On the Trail

A fun evening hiking through River Lot 56

July 19, 2007 ~ Scouters Gerhard Beckman & Gord Welling

On Monday evening, July 16th, five Cubs and Tenderpads plus their parents gathered to hike through the trails of River Lot 56 (on the outskirts of St. Albert). The Holiday season is highly active now, so our expected numbers were down a bit. With so few cubs, we quickly realized that working on the hiking badge rather than the trailcraft badge would be much more beneficial.

After arriving and unloading our hiking gear, we signed in with Akela and walked up to the entrance. River Lot 56 is a nature area that plays host to hiking in the Spring, Summer and Fall, and cross-counry skiing in the winter.

Armed with water bottles, bug repellent, and sun block we walked up the field and entered the rial at the top of the hill. Scouter Gerhard instantly noticed that the undergrowth was a lot thicker than in the fall and we all realized that the mosquitoes were hungry, so we took a few minutes to apply some repellant and got started.

For our Tenderpad Cubs (in their first year), this was their first cub hike, so we took a few minutes to cover the basics of safe hiking:

• stay with the group and use a buddy system
• keep to designated trails
• keep the group together

With the undergrowth so thick, Scouter Gord decided to walk off the trail for about 15 feet and crouch down. He then challenged the cubs to see if they could see him. It was a clear demonstration of how fast you can "disappear" if you wonder off the trail!

Every so often along the trails, we spotted story boards mounted on stands. We took the time to read a few and look for items described.

We encouraged our cubs to explore and discover as much as they could. They had a great time exploring ... finding frogs, mushrooms, flowers, spiders, furry catepillars, etc...

River Lot 56 is a natural habitat where the ski trails are kept groomed (mowed) throughout the summer. The trails criss-crossed at several points and offered several different options to walk through the centre of the property.

"I have driven past this land over a hundred times, but I'd never realized what a treasure it is until I went on this hike." (Scouter Gord)

Lessons Learned ...

While we enjoyed a great hike through a well groomed trail system, River Lot 56 is home to many bugs and hungry mosquitoes. Once you get in the trail areas, you soon realize that it is a hot and muggy climate, so we were reminded that we need to obsereve a few simple tips about hiking in natural habitats:

• wear the proper clothing ... natural areas are usually shaded and offer a break from the sun. With all the bugs, you need to wear long leg pants and shirts or windbreakers with slong sleeves. Foot wear is also important as you need to protect your ankles from the little bumps and holes that are common on the trails.
• bring water and wear a hat ... there are no vending machines on the trails and in hot weather you will need to drink water and wear a hat to reduce the risk of sun or heat stroke ... enough said
• everyone should have a whistle ... Scouter Gord demonstrated how easy it is to get lost ... a whistle is the best way to signal where you are if you get lost or injure yourself
• bring a first aid kit ... a small kit to cover cuts and scratches.
• bring bug repellant ... thanks to those parents that remembered as we were all able to protect ourselves.

Badge Work

While our original intention was to work on the trailcraft badge we decided that we would work on the cub hiking badge instead.

With this hike, each cub has completed a cub pack hike requirement for the cub hiking badge and the green star.

We will be planning more hikes this fall and winter to cover the requirements for the hiking, trailcraft and winter cubbing badges.

Cub badges, stars and awards are meant to recognize those youngsters that actively participate in the cub program and can demonstrate that they have met the badge or award requirement. Once earned, the cub is expected to be able to demonstrate those skills to younger cubs and help them earn the same badge or award.

"Keeping in Touch" Program

This "Cub Hike" was organized as part of our "Keeping in Touch" summer program, where we schedule cub activities throughout the summer. Our activities give the cubs a chance to try their hands at some cub badge work, receive earned badges and awards, and keep in touch with their cub friends.

Our next "Keeping in Touch" program activity is a bike hike and campfire scheduled for Sunday, August 26th. Parents, please watch your email for details.

About the authors

Scouter Gerhard Beckman (Akela) is the Section Leader for our Monday Night Falcon Cub Pack. Gerhard has been actively involved with Cubs for several years and assumed the role of Akela last January. He has a passion for the outdoors and enjoys getting the Cubs outside to enjoy nature and sports.

Scouter Gord Welling (Rusty) is the Group Administrator and will be helping with our Monday Night Falcon Cub Pack this year. Gord has four years service as a Leader with Beavers and is looking forward to working with Cubs for the next few years. He has a passion for the outdoors and photography and enjoys taking youngsters out on hikes and camping trips to explore nature.

Related Stories

• Camp Maskepetoon a Big Hit - Meeting the challenge to have fun - May 18, 2007
• Cubs Gone Fishing - A not so tall fishing tale - June 5, 2007
• Cub Bike Hike - Closing the summer - July 18, 2007
• Getting Ready for the New Scouting Year - Tips to get ready for 2007-08 - July 16, 2007

Additional Information ABout Cubs

• Welcome to 2nd St. Albert Scout Group
• Cub Program
• Monday Night Cubs (Falcon Pack)
• Early Registration

Art Credit

We want to thank CoolClips.com for the use of their clip art.