catclaw Report post Posted July 13, 2009 I just returned from taking 11 scouts on a 50 mile hike in the White Mountains. We hiked from below Big Lake to Eagle Creek. We saw bears, a nice ram, deer, elk, turkeys, skunks and all kinds of birds. We fished in Black River and hiked to some cool places. We only got rained on once and we made it to a cabin in the forest just as it started coming down. We managed to keep from breaking any bones or any lacerating any body parts! A few sunburns, numerous bumps and bruises as well as a bunch of sore feet were the extent of the injuries. At the end of the trip I set up some steel gongs and let them shoot the gongs with a rifle. Every boy was able to hit the 250 yd gong shooting off the Claw. We shot several hundred clay targets with shotguns and overall they had a ball. The last night I had a steak fry as they were getting a little tired of Mountain House! I doubt they will forget this experience, I know I won't! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
catclaw Report post Posted July 13, 2009 A couple of more photos Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snapshot Report post Posted July 13, 2009 Thats awesome, and one heck of a hike in some great country. How long did it take you to finish the trip? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cramerhunts Report post Posted July 13, 2009 Very, very cool! A huge kudos for you. I'm sure those memories will be with the boys for ever. Phil Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coues79 Report post Posted July 13, 2009 That's absolutely awesome. I can hardly wait until I'm able to do this kinda stuff with my kids. Thanks for posting these pictures. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Packer Report post Posted July 13, 2009 Sounds like an awesome trip. Thanks for posting the pictures I was hoping you would. If you have plans in the future to do another one of these trips let me know as I would love to help out as much as I could. Glad to hear everyone made the whole trip safe. Aaron Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coues 'n' Sheep Report post Posted July 13, 2009 Awesome!!!! You are a good man to spend that time outdoors with kids! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
catclaw Report post Posted July 13, 2009 We started Monday about noon and finished Friday about 11 am. We stayed Friday night so we could do the fun stuff that afternoon and Saturday morning. When we started shooting the gong, an antelope ran out of the draw behind the target berm- I am sure we ruined his nap! We had two really tough days due to dismal trail conditions and the rest was not too difficult. I took saws and we cleared trails where feasible. We obviously couldn't tackle the big ones but anything under about 9" was fair game to the saws. This is a really good experience for boys- especially city boys. They learned you can start a fire using just natural stuff- in about two minutes, you can find water along the way and make it safe to drink, that bears are usually more scared of us that we should be of them and that you can actually survive without your cell phones, Ipods and gameboys! Here is a typical trail Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest RutNHard Report post Posted July 13, 2009 Looks like real fun and real exhausting at the same time. Did you find any sheds?? Happy Hunting!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tjhunt2 Report post Posted July 13, 2009 MY hat is off to you Catclaw for taking on such a task. You bet them boys will remember that trip and hopefully some of them will continue to be our next generation of good outdoorsmen. Thanks for taking us along on your trip with the pics. Looks like it was a great time. TJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coach Report post Posted July 13, 2009 Nice! Reminds me of old-school Scouting in the Fred Darby age! 2nd Class Scout, Eastern Oklahoma!!! Hill country boys could shoot, by God! My brother went full on Eagle Scout. Great job getting those kids out of the 'burbs and into the "Real World". Kudos brother! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
catclaw Report post Posted July 13, 2009 Yep- found a couple of chalks. Also found a really nice horn from a cow. We were too tired to carry any of them out. Didn't get off the trails much in most areas due to time constraints. A couple of the boys took all the photos and made DVD slide show and a few movie clips yesterday. They brought my copy over and we watched it last night. It was awesome. I think there are going to be some shocked parents when they see it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Rabbit Report post Posted July 13, 2009 you can actually survive without your cell phones, Ipods and gameboys! Say it ain't so! Sounds like it was a good trip for the Scouts and you. Doug~RR Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kilimanjaro Report post Posted July 13, 2009 Good on ya for taking those young guys!! That sounds like a trip they will always remember. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted July 14, 2009 Awesome!! Amanda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
