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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.
....................................................................................................
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.
...................................................................................................
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.
...................................................................................................
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!
...................................................................................................
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.
....................................................................................................
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.
...................................................................................................
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.
...................................................................................................
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.
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