Scouts BSA Troop 1916 Journal

Sebastian Herbolsheimer

2021 Riverbend Park Hike

Sunday started out rainy, then cloudy, and back to rain.. and so on. However, hiking in the spring Mid-March drizzle was beautiful and definitely worth it. We arrived at noon, finding only about 10 or so cars in the parking lot. Parking was one thing we were worried about, as the day before, the lots of around 60 parking spaces filled up before 10:00, but the forecast had definitely helped us with not running into many people during the hike; having the freedom of the trail to enjoy and really “soak” everything in.

The plants were teeming with life from the downpour and drizzle, giving us the chance to see them in their fully-nourished glory (see the photos below). Bluebells, forsythias, and cherry blossoms were peeking out as we passed through the woods. We also saw various wildlife along the trail, occurring woodpeckers, ducks, turtles, and a variety of river bird species (and a potential eagle’s nest?)

The rain also brought insects up from the ground. The group observed many, brightly colored and large. The hike was approximately 4-5 miles and lasted about 2 and a half hours. Starting out at the visitor center, making our way up the Potomac Heritage Trail, down the Bootlegger trail to the other end of the park, and back up the Potomac Heritage Trail. See a map of our trek below.

The last thing we saw was quite surprising. I was about to throw some garbage we picked up during the hike into a trash receptacle along the trail. Thankfully, I looked into the can before throwing things in, as there was a raccoon on its back, looking straight up at me. It appeared to be stuck in the can, in a food coma from leftovers and specific perishables. We alerted the Park Authority ranger station on the way out, and they promptly left and freed the raccoon, who made a full recovery :)

Special thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Thesmar for attending the outing with the Scouts, and organizing the hike.

Check out the photos of the outing here

- Sebastian Herbolsheimer

National Mall Hike - March 2021

We often head west a few hours to get to the woods. But today was a different story — 13 miles from McLean to the National Mall. For more than 200 years, the National Mall has symbolized our nation and its democratic values, which have inspired the world. The National Mall - the great swath of green in the middle of our capital city and stretching from the foot of the United States Capitol to the Potomac River - is the great civic and symbolic space in our nation. Sunday morning, we met at the Korean War Veterans Memorial Information building. Instead of the intense, longer hikes we usually complete with the troop, this 6 mile, relatively flat terrain hike was the perfect way to get back in shape after a year of pandemic-inspired takeout food and snacking. The group made its way around the Mall, taking a quick look from a distance (they didn’t let anyone get close — see the perimeter fencing below) at the White House, visiting the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Capitol Grounds, MLK Memorial, and much more. The beautiful mid-March weather was definitely a plus during the stroll, with temps reaching about 67 degrees, and a sun-filled afternoon ahead of us. Even though the trees looked barren, we were still able to see the green tips of the soon-to-be Cherry Blossoms poking out, ready for a spectacular season. You can plan your own trip to the National Mall right here, or by using the Troop 1916 map we created below. Thanks to Mr. Thesmar for the great photos.

Check out the troop photos here.

Information/excerpt from the National Park Service (nps.gov)

- Sebastian Herbolsheimer

Duncan Knob Hollow Backpacking Trip - December 2020

I think we've now completed four full-troop backpacking trips to Duncan Knob Hollow. And each one has been a little better than the last one.

On the first trip (Dec 2016), we inexplicably walked past the best campsite, slept on some very dodgy terrain, and had an awful time getting food hung at night. The second time (Dec 2018), we camped at the best spot and employed a much better bear bag system (Marrison Haul technique). The third time (Dec 2019), we split into two groups and journeyed up the mountain in pretty good weather.

We met at the Pilot Travel Center (fancy name for a gas station), at Exit 291 off Interstate 81 South, at 8 am on Saturday, December 12th. The Pilot was about one hour from McLean. From there, we “caravaned” to the trailhead together -- about another hour's drive.

This year (due to covid signup limitations), we decided to stay as one group as we ventured up the familiar terrain.

We backpacked ~3 miles from the trailhead to a campsite in the valley, next to the stream. Saturday afternoon, we took a side hike to the top of Duncan Knob (side hike round trip ~2.5 miles including a 1,500-foot climb and a rock scramble to the summit) and returned to camp.

There had been some heavy rains lately, and the hike had several stream crossings. However, we were able to cross with our boots on. The weather had definitely improved during the trip; warm weather and no daytime rain (also no snow), but still, a slight chance of rain sprinkles, particularly overnight. We got to our campsites and unpacked from the hike, getting prepared for the quickly approaching darkness.

On Sunday morning, we hiked ~3 miles back to the cars. We got back at the trailhead's parking lot sometime between 11:00 and 12:00. Thanks to Bill Muntean and all of the parents who made this trip happen.

To see photos of the trip, click here.

- Sebastian Herbolsheimer

Cub Friendly Open House - 2020 COVID Themed

This Saturday, Troop 1916 hosted their annual Cub Friendly for about 20 Cub Scouts and their parents. Given the current COVID environment, we could not offer the usual overnight experience at Lake Fairfax Park but instead offered an outdoor Open House at Redeemer.

Each patrol created a station and set up to demonstrate and perform an outdoor-related activity. The Troop had five stations, one for survival shelter building, a totin' chip station, basic orienteering skills station, a catapult building station, and a station for starting a fire to boil pasta noodles. A separate group of scouts served as "Health and Safety Guides," monitoring the stations to ensure safety guidelines were followed.

The weather was great! A few late morning showers had worried us; however, they rolled out just before the event started. At the totin’ chip station, Cubs observed the proper use of pocket knives, hatchets and axes, and different types of saws. Cubs were also allowed to use the saws and had quite a competition between themselves (for each log cut, they would receive a piece of candy). At the catapult station, Cubs were taught lashings and knots essential for Scouting (and putting together catapults to launch various items through the air). The third station was a fire building station, where Scouts instructed Cubs on the various ways of building fires in the wilderness. We also had an orienteering course set up around the church. Lastly, the survival shelter building station demonstrated examples of the different shelters that one could build in the wild.

Even though this outing wasn’t our usual Lake Fairfax Fall campout Open House, I know everyone enjoyed the socially-distanced version just as much like previous years’ Cub Friendly’s. A BIG thanks to Mr. Pak for organizing this whole event!

You can take a look at the photos from the event here.

- Sebastian Herbolsheimer

Billy Goat Trail June 2020

Approximately 20 scouts and parents of Troop 1916 completed the Troop’s first post-pandemic hike on Sunday morning, with many thanks to Matt Salt and Mike Forrer for helping plan the routes and provide necessary comic relief along the way!

The hikers met at the trailhead at 7:30 for a 5-ish mile jaunt through Loop C of the Billy Goat Trail, along the Potomac River bank and generally parallel to the C&O canal towpath.

The parking lot was already filling up by 7, but the air was relatively cool and skies were relatively clear. Mr Salt oriented everyone to the map, and we measured out 6 feet to give everyone a reminder of the social distancing requirements. All wore masks, as well.

The group made good time through the hike, but the size of the group made social distancing somewhat difficult to maintain as we paused to confirm directions or to make room for passing cyclists.

We saw herons, egrets, a vulture, and a bear-sized dog wearing a life jacket. The river is exceptionally beautiful and wild, and it was hard to believe that we were only a few miles outside the beltway.

The weather remained dry, but poor Mr Salt did not. Virginia’s summer climate certainly can limit the amount of hiking we can do.

We finished the hike and were on our ways home by 10:30. That’s a truly remarkable end time for a Troop 1916 hike— some of our treks on West Virginia trails don’t even start until 10!

Looking forward, I’m thinking the next hike will have to move in a larger number of smaller cohorts to make social distancing easier.

I’ll post a new signup for the next hike on July 12th. I expect we’ll do another one relatively close, and relatively short.

Many thanks to all the parents who came along, it was a great day to be outside!

Mr Ross