Day Hike at Pere Marquette
Our troop tries to do at least one outdoor activity every month. Most of these are weekend trips. For this month, since we already had a lot going on, we decided to go with a day-hike for our outdoor activity.
The Planning
As we approach the end of the year, our calendar gets a bit busy. Besides our own events, the Council has a number of events as well. Needless to say, it’s a busy time.
We had a day-hike planned a while back, but we had to cancel due to a conflict. The Scouts have been asking to have it rescheduled, so at one of our youth-leader meetings, we planed a day-hike for this past weekend. For this trip, they chose to go on the trails at Pere Marquette State Park.
Fall Weather
At this time of year, you never know what the weather will be like. It could be sunny and hot, cold and snowy, or anything in-between. We lucked out this time. The weather was near perfect. It tried to rain on us toward the end, but it held off until we were done.
Getting Started
We started at the visitors center. After checking out what was inside, the Scouts went over a few basics. In addition to this being our month’s outing, we were also using it to complete the “5-mile hike with your troop” rank requirement that many of our Scouts needed to complete. Prior to the event, our youth leaders had studied the map and picked a route that was about 5.5 miles, which was perfect.
An Opportunity For Learning
We took a few breaks along the way. During those times, we covered a number of other smaller rank requirements. This included items such as hiking safety rules, reading a map, talking about the types of hazards present during hikes and how to prevent them, and other orienteering-related items. All led by our youth leaders, of course!
Another Successful Outing
It turned out to be a great day. Everyone seemed to have a good time, the Scouts were all well-prepared, and we got through the afternoon without any incidents. Plus, we all got in a little well-needed exercise. Not bad for a quick-and-easy outing!
