Like Mt. Washington, Katahdin is one of those classic, must do, northeastern hikes. Logistically it is a challenge because of the remoteness and competitiveness for campground space. The attached gives an overview of the hike. I wrote it using powerpoint 07, if it does not open for you, send a note and I’ll try saving as an earlier version file.

katahdin.ppt

 In the 1840s Henry David Thoreau climbed Katahdin (written then as “Ktaadn”); his ascent is recorded in a well-known chapter of The Maine Woods. His travels followed ancient Wabanaki canoe routes through vast, primitive wilderness. You might want to take in this history prior to any trip.  Lots of information is available in a simple web search. One place to start is the Thoreau-Wabanaki Trail association:

(Credit: wikipedia)

At 14,494 feet (4,418 meters) above sea level, California’s Mount Whitney is the highest peak in the lower 48 states. Whitney is part of the Sierra Nevada, a fault-block mountain range formed when shifting tectonic plates led to the cracking and faulting of the Earth’s surface. Limited access (one needs a permit to enter), so not too overrun and quite challenging.

Here is an interesting article on the hike that was recently published in the Wall Street Journal. Link is at the end. Lots of material available on this great hike all over the internet. 

mtwhitney 

A friend at work introduced this to me and I introduced it to my daughter. I’m bringing it up because they have a great Junior Program for kids starting at the age of 14. I think this is a great opportunity to do something challenging and really build confidence.  If your son has any thoughts of going to the Air Force Academy, it wouldn’t hurt being part of something like this.

 http://www.soargbsc.com/juniors.php

I also learned about a program in Texas affiliated with a venture crew.  Crews don’t have to be high adventure camping focused. There are crews involved in civil war reenactment, emergency response, railroading, you name it. If somebody was interested in starting a crew either up here in the Boston area or really anywhere in the US, you may want to consider an affiliation with a flight club. Keeping a crew together is hard work, something interesting like this might really get kids in and then keep them interested.

This a link to a brief mention of the Texas program:

http://www.texassoaring.org/Documents/VentureProgram.asp

This is an easy but interesting merit badge. In the northeast, we’re blessed with numerous early American history sites, but I bet wherever you are you can find something interesting. I’ll work on some training material, in the meantime, I’ll share this one piece I was working on:

The Concord Hymn

 ”…And fired the shot heard round the world.” so wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson. This famous poem (actually a sung hymn) is studied & analyzed from grade school through college, but the history of the poem is what I was interested in. I knew it was prepared for the dedication of the battle monument at the Old North Bridge in Concord, MA, but I wanted to get a feel for the circumstances. I visualized the famed orator standing near the obelisk, one arm on the monument, one arm raised high, flags around him ‘unfurling in the April breeze,’ but alas, it was much different. Surprisingly, very little is available on the web, it took hours/weeks to find out what I could.  I eventually had to make a trip to the Special Collections vault at the Concord Library. Maybe you’ll find interesting…

story-of-concord-hymn.pdf

Here is a midi of the tune sung: old_100th.mid

This is a great read on Emerson and transcendentalism: ralph-waldo-emerson.doc

Leave No Trace is not simply a program for visiting the backcountry, it is an attitude and a way of life.

I plan to expand this area considerably, I have lots of material to share on this topic.

Here’s one that is pretty good - an extensive powerpoint done on the entire program:

Leave No Trace Powerpoint (large size (35MB) but a very comprehensive, useful download. Credit: Blaine Boxwell, Connecticut Yankee Council)

Here’s BSA’s comprehensive training doc: LNT BSA Training Doc (pdf)

Here’s LNT’s Trifold handout: LNT Trifold Doc

Her’s another good powerpoint (b&w unfortunately, but good intro material):Intro LNT powerpoint)

Here’s a link to listings of LNT Master Educator’s Courses:

http://www.tcfroar.org/boyscoutofamerica2009mastereducatorcourses.html

Here is a cub handout along with a card I created (for reqt 5):

cubscout-lnt.doc

(from LNT.org)

Wilderness Survival Merit Badge Supplement 

Here are three good survival scenarios to use with your kids. Not part of the badge requirements but can be used as a warm-up or post-badge activity. If you are cabin camping some night and want an interesting group activity, pull these out.

survival1.doc

survival2.doc

survival3.doc

Last year we did this whitewater rafting trip out in western MA. They actually organize a full Whitewater MB class, but we wanted the kids to have an introductory run first before getting into the whole MB requirement process. It was on class III rapids which I thought were pretty mild (albeit, it was a dam release river and I don’t think we got the benefit of a huge rush of water). These kind of trip can be a little on the expensive side ($65-$100 each), but they are worth it. Every kid wants to do this activity. We did ours in early June and wore wetsuits, which was perfectly fine. Here’s a link to the MB program offered by the company we used:

 http://www.crabapplewhitewater.com/group_outings/scouts.shtml

Here’s a few up in Maine:

http://www.neoc.com/content/4033/_Girl_Scouts/

http://www.proriverrunners.com/index.php?page=scout_badges

http://www.adv-bound.com/

scout-whitewater-badges.pdf

These kind of trips are run all over the country. Here’s a couple in PA:

http://www.laurelhighlands.com/activities/meritbadge.html

http://www.wilderness-voyageurs.com/whitewater_merit_badge.htm

You’ll need to google whitewater MB [your state] to find local ones.

Here’s something that looks pretty interesting – earning the geology merit badge (and mammal study) while exploring a cave. They seem to have a nice program designed. Could do all year, not just a summer activity. Lincoln Caverns is somewhat in the area of Gettysburg (center, bottom of PA), so if you are traveling there from afar, you might want to combine the two.

http://www.lincolncaverns.com/groups/scouts/index.html

I’ve been to this one before, just west of Albany, NY:

http://www.howecaverns.com/

They have all kinds of educational programs, they might be able to work with you to design a MB program.

These type of caverns are developed for visitors so they are not the type of activity as mentioned in caving post. My kids loved  Howe Caverns, it is worth the trip.

These may help – free sky maps showing what is in the sky by month.

The telescope.com one is a little better for locating planets. Skymaps.com has nice descriptions of the night sky.

http://www.space.com/spacewatch/sky_calendar.html (click on planets 1/2 way down), map at bottom.

http://www.skymaps.com/downloads.html

 If this link stays active, here is a program for the Bird Study Merit Badge:

http://k2gw.tripod.com/birdstudy/