side
*  Swimming with the sea lions and jack fish
*  Best meal ever, courtesy of our Mexican dive master, Memo and his wife - fresh porgy, homemade tortillas, salza to die for, grilled chicken...  mmmmm
*  Ripped off by an expat restaurateur called Nancy
*  Stuck in the mudflats on a deserted beach
*  Almost arrested for not paying for a camp site
*  Tackling a wild horse with a wooden spoon trying to steal our breakfast.

Click here for some more photos...

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Spring Flood Verde River Trip - White Water Kayaking

The Crew completed a 32-mile outing on the Verde River from Childs to Sheep Bridge in inflatable kayaks on the weekend of March 16 -17.   Although the Verde River was supposed to be in full spring flood, the water level and flow rate was low.  Nevertheless, it was still wild enough to challenge the Crew in places!

A special Thank you to Mr Hawk’s parents for driving a challenging shuttle for the Crew, and to Mr Giesemann for a special car rescue shuttle

 

Check out the Gallery for photos from the outing.

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Crew Completes Survive and Rescue Exercise in Superstition Mountains

From November 9 to 12, 2006, the Crew successfully completed survival, search and rescue exercise, by spending 3 days and 2 nights "lost" in the wilderness.

Mr. Russell wishes to thank everyone who participated for their help in staging the event - it took a lot of work on the part of a lot of people in ways both large and small, and he is grateful for all contributions.   Thanks go to Tim Hawk for helping out the whole time.   In particular, thanks go to Yvette Giesemann and Bret Wingert for their help.  Yvette was primarily responsible for the food preparation with Bret's assistance, and Bret was instrumental in securing needed equipment.  

Troop 323 has also passed on their congratulations to the Crew and their thanks for being invited to participate in the "rescue" portion of the exercise.

Guess Who has Been Out in the Wilderness for 3 days Alone

Check out more pictures in the Crew Gallery.

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Moon Valley Tattler Publishes Crew's Article

On August 6, 2006, The Moon Valley Tattler published an article on the Crew written by Corey Giesemann.  It describes the founding of the Crew and some of their recent ventures.

Click here to read the whole article.

Outings

Oct 10 -12, 2009
Crew Camping System Training & Day Hike

Outing Chair:  Sean Murray

This outing is planned in a car camp format.  We will drive to Lockets Meadow in the Inner Basin of the San Francisco Peaks, north of Flagstaff.  we will camp by our cars and introduce new Venturers to the art of Crew camping - lightweight backpacking, camp etiquette & systems, etc.

On Saturday, we will do an difficult day hike to the top of Humphrey's Peak from the back-side of the mountain on rough trails.

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Nov 14, 2009
Phoenix Summit Challenge

Outing Chair:  Joe Wright

The Phoenix Summit Challenge is organized by the Phoenix City Parks Service.  We start at 6:00 a.m. and have until 5:00 pm to climb the 7 main peaks in the City of Phoenix - Papago Park West Buttes, Camelback Mountain, Piestewa Peak, South Mountain, Lookout Mountain, Shaw Butte and North Mountain.  This amounts to 23 miles of hiking and 6,000 ft of elevation gain. 

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Nov 21, 2009
Climbing Day trip

Outing Chair:  TBA

Details to follow

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Dec 12-13, 2009
Mountain Bike Scavenger Hunt at McDowell Mountains Regional Park

Outing Chair:  TBA

Crew 2323 will join Troop 323's seasonal mountain bike scavenger hunt around the Pemberton Wash, and do some more technical rides on the Sports and Technical loops in the park's Competitive Tracks.

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Dec 19-20, 2009
Adventure Race Training

Outing Chair:  TBA

We will do training for and Adventure Race (typically kayak, mountain bike, trail run as a team or in team-relay) or we will enter an orienteering event 

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Jan 10, 2010
Adventure Race 

Outing Chair:  TBA

We will try and find an Adventure Race to enter to put our new skills to the test! 

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Jan 16-17, 2010
Backpack 

Outing Chair:  TBA

Details to follow 

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Feb 13 - 15, 2010
Team Survival Exercise 

Outing Chair:  TBA

We will divide in to groups of 3 or 4 of mixed experience and ability, and simulate a survival situation for 3 days and 2 nights. 

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Mar ??, 2010
Whitewater Kayaking on the Upper Salt River or Tonto Creek

Outing Chair:  TBA

Our local high schools have different Spring Break weeks in 2010, so we have not yet established a date for this outing.

Details to follow 

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April 17 - 18, 2010
Canyoneering 

Outing Chair:  TBA

Details to follow

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May 8, 2010
Day Outing 

Outing Chair:  TBA

Details to follow

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End of May/Early Jun 2010 (dates still to be determined)
End-of-Year Expedition/ Outing

Outing Chair:  Joe Wright

Details to follow

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Other Activities

Regular Crew Meetings

Every 2 weeks on a Sunday from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm at the Russell's house (except on weekends when we are on outings).

The following dates are therefore planned:

September 27, 2009
October 25, 2009
November 8, 2009
November 22, 2009
December 6, 2009
January 3, 2010
January 31, 2010
February 28, 2010
March 14, 2010
March 28, 2010
April 11, 2010
April 25, 2010
May 9, 2010
May 23, 2010

.........................................

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