Wissahickon Hike

Akela HikingAs we approach our final Summer Activity, it is now time to start getting yourself in hiking mode.  Let’s start with some details about the hike itself.  We will be hiking approximately 4-5 miles in Wissahickon Park.  The hike will begin and end at the Valley Green Inn.  There will be several stops to take a drink and a longer stop for lunch.  With stops and lunch the hike should take approximately 4-5 hours.

Wissahickon Park is a scenic and scout friendly park. There is a lot of nature to see as we stroll through the scenic river gorge with statues, large rocks, streams and enough natural views to have you disbelieving that you are still in the city of Philadelphia.

As with any other scouting event, preparation is key. It is august and naturally it will be a hot summer day.  Maintaining hydration, adequate energy levels and protecting your skin are the three most important things to keep in mind. EVERY Person, youth & adult, will be required to carry a filled water bottle with them as well has have some trail snacks and a bagged lunch with them.

Remember you will need to carry whatever you bring for the entire 5-6 miles so it is important to not overdo it. Each boy should be able to carry his own gear. If there is any doubt then it is recommended that he bring a backpack to carry his stuff.  Certain items will be necessary to keep on his person.

So what do you need to bring along?  Let’s get right down to it…Baloo Hiking

  • Water
  • Scout Cap
  • Class A or Class B uniform
  • Long Pants
  • Good Walking/Hiking shoes
  • Spare Socks
  • Water
  • Water Bottle filled with WATER ONLY
  • Trail Snacks (No Sugary Snacks)
  • Bagged Lunch (nothing heavy, may use sports drink otherwise no sugary drinks)
  • Water
  • Sunscreen
  • Bug Spray
  • Pocket First Aid Kit
  • Whistle (in case they fall off and get lost)
  • Water
  • Oh and don’t forget some water.

Some additional information that you may find useful

  • Hiking Safety
    • Always tell someone where you are going and when you will return.
    • Never hike alone or at night; use the buddy system.
    • Dress properly for the weather and environment.
    • Wear sun and insect protection
    • Take an extra pair of socks in case you need to change.
    • Obey traffic signs and signals.
    • Avoid hiking along roadways.
    • Stay on the trail.
    • Be alert to your surroundings.
    • Don’t litter as you hike.
    • Be alert to dangerous animals, insects, and plants. Never touch a wild animal.
    • Take 1 pint of water for each hour you will be hiking. Never drink untreated water.

You can find examples of hiking food here:  http://www.hikingdude.com/hiking-food.php

With a trail mix recipe here: http://www.hikingdude.com/trail-mix-recipe.php

Information on Hiking gear can be found here: http://www.hikingdude.com/hiking-gear.php

*** PLEASE SEE THE CALENDAR EVENT FOR DETAILS ***

Directions From Roosevelt Blvd (Northeast Philadelphia)
Take Roosevelt Blvd. until you reach the Henry Avenue/Fox Avenue exit. Right on Fox. Left on Queen Lane. Right on Henry Avenue. Go North on Henry Avenue, follow approximately 4 miles until you reach Wise’s Mill Rd. Turn right on Wise’s Mill Road. This will take you down to Forbidden Drive. (you can only travel one way) Follow Forbidden drive until you reach parking lot. (1/4 mile) The Valley Green is 100 yards from this parking lot.

Photo Section Coming Soon

As you may have noticed there is a new section on the site (on the menu at the top) for pack photos.  We haven’t imported any of the photos into the site yet, but they are coming soon.  If you have any photos that you would like to share please send us an email using the contact page.  We do not have an official pack photographer so we rely on family & friends to share their photos with us.

Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire Update

 Hail and well met! Come ye hither for tonnes of merriment! Prepare for a time when we greeted kings & queens, sword fighting was rampant, mud throwing was still dirty and you could have a swashbuckling good time.

We can arrive at the campsite between 4pm & 9pm.  Keep in mind that parking is not next to the site so you will need to walk and carry your supplies to the camp site.  There is a link to a map below so you can see where the parking lot is in relation to the camp site.

We are able to bring food and cook on site so I will be bringing my camp stove.  Make sure to either have dinner before arriving Wednesday evening or bring it with you. Also be sure to bring Thursday’s breakfast and lunch with you. They do have an area for keeping lunch coolers so if you do have a cooler with you be sure it is tagged with your name and Pack 155. The Faire will have  concession stands available on Thursday but this will not be until after 9:00 pm.  The cost of meals purchased will average $6-8 per person. Again, you can find a link to their menus below.

We are encouraged to dress up if we like. I would suggest if the boys would like, they dress as pirates. Though no weapons, They are allowed a cardboard sword or hook ( as per Faire rules). Make sure we are in clothes that can get dirty as you will see in the schedule attached below. You May even want to bring a change for the end of the day.

Since we will be sleeping under the stats it is important that you bring the appropriate supplies as usual. Here are item lists that are essential for a safe and enjoyable event.

OUTDOOR ESSENTIALS FOR CUB SCOUTS

  • Personal First Aid Kit
  • Filled Water Bottle
  • Flashlight w/spare batteries & bulb
  • Whistle
  • Rain Gear
  • Sunscreen

**If you or your child need any medications be sure to bring them and store them in a zip lock bag.**

What you have above, is the basics necessary for taking care of yourself outdoors. It is vital to always have the above with your regardless of the activity type you are participating in.  Now for our camping trip the following items, in addition to the items above, are necessary for this weekend to be a successful and safe weekend.

  • Class B Uniform (Pack t-shirt).
  • Backpack for your gear
  • Clothes to sleep in (pajamas or sweats – note it can still get chilly)
  • Sweatshirt and/or Jacket
  • Rain Gear (jacket and pants preferred over poncho)
  • Extra shoes, socks & underwear.
  • Extra set of clothes
  • Tent, poles, and stakes
  • Waterproof ground cloth (tarp or plastic sheet)
  • Sleeping bag
  • Sleeping Pad
  • Pillow
  • Extra blanket (optional but could be necessary).
  • Insect Repellent
  • Sunscreen
  • Cup or Mug
  • Toilet paper (remove tube, crush and put in zip lock  bag)
  • Toothbrush and Toothpaste
  • Soap, washcloth, towel
  • Good Attitude!

OPTIONAL FAMILY ITEMS

  • Camp/Lawn chairs
  • Lantern
  • cooler/ice chest

Resources:

Here are some links for further information as well as some fun stuff for the little campers

 

BounceU Update

For those that signed up and paid for BounceU tomorrow night please be sure to bring socks.  Your child will not be allowed to bounce without socks. Also your parents *MUST* be present long enough to sign a waiver.  Every child must have a waiver signed by a responsible adult or they will not be able to bounce.

We begin at 7:00 pm; both Tim & Tom will be there by 6:30 pm.  The pizza for those bouncing will be served around 8:30pm so that no one gets sick bouncing.

BounceU – Last Call

Just want to make a last call for those interested in going to BounceU before we give our final headcount and pay on Monday or Tuesday of next week.

You can find all of the details at http://cubpack155.org/x/1R

It is our last Summer Time Activity for July so if you didn’t attend Summer Day Camp or Summer Resident Camp this is your only event opportunity for July.  It is $10 per child (adults don’t pay unless they plan on bouncing and/or eating).

It should be a fun time for all.

Please contact Tom Sytsma or Timothy O’Keefe if you need to get on the list.

Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire Sleepover

Here Ye!  Here Ye!

Come one , Come all !!!

    Join us in an adventure through time to the PA Renaissance Faire. Located at the Mount Hope Estate is located in Northern Lancaster County, just off exit 266
of the PA Turnpike.
2775 Lebanon Road
Manheim, PA 17545

Be a part of the action,  meet the Queen and witness a human chess match.

 Where else can you enjoy food from the Royal Kitchen while watching  jugglers and jousting.

  We will be leaving on the 1st to arrive after 4pm to camp out on the grounds.The we will enjoy the festivities at the Faire on August 2nd from 9am-3pm. It is only $10. per person.

For those of you who have not signed up but would still like to go there are openings available. You can contact me at scoutmomkw (at) gmail.com no later then Saturday 7/21 and we can arrange to meet up to collect payment.

Summer Youth Day Schedule:

http://www.parenfaire.com/assets/pdfs/SYDMap.pdf

2012 Summer Day Camp Summary

Cub Scout InvestigatorsThe Roosevelt District just wrapped up its Summer Day Camp held at the Torresdale Boys Club.  It was a blast for all who participated; cubs, leaders & parents alike.  Summer Camp is not only a great source of summer fun, but it is a tremendous opportunity for the Cub Scouts to get a head start towards their new rank before the new scouting season even starts.

Pack 155 had two boys in attendance; Jared Wonsor who recently moved into the Bear den after earning his Wolf rank and Tommy Sytsma who recently crossed over into the Webelos Den after earning his Bear rank.  Two adult volunteers, two youth volunteers and a young sibling also represented Pack 155 at the Summer Day Camp.  Cubmaster Tom Sytsma and Den Leader Karen Wonsor volunteered a full week of their time as staff members for the camp while their daughters, Avery (12) and Brianna (17) gave up a full week of their Summer break to volunteer as den chiefs.  Tom’s 5 year old, Aedhan, attended as part of the Kiddie Korner which is a program for siblings not yet old enough to participate as scouts.

In order to promote future Summer Camps and try to increase pack participation and maximize opportunities for our members we felt it would be a great idea to fill you in about our week and show you what the boys accomplished in as little as 5-6hours/day for 4 days with the 5th day being pure fun & games culminating in the closing ceremony.

The typical day starts at 9:00 am with the opening where the boys are given water bottles to maintain hydration. These bottles can be filled at the various stations throughout the day.  After the opening, the dens split going to different stations.  They meet up as a group for an hour of pool time and again for lunch. Some days also have special programs for the boys to enjoy. The day ends around 3:15 pm to close out the day.

There were five stations  that the boys rotated through, aside from lunch and the swimming pool.  They were Archery (an obvious favorite), Arts & Crafts, Science & Nature, Scout Skills, and Games & Sports .  With the theme of the camp being CSI: Cub Scout Investigators our special programs were K9 demonstrations & Crime Scene Investigation discussions held by the Philadelphia Police Department.

Friday is the only day that alters from the routine. After the opening ceremony the battle begins. It is an all out water war with *EVERYONE* being fair game.  Unless you are in the rec center or in one of the safe zones, the kids have the freedom to attack you without repercussion. It is 3 hours of water guns, water balloons, buckets of water and if the fire department isn’t on call, they bring a fire truck out and let the hose rain down on the kids.  At noon, a cease fire is called and lunch begins. After lunch everyone at camp is treated (Rita’s water ice this year) and then the closing ceremonies begin.

The closing ceremonies involve each den performing a skit or song, with a few other seasoned scouters doing a few run off skits of their own.  Lastly everyone is awarded their diplomas, certificates of recognition and if they scored some bulls-eyes, a bulls-eye aware from the Archery Instructors.

So what did the boys (L)earn???

I will list what each rank covered and if any of our boys were part of that rank who they were. There is a lot of overlap which isn’t reported here as we are still trying to find out what requirements are the same for multiple things. For example, earning the Astronomy Belt loop serves as one of the requirements to earn the Scientist Activity Badge for Webelos.

Tiger Den

These are the boys who are brand new to scouting and will be entering their pack for the first time in September. They would either be 7 years old or entering 1st Grade in September.  Summer Camp is a huge advantage for these boys as they will have gained some familiarity with the Cub Scout Program by being actively involved in a fun setting before their first year even begins.  Oh and you read that correctly, the tigers completed certain electives multiple times and in different ways.

  • Bobcat Requirements: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 – Bobcat Badge COMPLETED
  • Tiger Requirements: 2d, 5f, 5d, 5g
  • Tiger Electives: 2, 9, 19, 22 (5 times), 29, 31, 32, 33 (2 times), 34, 35 (3 times), 40 (5 times), 47 (2 times)
  • Cub Scout Academic & Sports Belt Loops
    • Archery, Astronomy, Baseball, Marbles, Science, Soccer, Table Tennis, Ultimate (Frisbee), Weather, Wildlife Conservation,
  • Cub Scout Academic & Sports Pins
    • Archery Pin Requirement 1, 3
    • Science Pin Requirement 10, 11

Wolf Den

These are the boys who earned their Tiger rank and will working towards their wolf rank starting in September. If any of these boys are brand new to scouting then they would either be 8 years old or entering 2nd grade in September.

  • Bobcat Reviewed
  • Wolf Requirements: 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e, 1f, 1g, 1j, 1l, 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f, 2g, 3b, 3c, 5e, 7b, 7f
  • Wolf Electives: 4a, 4c, 4e, 4f,  9b, 12a, 14d, 18g, 20a, 20h, 20i, 20k, 20l, 23b, 23c, 23d, 23e
  • Cub Scout Academic & Sports Belt Loops
    • Archery, Astronomy, Baseball, Marbles, Science, Soccer, Table Tennis, Ultimate (Frisbee), Weather, Wildlife Conservation,
  • Cub Scout Academic & Sports Pins
    • Archery Pin Requirement 1, 3
    • Science Pin Requirement 10, 11

Bear Den

These are the boys who earned their wolf rank and will now be working towards their Bear rank come September. If any of these boys are brand new to scouting then they would either be 9 years old or entering 3rd grade in September.

Jared Wonsor participated as a member of this Den.

  • Bear Requirements: 5b, 5c, 5e, 6d, 6e, 15b, 15c, 16a, 16b, 16c, 18c, 19a, 19d, 21a, 22a, 22b, 23a, 23b, 23c
  • Bear Electives: 6a, 6c, 6f, 6g, 12
  • Cub Scout Academic & Sports Belt Loops
    • Archery, Astronomy, Baseball, Basketball, Kickball, Marbles, Science, Soccer, Table Tennis, Ultimate Frisbee, Weather, Wildlife Conservation
  • Cub Scout Academic & Sports Pins
    • Archery Pin Requirement 1, 3
    • Science Pin Requirement 10, 11

Webelos Den

These are the boys who earned their bear rank and will be working towards their Webelos rank in September *or* have already earned their Webelos rank and will be working towards their Arrow of Light come September. If any of these boys are brand new to scouting then they would either be 10 or 11 years old or entering the 4th or 5th grades in September.  Where as the other dens have requirements and electives, the Webelos have Activity Badges which they have to complete in order to earn their Webelos Badge and ultimately their Arrow of Light.

Tommy Sytsma participated in this den.

  • Webelos Badge Requirements: 3, 4, 7a, 7b, 7c
  • Activity Badge Requirements:
    • Citizen 3, 4, 5
    • Forester: 9
    • Naturalist (COMPLETE):  1, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
    • Outdoorsman: 5, 7, 9, 10
    • Readyman: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
    • Scientist (COMPLETE): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12
    • Sportsman (COMPLETE): 1, 2, 3, 4
  • Cub Scout Academic & Sports Belt Loops
    • Archery, Astronomy, Baseball, Basketball, Flag Football, Kickball, Marbles, Science, Soccer, Table Tennis, Weather, Wildlife Conservation
  • Cub Scout Academic & Sports Pins
    • Archery Pin Requirement 1, 3
    • Science Pin Requirement 10, 11

Tonight’s Riversharks Game

Blue Crabs vs Riversharks

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Tickets:

Tim O’Keefe will be in front of the box office at 5:45 PM to give out tickets, patches & wrist bands.  He will be wearing his Pack 155 Class B Tshirt.  Tim will be going into the game no later than 6:10 PM.  YOU MUST MEET HIM BEFORE THEN.  If anyone wishes to meet with him before 5:45 to get their tickets they can reach him on his cell phone 215_219_0059.

The Parade:

The parade is at 6:15 PM and will meet at the visitors dugout along the 3rd baseline.  The Cub Scouts who wish to participate in the parade should wear their Class A Shirts.  It is recommended that they wear their Class B shirt underneath to wear during the game.

Release Form:

Everyone is require to sign a release form.  One is attached to this post for you to print and fill out. Tim will have additional copies with him at the game.

Overnight Packet (click link to the left)

NOTE: PLEASE SEE THE EVENT PAGE FOR UPDATED INFORMATION IN DETAIL, http://cubpack155.org/x/1S

 

 

Ceremony

Just sending out a reminder for those who signed up to bring items to our Blue and Gold Ceremony on June 11th.

The Main dishes will be provided by the pack.
We will be serving:

Kielbasa and Sauerkraut
Hot Dogs
Chicken

Thank you to all of those who volunteered to bring items.

Wilson: Ketchup,Mustard,Relish

Belevan: Bottled Water

Gloria and Anna: Cookies

Gallagher: Brownies

Eliason: Veggie Tray

Anna: Coffee Creamer

Valazquez: Marshmallows

Nelson: Vanilla Wafers

Thanks again. See you all Monday.

2012 Blue & Gold

Pack 155 Blue and GoldI would just like to remind everyone that the Blue & Gold will begin at 6:00 pm EST.  Also please have the boys dress in full uniform. For those that have instant recognition badges (where the beads hang from), be sure to have them as well.  Dinner is being provided however if you would like to contribute please do so in the form of beverages or dessert.