Hells Canyon outing moved to Angel Basin

A few days ago Mr. Wright and I checked out the trails for the troop outing set for January 21st and 22nd in the Superstition Wilderness. The scenery was great, plenty of water in the creeks (sorry no fish), and there's some cool Indian ruins in the canyon walls for us to check out. The trail starts at about 4800 feet and then drops to about 3400 feet in elevation. Then it goes back up about 1000 feet and then drops again to the elevation of 3600 feet at Angel Basin where we'll camp. The hike on Saturday is about 7.5 miles to reach our campsite. The ruins are near the campsite. On Sunday the hike is about 4.5 miles back up to the parking lot. - Barry Giesemann, Hells Canyon outing leader.

I wish I could go on this outing; I'd love to hear the ghost stories around the camp-fire with ancient Anasazi ruins not even a mile away. - Troop323 webguy.
Due to the distance and some elevation changes this backpack trip will challenge us more than past troop backpack trips but the destination will make it worthwhile. Our destination Saturday, January 21st is the Roger's Canyon Cliff Dwellings in the Superstition Wilderness, camping in nearby Angel Basin. If you haven't been too active lately now is the time to get outside and get ready by doing some day hikes. Patrols please start planning your meals. We will eat our sack lunches on the trail and not in the parking lot so pack lightly but healthy.

 

The outing fee per person is $15 (a great deal). You can pay at the next troop meeting or by 7:00 AM on Saturday, January 21st.

 

Adults and Scouts if you're going please pass your names on to SPL Sean Plaum by Wednesday, January 18th to ensure we have enough drivers. There's a lot of driving on dirt roads marked on the map for four wheel drive vehicles but my 2WD Expedition did ok;  definitely no passenger sedans for this trip.

 

Because we have a full day of backpacking on Saturday, January 21st, we will be departing the Lookout Mountain School parking lot at 7:15 AM. If you're a troop member who is usually late then you should plan to be at the parking lot much earlier than everyone else. I will be at the parking lot by 6:45 AM. (Don't fret, you'll have time to nap in the car during the drive to the Superstitions.).

 

If you have questions, or you're not sure if you're capable of doing this hike see Mr. Giesemann at the troop meeting on Tuesday, January 10th email Mr. Giesemann.

Bike Outing - McDowell Mountains Park - December 3 & 4, 2011

Troop323's annual mountain bike ride took us to an interesting rock formation at the foot of Granite Mountain.  This is a nice place to have lunch.  There are large granite boulders leaning against each other forming caves that can be explored, and holes in the ground formed by native Americans for grinding corn (mutates).  This initial section of the ride is only 5 miles, but it involves a 400 foot climb so we deserved this break.

After lunch we continued south along the foot of Granite Mountain (mostly level) for a couple of miles.  Once we reached the edge of the preserve we turned east under the power lines.  This part of the ride is 2 miles long and drops the 400 feet we climbed initially – it is wide and was fun and fast.
This trail ended at 136^th St.  We then took roads through the neighborhood that runs along the north side of Rio Verde Drive.  We eventually crossed Rio Verde Drive at 150^th St. and followed 150^th St. (a dirt road) about a half mile until it enters the McDowell Mountain Regional Park.  There is no vehicle access here, but there is a gateway for hikers, bikes and horses.

We finished the ride with 4 miles of superb swooping single track downhill trail in the park, ending up at the Staging Area Parking Lot.

On Saturday night, a seasonal feast was provided, by Paul Folger and his brother, for all riders and their families at the park’s Group Campground.

Fossil Springs backpack  - November 19 & 20, 2011

Eagle Court Of Honor - November 6, 2011

Congratulations to Andrew Derrick, Max Olsen, Connor Schira and Carlos Waldron for reaching the rank of Eagle.  The four celebrated the occasion with family and fellow Troop 323 members on November 6 at All Saints Lutheran Church.  Special thanks to Eagle Scout and Troop 323 Adult leader Mitchell Rutherford for serving as MC and Guest Speaker for this special occasion.

Troop Leadership Training - November 5, 2011

Several Troop 323 Scouts participated in Leadership Training on Saturday, November 5^th. This training is recommended for all Scouts in Troop 323 and serves as a great foundation for Scouts as they take on required leadership positions to achieve future ranks with the Troop.  Special thanks to Barry Giesemann for leading this important course.
More Troop Leadership pictures

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All Saints Lutheran Church Clean-up

Parents and Troop 323 Scouts gathered on Saturday, October 29 for the All Saints Church Clean-up project.  This annual event serves as a “thank you” to parishioners of All Saints Lutheran Church for allowing the Troop to use the church facilities at no charge.  All Saints has been gracious and accommodating the Troop with the troop’s many needs.

More Church Clean-up pictures

2011 Fall Camporee - Ranch Tres Brisas in Verde Valley

On October 21 -23, Troop 323 Scouts and Leaders welcomed Cub Scouts of Pack 428 and Pack 323 as well as family members to participate in the annual Camporee held at Rancho Tres Brisas in Camp Verde in Northern Arizona.  Scouts participated in a number of festive outdoor activities.  Special thanks to Scoutmaster David Wright and Dan Kloostra for organizing this outing.
 
More camporee pictures

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Troop 323 Scouts and parent volunteers gathered on October 8 at the Upward Foundation to support Brenden Rawlins and his Eagle Project.

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Connor Shira achieved the rank of Eagle on October 5, 2011
Andrew Derrick achieved the rank of Eagle on October 4, 2011

On Thursday evening, October 04, 2011 Andrew Derrick completed his Board of Review for Eagle Scout, and on Friday afternoon Connor Schira completed his Eagle Board of Review.
"Both are examples of the outstanding young men from Troop 323 who have worked hard to become Eagle Scouts." - Scoutmaster David Wright

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Thanks Barry!

At the September 27^th Court of Honor Scoutmaster duties were officially turned over to David Wright who succeeds Barry Giesemann.  Scouts and parents had a chance to thank Barry for his 3 years of dedicated service as Scoutmaster.  Barry has been instrumental in training the new Scoutmaster over the last six months and will remain involved in the troop.  Again, many thanks to Barry for all of his varied contributions over the last three years!!!

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Horton Springs backpack - September 17 & 18, 2011

Dave Christiansen led Troop 323 Scouts on the September kick-off outing to Horton Spring on September 17 – 18.

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Carlos Waldron achieved the rank of Eagle on September 1, 2011

Carlos joins a long line of other boys from Troop 323 who have reached Boy Scout’s highest rank.  Carlos joined Troop 323 on February 25, 2008.

Carlos is a member of the Big Horns patrol and completed his Eagle Scout project at the Andre House, a Catholic Soup Kitchen and homeless outreach center located in downtown Phoenix.   Carlos collected backpacks and toiletries for the Andre House Shower Program.  He also organized a half day work event at the Andre House filling toiletries, re-striping the parking lot and completing a hanger project for the clothing donation program.

 

Carlos’ favorite merit badge was the Aviation merit badge and his favorite outing was the Aravaipa outing.  Carlos completed 57 nights of camping, hiked more than 79.5 miles and, completed more than 51.2 service hours.

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2012 Bumble Bee Planning Conference:

Laying Out the Roadmap

 

The annual Troop 323 Planning Conference was held Saturday & Sunday, August 27^th & 28^th, 2011. Participants of the Planning Conference stayed at the Big House at Bumble Bee Ranch, the site of our annual Crossover event.  The primary goal was to discuss and plan the troop 2012 calendar.  The conference was a success due to the hard work of both parents and Scouts alike.  When you see the people named below please thank them for their work. Spencer Sawottke did a good job leading the discussion and has begun transitioning the Senior Patrol Leader role to Sean Plaum which will take place officially at the Court of Honor, September 27^th.