OMOS Troop 123 BSA

July 2001

Jul 09, 2001

Troop 123 Conquers Mammoth Cave North Side

During the week of June 10 - June 16 members of Troop 123 braved the heat and humidity and undertook a back packing trip into the back country of Mammoth Cave National Park. We covered approximately 32 miles of back country trail. We also hiked some of the more civilized tourist trail. The trip culminated in a 4 1/2 mile tour of Mammoth Cave itself.

Thw Scouts carried everything they needed for the back country part of the trip. Each Scout prepared and ate his own meals during this trip. They also learned practical lessons in planning, teamwork, and navigation. Each person had to quickly become familiar with reading a map because, due to everyones different walking pace we spread out over a large area and were frequently out of sight of each other. Mr. Evans was usually 45 minutes to an hour behind the fastest people and everyone else was sort of strung out in between.

One Scout summed up his experience by saying, "I hiked in the heat risking death from exhaustion, ate awful food, slept on rocks, drank Green River water,and was eaten alive by mosquitos and ticks. But the saddest thing of all is, if you asked if I would do it again, I would say yes."

That quote sums up the whole experience.

July Activity

I am sad to report that our July backpacking trip will have to be postponed. Two of the 3 adults that had planned to go now have other obligations. I will keep you informed about a rescheduling date.

St Bernard Summer Picnic Update
I have been in contact with Ms. Kellum and confirmed that our help is needed and would be appreciated during the St. Bernard Summer Picnic. The picnic is Sunday August 5th.

As in past years we will be primarily working traffic and parking control.

We are also planning to turn this event into a camping trip at Blue River Ridge. We will leave OMOS at 6:00 pm Friday, August 3rd.

The cost for this outing will be no more than $10.00 and may very well be less depending on menu choices. The troop owns a large amount of food and if we decide to eat what we have, rather than buy new, the cost will be less. Dinner tickets are $7.50 for Scouts and Scouters interested in eating dinner at St. Bernards on Sunday.

Since we will actually be working most of the day on Sunday you should not expect to be back home much before 5:00pm.

Flaget Trail
The 55th annual Flaget Trail will be conducted on Saturday, August 18th at the Trappist Monastery, Abbey of Gethsemani, Trappist, KY.

We will be walking approximately 3 miles.Cost for participation is $4.00. Bring a sack lunch. We will be leaving the OMOS Scout House at 7:00am.