A fun Saturday morning hike at Cahokia Mounds
This year has been very challenging for the troop. Nearly all of the typical “Scouting” activities involve interacting with and doing things with other Scouts…in-person. The current situation makes this very difficult.
However, if we get creative, there are still a lot of things that we can do while still keeping our Scouts, leaders, and families safe. As of late, we’ve focused on simple outdoor activities. Not long ago, we set aside our normal troop meeting agenda for an evening of fishing. Today, we decided to go on a morning hike.
For today’s hike, we took a trip to Cahokia Mounds. In addition to the actual mounds and the Interpretive Center, the property includes a number of hiking trails. Our troop has regularly used these trails in the past. However, it has been a while, and we have a number of newer Scouts, so it seemed like a good time for a return visit.
Completing some hiking requirements
Events such as this are a good opportunity to help the Scouts with their advancement needs. Sometimes we cover rank advancements. At other times we cover merit badge prerequisites. Sometimes we simply cover a topic in the handbook. In short, we do whatever makes the most sense for that particular event.
As mentioned above, we have a number of Scouts who have not been with the troop very long. As a result, we have several Scouts who still needed to complete their 5-mile hike. Cahokia Mounds works great for this, because it’s pretty easy to map out a trail that will get us to the 5-mile mark.
A good reminder to “Be Prepared”
Generally speaking, this is not a difficult hike. The terrain is flat and there are few obstacles. However, as with any event, there are always some unexpected items. These turn out to be a good reminder to the Scouts that they should always be prepared.
Since we started fairly early in the morning, the ground was very wet. It was a good reminder about the importance of good waterproof hiking boots.
Most of the trail (that wasn’t paved) was well cleared. However, one section of the trail was a fairly overgrown field. It was a good reminder about the benefits of wearing long pants for a more comfortable hike.
There was one final item that caught many of us off-guard. We did not anticipate the number of mosquitoes we would encounter. A few of us had brought bug spray, so we had plenty to go around, but the Scouts likely won’t forget to bring some next time we go for a hike!
A great view of the local wildlife
One of the bonuses of this particular event was in the number of deer we saw this morning. They were everywhere! At one point, we saw over 20 of them together. There was even one that jumped out of some tall grass right next to the trail as we were walking by. The boys definitely enjoyed the view of the wildlife.
Staying safe while still getting out and having fun
Events such as this are a great way for us to get out and do things while still keeping everyone safe by practicing our “social distancing”. We’re hoping to continue with more events in the near future.
