Hi folks,We’ve decided to put up another backpacking trip this year as we have a lot of fun doing them with the scouts.

We’re going to go back to the Catskills to hike the Cornell-Wittenberg-Slide trail. Slide is the highest hill in the Catskills. It should be a fun time for all. We planned to do Cornell-Wittenberg back in April but changed destinations due to possible icy conditions in the Catskills. Not expecting any ice in June.

We’re also doing something a little different on this hiking trip. We’re leaving on Friday evening and we’ll camp two nights. It will be dark Friday when we arrive and we’ll do a mile or two that evening in the dark. Early rise Saturday for a quick breakfast and we’re on the trail again.

It’s not a lot of mileage for this hike. Only around 10 or 11 miles, however, there is a fair amount of ascent. That’s why we rate it as a moderately difficult hike. Any first time scouts that want to attend or first time scout hikers, we ask that a parent come along to help lighten their load. We recommend that no one carry more than 25% of their body weight on a backpacking hike all in (remember food and water). With the little guys, it doesn’t take much for them to get to 15 or 20 lbs. We also recommend that scouts share the load between them. A tent can be split up between two scouts and will lighten the load for each.

If you are interested, please print and return the permission slip/fee no later than 5/31. We’ll also do trip planning that evening. First time hikers don’t miss this meeting as we’ll have some information on what items to bring and what to leave at home.

If you have any questions, please reach out to me.

Thanks.

Spring II Hiking Permission Slip.pdf