Troop 774 spent the last weekend on a backpacking trip to
Sheep Canyon in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. On Friday night, we
drove up the canyon a few miles and parked at the gauging station. It was
dark but we got camp setup fairly quickly. The night was quite windy and
my tarp had problem staying up. The primary issue was the trekking poles
I was using. The guy lines did not stay put on the poles. In the
middle of the night, I got up and replaced them with sticks. Next time, I
will try the poles upside down with the lines above the baskets. That
should keep them up. The night was also the debut of my newly created
Ray-Way quilt. The quilt worked great but took some getting used to.
In the morning, the scouts prepared breakfast. We had
procured new water filters and canister stoves for each patrol. This was
their first time using the stoves so we had some training to do. After
eating, we packed up and started along the trail. We crossed the creek
twice before hitting the Granite Staircase. This was the hardest part of
the hike. We then headed down into Collins Valley. It was quite
warm and we took several breaks as the new backpackers needed some time to get
used to it. After 5 miles and a few hours, we arrived at the primitive
camp at Sheep Canyon. The camp had some sites with picnic tables and some
pit toilets (sans roofs). We spent the day exploring the nearby hills and
teaching the scouts how to pump water with the new filters. After
dinner, Roger the Scoutmaster had hauled in a log for a small campfire.
The night was windier that the last. My quilt was blown off me a couple
times before I turned around. The tarp held up much better but a couple
stakes came out due to wind.
I tried out a couple of primal backpacking foods. My
Saturday dinner was a turkey and pepper dish I dehydrated a few weeks
ago. Lunch and snacks were jerky, bars and trail mix, all primal, all
delicious.
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