Yawgoog 2013

  Yawgoog this year began on Sunday July 7^th, and ended Sunday July 14^th.  On the first night, we had to provide our dinner, and instead of the usual hotdogs on the fire, we had meatball grinders. 

            Monday began with breakfast, then the usual first day routine of photos, swim tests.  We then had lunch followed by waterfront orientation.  This orientation introduces first-time scouts to the procedures at the waterfront and reminds returning scouts of the rules.  Shortly after that, we had our first merit badge classes.  The afternoon classes begin on Monday and end Friday, whereas the morning classes begin Tuesday and end Friday or sometimes Saturday.  Then there was dinner and we went to bed.

            Tuesday was the first day of morning classes.  We continued afternoon classes, and began the daily routine, which continued for the rest of the week.   

            This year, the troop’s spin-off of Minute-to-win-it, a.k.a. Wood duck Games, continued.  Teams of three were assembled at the beginning of the week, and stayed together for the rest of the nights.  Each night, there would be three surprise games, one per each team member, and points would be appropriately awarded to each team. 

            Also continued this year was the chain mail tradition.  With two pairs of pliers and some metal rings, scouts have created anything from necklaces to neckties to headdresses to gloves to full vests. 

            In contrast to last year’s high participation, the mile-swim was less populated by our troop this year.  More people are encouraged to participate in this fun event next year.

 

Hamden Bike Trip 9/15/20

Since the participation level and weather forecast were questionable, the bike trip location was changed this year, from Cape Cod to a more local trail in Hamden .  We all met at the Hamden Middle School . The turnout was much larger than it would have been had we gone out of state.  We rode out about 10 miles to the end of the bike trail, with a few breaks along the way.  At the end of the trail, we regrouped and decided what to do next.  Everyone rode a couple miles back to a cool area for lunch.  After lunch, we decided to ride back to the starting place, then ride an additional 3 miles out then back in order to successfully complete 25 miles.  Everyone had a great time and there only two flat tires!  To top it off, we stopped at Dairy Queen on the way back to Guilford !  This day trip is a great alternative to an impractical overnight trip.

                                                YIS,

                                                    Eric Weidman

Everyone met up at the parking lot at Yawgoog on Sunday, July 8th at around five o'clock. When we finally got permission to enter camp, everyone piled down the road to our site in Three Point: Frontier. We organized our tents, which took a while because the camp didn't give us enough tents and we had to combine some. Then we had to set up the garage tent, the tent that we put over the picnic tables for the week. Next came dinner: hot dogs cooked at our very own campfire! After that was lights out.

    Monday morning, we got up and everybody did their jobs posted on the bulletin board. Breakfast was pancakes, and we had to go straight to our troop photo after. After an unreasonably long photo, we went back to camp to prepare for our swim tests which took place at about 10:00am. We then had the rest of the morning free to hang out in our campsite. Lunch was hotdogs, and then we had our water front orientation. After that, we had afternoon merit badge classes. At Yawgoog, you have for merit badge 'classes' during the day, and one more after dinner. Two occur after breakfast, and two after lunch, so scouts can earn up to about five merit badges in the week, but three is usually a rational amount so you can have some free time and time for homework. Anyway, afternoon classes started Monday and ended Friday, while morning classes started Tuesday and mostly ended on Friday, but may have to have a short class Saturday. Dinner was pasta w/ meat sauce, and of course some bread and butter.

    Tuesday began the normal schedule. We had eggs and sausage for breakfast, and then of to classes! Lunch was grilled cheese, and then after a short break, back to classes! After a dinner of roast beef, we returned to camp, and some of us went off to one more class! This general schedule was fairly consistent throughout the rest of the week.

    There are some friendly competitions throughout the week of camp to help scouts enjoy themselves even more. There is a troop competition that takes place after lunch each day that consists of a game in which troops select a representative to play and some troops are eliminated each day until only one remains. We got eliminated on the second day in a game of ninja.

    Also, there is a mile swim at camp. In order to take part in this "not race", you had to swim 20 lengths in the waterfront to qualify. This year we had a troop record of seven people qualify for the swim, that's more than any other troop we swam with. The seven were Nick Apuzzo, Adam Germaine, Jesse Warner, Dan McCloskey, Cliff Mackowiak, Ian Slattery, and me (Eric Weidman). I finished first in the "not" race, and the others followed strong. Everybody finished, which was the goal seeing as it is a hard thing to do.

    The final competition that was held at camp was the mile run. Each troop gets one representative to run for them, and the troop decided to make me do it. I accepted my fate, and decided to make it worth something. So I ran. On the last turn, I passed the kid that was in first and sprinted to the finish. Yay!
On Saturday, there is a show called the Saturday Night Show that we go to watch along with every other scout and person on reservation. Unfortunately, I had to leave camp the day before so I missed the show, but I'm sure it was great just like every other year.

    Everyone left on Sunday, July 15 in the morning, avoiding the parade that the other troops do (shhh!).

    I think Camp Yawgoog is a great experience for all scouts, and they should try to go if they can.

YIS,
Eric Weidman

Nickerson Bike Trip- 9/30-10/2

Nickerson Bike Trip- 9/30-10/2   On September 30th, 2011, we drove up to Nickerson State Park in Cape Cod for our bike trip. We set up camp, made dinner, and went to bed. When my tent woke up in the morning, our tent was in a three in deep puddle from the rain the previous night. Luckily, the floor of the tent held and nothing got wet. After breakfast, it was raining so we decided to go to a tower nearby. We climbed to the top of the tower and enjoyed the view before returning to camp and starting out on the trip. We all stopped at Marconi Beach for lunch and then continued on back to camp, while the 50 milers went farther. On the way back, we stopped at the candy/ice cream store for a rest, and finished up back at camp. We all had a good time and everybody should go next time because it was awesome. YIS, Eric Weidman

Days of Caring Food Drive 9/24/11   On Saturday September 24, the troop participated in the annual Days of Caring food drive. We are usually the food banks largest group at these events. The troop had a great turnout and so did the food bank considering they didn't have much advertisement. It was a great time and everybody should participate next time because everybody needs community service and fun. YIS, Eric Weidman

Rocks Tree Farm 2/19-21/2011

 

On Saturday 2/19, eight scouts and seven leaders met at the North Guilford Firehouse at 7am to drive North to Rocks Tree Farm in New Hampshire. Upon arrival, we changed into warmer clothing and lugged our gear down to the campsite, as the road down to the campsite had not been plowed.  After setting up all the tents, we set off to collect firewood and prepare the picnic table for the next couple nights.  We dragged the wood into piles and cut it into pieces that could fit in the fire pit.  Shortly after the fire was started, we had dinner- foil meals warmed up in the fire.  Mr. Ott also made chicken soup to go along with the meals.  Everybody had to stay hydrated with warm apple cider, hot cocoa, and soup.  After dinner, everybody hung out by the fire and some people played Big Booty, a traditional game.  Later, everybody went to bed for the night.  When we woke up, we changed and ate- oatmeal, pre-cooked eggs, and soup.  Soon after, we got in the cars and drove to Mount Pierce. The sky was cloudy so we didn't expect to summit this year.  The path was slippery so everybody either had to wear some form of extra traction on their feet- whether it be Yak-Trax or snow shoes.  We started up the trail at a fast pace.  We slowed down a little so everybody could keep up.  About an hour and a half later, we took a break at the junction about halfway up the mountain.  Here there is usually a few Canadian Jays that eat trail mix out of your hands, but they weren't there at this point.  A few people chose to turn back at this point, whether it be from exhaustion or injury.  The group that continued up saw soon that the sky was clearing up and we might be able to summit.  We decided to go a little bit faster because we wanted to get to the top of the mountain before the cloud cover returned.  A while later, we reached the Alpine Zone, the point that the trees were gone and the only vegetation was small shrubs. From this point on, we were completely exposed to the wind.  After layering up, we went on, following an already worn path toward the summit. When we finally reached the summit, the view was spectacular, you could see for miles in every direction. For a short while, we could even see the top of Mount Washington! This was one of the few days every year that was this clear on top of these mountains.  Once we took a bunch of pictures and a few people attempted to make snow angels (Mr. Ott), we decided it was time to return to the bottom of the mountain.  We left the Alpine Zone quickly, the wind was blowing pretty hard.  Once back under the cover of trees, we stopped for a short time to layer down and grab a quick snack. We even took off our snow shoes.  Going down was much easier than going up, we could slide or run if we chose to.  Once to the junction again, we stopped for a snack and there were Canadian Jays this time! After refueling, we continued down the mountain, Morgan and Ben attempting to sled on pieces of cardboard. About a half hour later we were back at the parking lot.  We got situated in the cars and headed to the hyland center across the street for a little while.  We used this time to use the nice bathrooms and talk to other people there that climb and hike a lot.  A short time later, we were back in the car on the way back to camp.  There, we changed, gathered more firewood, and packed our bags leaving only what we were going to wear that night and the next day inside our tents. Everything else was packed and carried up to the building at the top of the hill.  Dinner that night was pasta with meat sauce. It tasted so good after a day of hiking.  After a while by the fire, we went to bed, our last night here this year.  Bright and early, we changed and packed up the tents.  Shortly after, we were in the cars again, this time on the way to the Littleton Diner.  We were overjoyed to eat at a place so nice and heated. After we gobbled down breakfast, we got to walk around the street, going in and out of different stores.  The most famous to our troop, Chutters candy shop.  It is the world's longest candy counter.  They have everything!! Even three foot long gummy snakes!  Everybody spent the majority of their time here, and then met back at the cars.  After using the bathroom one more time at Dunkin Donuts, we started our long car ride home.  Four hours later, we were home, most likely sleeping, unpacking, or eating. This trip was a lot of fun and I am definitely going on it next year.  I think it was better this year with more people, so the more people that come, the better.
-Eric Weidman

Merit Badge College 2011

Merit Badge College 2011  This year, we met at the Bell Amici parking lot at 8:00 in the morning on 4 Saturdays. We carpooled up to Lyman hall to take our classes. Four classes later, we either completed our three merit badges, or received partials. Merit Badge college is a good place to get up to three merit badges. YIS,Eric Weidman

Benton Beach 4/15-16/2011

Benton Beach 4/15-16/2011   Friday night, we went to have another trip. We arrived at around 5:00 on Friday and left late Saturday morning or early afternoon. When we arrived we set up our tents and started the fire. Later we cooked spaghetti for dinner and hung out by the fire. Finally we went to bed. In the morning, we restarted the fire and then had breakfast: eggs. There were hard-boiled, fried and scrambled eggs. Finally, we took down tents and left. It was a good time and a good place to get a lot of requirements signed off. YIS, Eric Weidman

West Point 2011

West Point 2011   The troop went to the West Point Scout Camporee 2011. I did not get the opportunity to go this year, but I heard it was very fun. I was told that in the morning there was a workout, then all day there were activities to go to. From what I was told, the camporee was a lot of fun, and I wish could have been a part of it. YIS, Eric Weidman

Yawgoog 7/3-10/2011

Yawgoog 7/3-10/2011   When we arrived, we checked in and lugged our gear down to the site and settled into our new tents. Hotdogs from the campfire were the Sunday night dinner. On Monday morning we had pancakes and cereal for breakfast, then the troop picture and the swim test. After lunch, hotdogs again this time from the dining hall, we went to the afternoon merit badge classes, had dinner, and went to bed. Monday we had breakfast, merit badges, lunch, merit badges, dinner, and then something special for the fourth of July. Camp had a special show for the fourth of July. Tuesday-Friday were similar except Thursday was the mile swim and there was one show on Friday. There were five scouts that participated in the mile swim, four from our troop- Courty, Morgan, Jesse, and Nick. Everyone finished and it was fun. On Friday, scouts in the troop in communications merit badge class held a troop campfire with skits jokes and more. On Saturday, the last merit badge class day, there was only morning classes and all merit badges closed at noon. Our troop went on a five mile hike after lunch and then there was a camp wide Saturday night show. Finally, Sunday was the last day of camp. All that happened then was tent clean outs, breakfast, religious services, and WE WENT HOME!!!!!! Yawgoog was a great time again and I plan on going again next year. YIS, Eric Weidman

Liberty Springs Backpacking Trip 8/6-9/11

Liberty Springs Backpacking Trip 8/6-9/11   On Saturday, August 6, we drove up to Sugarloaf campground to begin our high adventure trip. We set up camp and hiked up one of the Sugarloaf mountains. After that, we were invited to play a game of ultimate Frisbee. We played for awhile against another group, and decided to go have dinner. After we cleaned up, we played some games in the dark with the same group. The next day, we packed up camp and drove to the trail head we would be hiking from. We hiked 3.8 miles up to the campsite, made our shelter, and hike up Mt. Liberty and Mt. Flume, two 4,000 Ft peaks, adding on another 3.6 miles for a total of 7.4 miles on Sunday. On Monday, we went the opposite way on the ridgeline to Little Haystack, Lincoln, and Lafayette. All were above 4,000 ft high, but Little Haystack is not considered one of the 48 4,000 footers in New Hampshire. Monday Grand total: 7.6 miles. Finally, on Tuesday, we hiked the 3.8 miles down from the campsite, and drove home. Along the way we stopped at Subway for lunch, and the longest candy counter in the world- Chutters. Overall, it was a great trip and everybody had fun. I would do it again if it was offered. YIS, Eric Weidman

Rock's Tree Farm February 16 -18, 2008 Not content with only one extreme winter camping trip, Troop 474 headed back outdoors for a chilling hike in the White Mountains. Only this time, they extended their stay to three days. Saving the hike up Mt. Pierce for the next day, the scouts busied themselves in pitching the camp upon arrival. The snow was so deep, even in the campsite, they had to wear snowshoes! Soon a campfire was built. Not being satisfied with merely a center of warmth, they, being resourceful, constructed "snowbenches" around the fire for further comfort. That night was spent in song, skits, and activities. After all, benches usually denote an audience, right? Waking up in ten degrees below zero weather is not exactly what most would call exciting, but they made the best of it. The hike up Mt. Pierce had its perks. For example, Canadian Jays, in a certain area, would land on your hand if there was food in it. On top of that, they would only eat a particular type of nut, discarding the rest. As previously mentioned, the snow was extremely deep. In fact, it was so deep that near the peak, it almost completely covered the 6 foot high trail sign at a fork in the road, concealing the correct direction in which to hike. On the third day, the scouts were temporarily stranded in the campsite due to ice covering the parking lot. The town had to send sanders down so they could drive out safely. As always, the scouts look forward to next year's exciting extreme winter trip.Troop Scribe, Domenic Casinelli

ADK (Adirondacks) January 19 - 21, 2008 Lake Placid, NY A handful of seasoned, adventurous scouts challenged the frigid climate and enrolled in an overnight camping trip in Lake Placid, New York.  Their mission was to hike four miles to the camping ground, spend the night there, then continue hiking to Indian Pass, turn around, and return to the parking lot.  The concept of extreme winter camping is simple, defeat the cold, or it will defeat you.  The next thirty-six hours would be a constant battle between each Scout and a relentless foe, the weather.  The worst enemy is perspiration. When one sweats, it freezes, which in turn freezes the individual.  Body temperature is one of the many concerns during a cold weather camping trip.  After some last minute equipment checks, the fight began, as the scouts started hiking.  Throughout the day, it snowed in spurts.  During the night, the temperature dropped to negative fifteen degrees.  And at eight the next morning, it was still negative five. Avoiding frostbite was tricky, since they not only had to keep moving, but also cook breakfast.  After breakfast, they completed the preplanned hike.  Since the entire hike was below the tree line, as opposed to hiking a mountain above the tree line, there weren't many spectacular views.  There was one exception, however, that overlooked a frozen lake.  They learned that if you are looking for views, hiking up a mountain is the best option. Domenic Casinelli Troop Scribe

Scout Band Performance

 

For the sixth year in a row, the Boy Scouts of Troop 474 expressed a desire to continue the tradition of a Boy Scout Christmas band. Adam Clark, a Life Scout of our troop, became this year's Christmas band director.  From 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. the band spread music to the Guilford populace. They visited Wal-Mart, the Guilford House, Fowler's nursing home, and a new destination—Sachems Hollow. While at Wal-Mart, they collected money for the Guilford Food Bank. Their repertoire included carols such as Silent Night, Dreydl-Dreydl, and We Wish you a Merry Christmas, among many others. At every stop toes were tapped, smiles were seen, and praises were passed. The Guilford House even baked cookies and made drinks for the band members. At the end of the day, the band felt that they had accomplished something and are looking forward to next year.

 

Domenic Casinelli
Troop Scribe

   Turkey Roast Weekend

   

According to tradition, our Troop holds an annual Turkey Roast Weekend held at Deer lake. But this year, Troop 474 extended its invitations to two Cub Scout Packs as well a Girl Scout Troop. It was a day of nonstop activities, games, and fellowship. As the day progressed, newcomers flocked to the campsite. All enjoyed the recreations, but all looked forward with eager expectations to the dinner. Ten turkeys were roasted over an open fire and served with potatoes, stuffing, gravy, dinner rolls, and of course, dessert. The saying goes, "the more the merrier", and with over 200 people for dinner, we were undoubtedly a merry gathering. The more courageous souls braved the cold night and camped there to sleep heavily due to a full day of fun. 

Domenic Casinelli
Troop Scribe

   Veteran Administration Hospital Visit 11/11/07 

  

A few Boy Scouts and volunteers answered the request to show appreciation to our sick veterans on Veteran's Day. The Boy Scouts were handed several packets which contained a simple thank you present. To us, the coupons and money contained in the envelopes were the best we could do. But the veterans looked past the tangible. They saw that they were still remembered. And this is what all veterans wish for. Whether they were from WW2, the Korean War, Vietnam, or the current war in Iraq, they all appreciated the few minutes taken to talk with them. As we left the building, a quote on the lobby wall summed up the experience, "The price of freedom is visible here".

Troop Scribe,
Domenic Casinelli

District Camporee 10/12-14/07

  

Friday, 10/12: A few troop members showed up to spend the first night at the camporee. Those that did claimed their camping ground and pitched their tents.

 Saturday, 10/13: The rest of the troop members arrived today and the fun commenced! Until noon, the scouts practiced survival skills by building a shelter using only their ten essentials and other scanty materials.  After this, they engaged in little challenges; such as: orienteering, knot tying, etc… One additional activity was competing against troop 471 in Ultimate. Sadly, we suffered a humiliating defeat.

The cub scouts came after dinner and the campfire was lit. But this campfire did not end the day. Instead, they played a massive game of Manhunt before going to bed.

 Sunday, 10/14: After breakfast, everyone broke camp and left for home.

 Domenic Casinelli
Troop Scribe

      Camp Sikorsky 9/28-30/07

 

 Friday, 9/28: The interesting fact about this camp is that many different types of scouts (Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, etc…) from all over the state attend it. Anyway, most of the scouts arrived on this day. They pitched camp, ate supper, relaxed, and talked well into the night.

 Saturday, 9/29: Troop 474's scouts numbered five, as the rest came.  After breakfast, all the scouts attending the camp were led on a factory tour of Sikorsky and saw a variety of planes, helicopters, and the computers used designed them. When this was completed, they attended two merit badge classes of their choice, lunch, and then one additional merit badge class. In the evening, a helicopter flew circles around the campsite, bringing an exciting conclusion to the day.   

Sunday, 9/30: As always, before the scouts went back home, Sikorsky led them on one additional factory tour that gave them a more detailed perspective of Sikorsky.
Domenic Casinelli

Troop Scribe
Domenic Casinelli

Guilford Food Bank 10/27/07

On the twenty-seventh of October, the town of Guilford held its annual
"Make a Difference Day" food drive. Answering the request for
volunteers, Boy Scout troop 474 organized some of its members to aid
in the effort. Thanks to the generous Guilford citizens, there were
multiple boxes of food. Both citizen and volunteer carried out their
 role, the citizens donating the food, and the Boy Scouts sorting and
 redistributing it. All of the food was placed in an organized fashion
 in a temporary storage house. Providentially, the weather held and a
 good time was had by all.

YIS,
Domenic.

Mt. Marcy

 

1/12/07: A group of five scouts and five adults drove up from Lake Quonnipaug at 4:00 P.M. to Lake Placid, N.Y. They arrived at the hostel late at night. The only interesting scene occurred when General Casinelli's truck almost hit a young moose. When they arrived at the hostel, the scouts watched a movie or played on a game-cube. Two adults went out for pizza.

 

1/13/07: At approximately 7:00 A.M. breakfast began. It consisted of homemade corn bread and steal cut oats. It doesn't sound like much, but it was filling and excellent. The temperature started at about forty degrees, much to Mrs. Jagielski's disappointment. But it soon dropped to the twenties. The party parked in front of the ADK Loj and hiked with full gear 2.1 miles to Marcy Dam. Here they set camp and hiked a five miles roundtrip to Avalanche Valley. By the end of the hike, most of us were tired. We cooked a dinner of rice and kielbasa while drinking hot cocoa.

 

1/14/07: This day we decided not to ascend Mt. Marcy because it was cloudy. So we decided to attempt a hike that passed over Whale's Tail and Wright Peak. We could not hike the next mountain because of the iciness. At one point we opted to use Sean's ropes to climb a particularly icy spot.  When we turned around in front of the mountain which we could not ascend, we took a vote. The question was whether we should go home that night or stay another night and then go home. Seeing that all we had to do was break camp and hike another 2.1 miles on top of our seven miles that day, we decided to go home that day. On our way home, we stopped at the Noon Mark Diner. It was the best food we ate that weekend. That night we arrived home at about 12:00 P.M.

Recorded

Domenic Casinelli

Troop Scribe

Mt. Greylock Hike, September 22-24.

 

 22, Friday: 25 scouts, including adults, rode to Massachusetts. It was about a three hour drive.  We set up camp after dark.  Patrick Conrad saw a raccoon around 3:00 a.m.  So we concluded that we were in the middle of a raccoon path, later to be proven.

23, Saturday: Breakfast was quick and easy.  It was raining lightly and foggy.  We hiked for about six miles to the summit where there was a war memorial.  We visited that, but it was too foggy to see anything from the top.  Then we rested at the lodge that was there before resuming our journey.  They had the best hot cocoa.  We only had to hike about a mile back to the campsite.  This was quickly finished and the preparations for dinner began.  After dinner, cards were played or people sat around the campfire.  In the campsite was a lean-to where the senior patrol slept Friday night.  But they wouldn't tonight because too much food was spilled there. Two of the senior patrol made "weapons" to go raccoon hunting.  The other two joined in.  They stayed in the lean-to after all had gone to their tents.  We talked until we heard sounds and grabbed our weapons.  We couldn't see the raccoons very well but we guessed that there were three.  When we saw a mouse scrambling around in the lean-to we knew the raccoons were close.  Then one of us saw a pair of eyes bigger than raccoons.  So we all retreated to our tent, where an unidentifiable creature paced around it constantly.  Later the hunter said that he believed that it was a puma. 

 24, Sunday: We broke camp and washed any dishes left.  Then we made a final sweep of the campsite, and traveled back to good old CT.   

D. Casinelli
Troop Scribe

Sikorsky                                      9/28-30/06

 Once our Scouts arrived, they registered at the table, pitched camp, and enjoyed meatball subs.  After that, they hung out, played cards, and talked.

 After breakfast the next morning, the Scouts attended an emergency preparedness class, as well as a character building session.  Before lunch, they went on a tour of Sikorsky's offices.  Later they enjoyed tossing a Frisbee around.  Following that, they went to their different merit badge classes.

 On Sunday, two National Guardsmen presented a slideshow of how they assisted in the cleanup of Katrina.  The last thing they did before they left was go on a factory tour.

D. Casinelli
Troop Scribe

Health and Safety Kids Day (9/30/06)

 

Here we accomplished some community service.  The whole day lasted from 9:00am to 4:00pm. But the activities were opened at 11:00am.  It was a perfect day for this sort of activity.  At 9:30am was an orientation of what was going on. Then some scouts were selected to be parking controllers.  Basically, they told the officer in the driveway when there were only a few parking spaces left.  The others strolled around the grounds and did odd jobs whenever they were asked.

D. Casinelli
Troop Scribe

    Turkey Roast 11/11-11/12

 

11/11: At 8:30 a.m. fire building was taught to those who attended. Six turkeys were placed on the spits around 10:00 a.m. The scouts had activities such as football, kill the carrier, and capture the flag. Then, when it was dark, they played manhunt and capture the flag. The dinner and turkeys were excellent, a credit to Mr. Hickey. There was stuffing, gravy, string beans, (turkey), biscuits, and potatoes. The dessert followed with pies, cheesecakes, cookies, and brownies. Intermixed with the desserts were pies that were baked in a Dutch oven. 

 

11/12: The scouts broke camp and headed home.

Reporting,
Domenic Casinelli
Troop Scribe

Mt. Algo

 

11/4: We drove for about two hours to the north-western part of CT.  Once there, we put on our day packs and ascended the ledges. This was a perfect day and it was an easy hike. There were a few scenic places and overlooks where the majority of the scouts and adults stopped to look and take pictures. At one place, most of the group stopped to hear the cows moo! This ticked off the lead hikers immensely. The hike was approximately five miles long and took only a few hours to finish. On the last part of the trail, we passed through a pasture where cows were grazing. When we reached the cars, we took off our daypacks and transferred them to our backpacks. Then we hiked 800ft. upwards to our campsite. There was one lean-to which the senior patrol slept in. Some other hikers slept in that area also.

 

11/5: Some of the senior patrol members played "sleeping bag sumo". Then the younger scouts tried to join in but stood no chance against the champion Greg Laird. So we broke camp and drove back to Guilford.

Reporting,
Domenic Casinelli
Troop Scribe

Scribes Report - Fall Camporee 05

On October 8 – 9, 2005 a group of scouts and leaders from Troop 474 went to the Lighthouse District Fall Camporee at Hammonasset State Park.  We slept over Saturday to Sunday and some people also slept over Friday to Saturday.  We arrived around 8:00 A.M.  At around 11:30 some rode bikes and some drove their cars to the Indian Festival at Meig’s Point.  There was Native American dancing, singing and good food.  It was very rainy.  It rained for 85% of the time (maybe more).  Due to the rain we got a lot of card playing in.  Brand new players to Bum, Egyptian Rat and more are now masters.  Challenging these people would not be the brightest idea.  The Flaming Seagulls were even  able to create a yell.  Maybe it will become a patrol yell.  Special thanks to all of the adults, Mrs. Jagielski, Mr. P., Mr. Terwilliger, Mr. Acampora, Mr. Wall, Mr. Van Steenbergen and Mr. Clark.  If I forgot anyone I apologize.  Thanks to Mr. Wall, Mrs. Jagielski and Mr. P. for cooking.  The food was awesome.  I think everyone was filled to the brim after dinner.  I was!!!  Thanks to Mr. Van Steenbergen for the fire.  We also got to ride bikes and play manhunt.  A good time was had by all.

 

YIS,

Andrew McCloskey

Troop Scribe

Troop 474

Mr. and Mrs. Pecoraro, Matt and Emily Pecoraro,

Derek Malinowski,

Dr. Casinelli, Adam and Domenic Casinelli,

Greg Laird,

Mike Mayor,

Alex Gemmell,

Mr. Carroll and James Carroll,

Andrew McCloskey,

Mrs. Jagielski and Alex Jagielski,

Nate Braccio,

Mike and Kristen Ficorilli,

Mr. Heinemann and Mike Heinemann,

Mr. Clark, Adam and Taylor Clark,

Henry Aery,

and Will Ferrall.

 

The things we did were move a bridge, move a tree, put in a water stand, made a connection between two trails, went over some trail markers, and put down logs on a trail to prevent erosion.  The work was hard, but we all had fun.  Thank-you to all that helped out.  We did a good thing to help our community.

  By: Andrew

                       McCloskey

Gettysburg - Scribes Report

        On October 9-11, 2004 our scout troop went to Gettysburg National Military Park in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  When we first got there we went to the Electric Map presentation that explains about all of the events that happened during the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863.  After that we went on a three-mile hike.  It gave us a chance to see how good it was to control certain parts of the battlefield.  It also gave us a chance to feel like the soldiers did running down hills during the battle.  After we successfully completed the hike we went to find our campsite.  It ended up being right behind the Confederate Army’s line.  The next day, Sunday, we went on a 9-mile hike.  We got to see what it was like to go uphill when you know that there are enemy troops are shooting down on you.  We also got to feel how scary it must have been to be walking around knowing that enemy’s troops could be anywhere.  On Monday, some people had left but the rest of us went to the Cyclorama program and went on a walk around the Town of Gettysburg.  We got to see some hospitals and original buildings from the battle.  We also got to see former President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s farm at the Eisenhower National Historic Site.  On the way home we stopped at Cabela’s, an awesome outdoor superstore in Hamburg, Pennsylvania.    The people that went were:

Greg and Mr. Laird,

Henry and Mr. Aery,

Taylor, Adam and Mr. Clark,

Mike and Mr. Heinemann,

Jon, Caleb, Andrew and Mr. Dudley,

Nate and Mr. Braccio,

Chris and Andrew McCloskey,

Adam, Domenic, Mr. and Mrs. Casinelli,

Alex and Mrs. Jagielski,

Alex Gemmell,

Michael Mayor,

Will Ferrell,

and Matt Brechlin.

 

            Thank you to Mr. Laird for organizing this trip.  Thank you Mr. Aery for getting the food, helping prepare the meals and teaching the Cooking Merit Badge.  Thank you Mr. Clark for making and watching over the fires.  Thank you Mrs. Jagielski for also getting and helping prepare the meals.  Thank you Mr. Casinelli for being such a great tour guide.  And lastly, thank you to the entire cooking merit badge crew for preparing and cooking the meals.  This Gettysburg trip was very, very fun and a great learning experience.

                                                                        By: Andrew McCloskey

                                                                               Troop Scribe

Gettysburg 10 04 - Pictures

 

YAWGOOG 2013

            Yawgoog this year began on Sunday July 7^th, and ended Sunday July 14^th.  On the first night, we had to provide our dinner, and instead of the usual hotdogs on the fire, we had meatball grinders. 

            Monday began with breakfast, then the usual first day routine of photos, swim tests.  We then had lunch followed by waterfront orientation.  This orientation introduces first-time scouts to the procedures at the waterfront and reminds returning scouts of the rules.  Shortly after that, we had our first merit badge classes.  The afternoon classes begin on Monday and end Friday, whereas the morning classes begin Tuesday and end Friday or sometimes Saturday.  Then there was dinner and we went to bed.

            Tuesday was the first day of morning classes.  We continued afternoon classes, and began the daily routine, which continued for the rest of the week.   

            This year, the troop’s spin-off of Minute-to-win-it, a.k.a. Wood duck Games, continued.  Teams of three were assembled at the beginning of the week, and stayed together for the rest of the nights.  Each night, there would be three surprise games, one per each team member, and points would be appropriately awarded to each team. 

            Also continued this year was the chain mail tradition.  With two pairs of pliers and some metal rings, scouts have created anything from necklaces to neckties to headdresses to gloves to full vests. 

            In contrast to last year’s high participation, the mile-swim was less populated by our troop this year.  More people are encouraged to participate in this fun event next year.

YIS,
Eric Weidman

Hamden Bike Trip 9/15/2012

Since the participation level and weather forecast were questionable, the bike trip location was changed this year, from Cape Cod to a more local trail in Hamden .  We all met at the Hamden Middle School . The turnout was much larger than it would have been had we gone out of state.  We rode out about 10 miles to the end of the bike trail, with a few breaks along the way.  At the end of the trail, we regrouped and decided what to do next.  Everyone rode a couple miles back to a cool area for lunch.  After lunch, we decided to ride back to the starting place, then ride an additional 3 miles out then back in order to successfully complete 25 miles.  Everyone had a great time and there only two flat tires!  To top it off, we stopped at Dairy Queen on the way back to Guilford !  This day trip is a great alternative to an impractical overnight trip.

                                                YIS,

                                                    Eric Weidman

Nickerson Bike Trip - Sept 2011

On September 30th, 2011, we drove up to Nickerson State Park in Cape Cod for our bike trip. We set up camp, made dinner, and went to bed. When my tent woke up in the morning, our tent was in a three in deep puddle from the rain the previous night. Luckily, the floor of the tent held and nothing got wet. After breakfast, it was raining so we decided to go to a tower nearby. We climbed to the top of the tower and enjoyed the view before returning to camp and starting out on the trip. We all stopped at Marconi Beach for lunch and then continued on back to camp, while the 50 milers went farther. On the way back, we stopped at the candy/ice cream store for a rest, and finished up back at camp. We all had a good time and everybody should go next time because it was awesome.
YIS,
Eric Weidman

Yawgoog 2012

Everyone met up at the parking lot at Yawgoog on Sunday, July 8th at around five o'clock. When we finally got permission to enter camp, everyone piled down the road to our site in Three Point: Frontier. We organized our tents, which took a while because the camp didn't give us enough tents and we had to combine some. Then we had to set up the garage tent, the tent that we put over the picnic tables for the week. Next came dinner: hot dogs cooked at our very own campfire! After that was lights out.

    Monday morning, we got up and everybody did their jobs posted on the bulletin board. Breakfast was pancakes, and we had to go straight to our troop photo after. After an unreasonably long photo, we went back to camp to prepare for our swim tests which took place at about 10:00am. We then had the rest of the morning free to hang out in our campsite. Lunch was hotdogs, and then we had our water front orientation. After that, we had afternoon merit badge classes. At Yawgoog, you have for merit badge 'classes' during the day, and one more after dinner. Two occur after breakfast, and two after lunch, so scouts can earn up to about five merit badges in the week, but three is usually a rational amount so you can have some free time and time for homework. Anyway, afternoon classes started Monday and ended Friday, while morning classes started Tuesday and mostly ended on Friday, but may have to have a short class Saturday. Dinner was pasta w/ meat sauce, and of course some bread and butter.

    Tuesday began the normal schedule. We had eggs and sausage for breakfast, and then of to classes! Lunch was grilled cheese, and then after a short break, back to classes! After a dinner of roast beef, we returned to camp, and some of us went off to one more class! This general schedule was fairly consistent throughout the rest of the week.

    There are some friendly competitions throughout the week of camp to help scouts enjoy themselves even more. There is a troop competition that takes place after lunch each day that consists of a game in which troops select a representative to play and some troops are eliminated each day until only one remains. We got eliminated on the second day in a game of ninja.

    Also, there is a mile swim at camp. In order to take part in this "not race", you had to swim 20 lengths in the waterfront to qualify. This year we had a troop record of seven people qualify for the swim, that's more than any other troop we swam with. The seven were Nick Apuzzo, Adam Germaine, Jesse Warner, Dan McCloskey, Cliff Mackowiak, Ian Slattery, and me (Eric Weidman). I finished first in the "not" race, and the others followed strong. Everybody finished, which was the goal seeing as it is a hard thing to do.

    The final competition that was held at camp was the mile run. Each troop gets one representative to run for them, and the troop decided to make me do it. I accepted my fate, and decided to make it worth something. So I ran. On the last turn, I passed the kid that was in first and sprinted to the finish. Yay!
On Saturday, there is a show called the Saturday Night Show that we go to watch along with every other scout and person on reservation. Unfortunately, I had to leave camp the day before so I missed the show, but I'm sure it was great just like every other year.

    Everyone left on Sunday, July 15 in the morning, avoiding the parade that the other troops do (shhh!).

    I think Camp Yawgoog is a great experience for all scouts, and they should try to go if they can.

YIS,
Eric Weidman