After a tremendous amount of planning by the council over 18 months, and a lot of planning by the troop leadership, SOAR (Scouting's Outdoor Adventure on the River) was this weekend. Saturday was fantastic with the troop driving to Cambridge, taking the T from Alewife to Harvard Square and then hiking with full packs to Christian Herter Park on the banks of the Charles River in Boston. Once there, the troop set up camp in our 30'x30' home. We certainly got to know our neighbors (who were literally inches away in every direction) very quickly. After lunch, scouts split up for merit badge classes, a long kayaking trip on the river and some frisbee golf. Dinner was some expertly cooked fajitas and we ended the night with a concert by Jesse Chris.

As recently as Thursday, the forecast for the weekend was for sunny skies, but Hurricane Matthew had other plans. The rain started before dawn Sunday morning and it just. kept. on. raining. All day. Breakfast under our pavilion was very tasty pancakes with fruit and chocolate chips.

While the scouts did more kayaking and frisbee golf, the scoutmasters decided that the wet scouts, a few wet sleeping bags and the falling temperatures were not a great combination. After a lengthy discussion, we decided to pack up and head home. The scouts did an impressive job of quickly packing up the whole campsite in the rain and mud. Everybody's spirits remained high throughout the entire weekend and the patrol members worked very well together. A special thanks to the parents that were able to accommodate the change in plans and schedule. As always, the team of scoutmasters on the trip made it all possible with their time, humor and mentoring for the boys.

While writing this blog post, the council sent out mail talking about their plans for increased medical staff overnight and contingency plans for cold-related emergencies. As always, the safety and well-being of our scouts is our first priority.

Credit goes to Mr. Latsis for the "Was it SOAR or SOAK?" joke.

On September 24, Troop 103 of Burlington went to Jaffrey, New Hampshire to hike Mt. Monadnock. The three patrols were the Revengers, the Buff Chickens, and the Screaming Eagles.

For dinner, the Revengers had chicken noodle soup, the Buff Chickens had lasagna, the Screaming Eagles had tacos, and the scoutmasters had chicken piccata. For breakfast, the Revengers had a dutch oven pancake (pancake cake), the Buff chickens had pigs in a blanket and pineapple upside-down cake, the Screaming Eagles had pancakes and sausage, and the scoutmasters had western omelets.

We hiked to the summit that was 3,165 feet. The majority of people hiked up the White Dot Trail, to the Cascade Link Trail, to the Red Spot Trail, to the Pumpelly Trail, to the top. On the hike back, we traveled down the White Arrow Trail, to the Lost Farm Trail, to the bottom.

The high temperature was 68 degrees and sunny. The low temperature was 36 degrees and windy. Sunrise was at 6:37 a.m. and sunset was at 6:42 p.m.

The strenuous hike was very difficult but also very fun! The view from the top was beautiful, and you could even see the skyline of Boston. It went very well and we all had a great time. Overall, the Mt. Monadnock trip was a success!