Mt. Charleston Conquered

First and foremost thank you to the fathers and leaders that took time out of their weekend to support the wonderful young men we have in troop 377. Here are some shots from the weekend. I know Dave Williams and the Bishop have additional photos that I'll post at a later date.

Ready for launch. We left around 2:30 pm Friday

We started the hike around 4:00pm friday. We just started and Brycen's already tired.

Colton, Ben and Kyle eatin' the mountain up!

Ben, Colton Kyle and Brycen posin' for their glamour shots

There was a slight slope to the area where the Whitlocks slept. Alex said it wasn't a problem because Braydin was on the downside and quite comfortable as a pillow

Saturday morning. We camped just below the ridge line.

Saturday morning around 8:15 am. This was just above the switchbacks at the ridge line. One direction led to Griffith Peak and the other to Mt. Charleston.

Everyone at the top. 11,918 ft above sea level and almost 4300 ft higher than from where we started.

There was a geocache on the top of the mountain that the boys found.

Mr. Cool.

Now there were a couple quotatious moments that must live on forever.

First place goes to Brycen Duckworth.

Braydin pulls out his dinner which happens to be a raw hamburger paddy.

Brycen: What's the red stuff (liquid)

Braydin: Blood

Brycen: From what?

Braydin: The cow!

Brycen: The cow?

Second place goes to Braydin Whitlock.

We've just found the geocache which is an ammo box that holds a logbook, pen and other trinkets. The rule is that if you take something you've got to leave something. So the boys are pulling everything out and they find an item that has moved from Sydney, Australia throughout the world and is now in this box on Mt. Charleston. It's in the shape of a whale and it's a whistle. Fast forward a couple minutes.

Alex Whitlock: I think this whale is a whistle. I want to try it.

We all, including Alex, make the comment that we'd never put our mouth on it without cleaning it because it's been in so many mouths and hands.

Alex pulls out a wet wipe and cleans everything.

Alex Whitlock: I really think this is a whistle. I'm going to give it a try.

Braydin Whitlock: Yeah, it's a whistle. I tried it already. (Mind you, Alex just cleaned it!)

Then Braydin goes bright red. Don't worry Braydin. We won't tell the girls.

Del Webb - Fathers' Camp Schedule

Here are the commitments I currently have from fathers for Del Webb.  If I have you incorrectly placed, if you would like to add yourself to the list and/or take more time don't hesitate to call, email, text, send up smoke signals or ham radio me your additions.  If on the other hand you want to reduce your time commitment, etc. please note that I will not be available through any means of communication and will persistently ignore you at all Sunday mtgs and ward functions.  (Alright, so your first thought is where is the downside to that threat:)  

Fathers' Camp Schedule as of 07.01.08

Add'l Information on Del Webb: < 4 weeks

Parents,

5 items for Camp Del Webb:

First, thank you to all the fathers (& moms) for your help and patience as I've been working to secure leadership and oversight for your sons while they are at camp.  This will be such a great opportunity for your young men.  There are so many wonderful, dedicated people working to making this camp happen from the Las Vegas Boy Scout Council to the stake leadership.  I'm very sad that this camp falls on the week my wife's delivering our second child.  I'd like to participate along side this great group of boys.  

Second, I still need father participation.  I know that many of you have told me it's an extremely difficult time to get away.  I MUST have 2 deep leadership or the boys cannot attend Camp Del Webb.  I will take anything you can offer.  Right now, I only have 2 of the 6 days covered with 2 fathers deep and that is Thursday and Friday.  I will be asking in Priesthood opening exercises this week if there are men that can participate even though they haven't children in the program or this age group.  Let me know immediately if you can swing any time that week.

Third, please don't forget to make your $50.00 payment to the ward for camp.  Through fundraising and the ward budget all but $50.00 of this year's camp expense ($255 per boy) is covered.  The bishop has requested that these payments be made before the end of June.  

Fourth, I will be "bothering" you once more this week.  I'll give the information here but to make sure it's received I'll be stopping by to confirm. 

• Each boy, participating father, and leader MUST have a class 3 medical form signed by his/her(in the case of Dave Jennings) doctor that's no more than 12 months old as of the date of camp.  There will be NO exceptions to the rule and anyone that arrives at camp without one will be prohibited from participating.  This form will be in a packet that I will be bringing around this week.  In case you need another you may download one using the link to the right under "Resource for Del Webb"
• Height to Weight Ratio.  These are the recommended height to weight ratios for boys, fathers, and leaders.  If anyone falls outside these parameters please contact me directly.

Click here for larger view

• Equipment List.  I will include in packet (You received this along with other resources about camp in April when I visited each home).  Also under "Resources for Del Webb".  I will use this Tuesday's hike prep to go over this again with the boys.  Please ask them about it.  A couple things in particular that the boys learned from our last hike:
• Sunscreen and hat are a must.  Ask Braydin Whitlock
• No heavy flashlights.  A lantern flash light vs. a small pocket flashlight is a prime example of unnecessary weight.  I personally have a flashlight that I wear on my head like spelunkers.
• Inadequate water.  Also, no need to freeze water.
• Trail mix or quick energy foods such as dried fruit.  Something your boy can keep in a pocket and access while hiking
• Proper colder weather clothing.  It will be 100+ in LV this weekend but only a high of 74 at the BASE of Mt. Charleston.  We will be camping near the summit.  Make sure you young man has pants and a sweater.  A rain jacket is also a MUST regardless of the forecast.
• A carb filled dinner and breakfast.  A granola bar is insufficient for a young man's breakfast.  In all, we'll hike over 16 miles this weekend.
• Pack weight.  Eliminate unnecessary weight such as hatchets, large tarps, full-size pillows, camp chairs, large flashlights, unnecessary clothing, and the dining room table.  

Fifth, please know that both Dave Jennings and I absolutely love to work with your sons.  They are great individuals whom we learn so much from.  If there is ever anything we can help with, please don't hesitate.  We are truly blessed for the opportunity to work with your boys and welcome any input you have or help we can render.  

Mt. Charleston Hike - June 27-28th

This Friday and Saturday we'll be hiking Mt. Charleston in preparation for Camp Del Webb.  Mt. Charleston reaches 11,916 feet which is the highest peak in the Spring Mountain range and 8th highest in Nevada.  We will be taking the South Loop to the summit.  By the time the boys return they will have hiked over 16 miles and climbed over 4,200 vertical feet.

This Tuesday we'll be going over camp prep items.  Please review with your boy his equipment list and pack weight.  Remember to pack as if you were planning for Del Webb.  Tentatively, we'll plan on leaving between 1:00-2:00 pm Friday depending on Alex's schedule.

We have a great number of leaders and fathers coming.  Alex Whitlock, Dave Williams and Bishop Cram will be accompanying us on this hike.  We are very grateful for their help and as always welcome any of the fathers to participate.  We have had great support and that continues. 

Tuesday Activity

Since a number of the boys are out this week either on vacation or football camp (yes, BYU football - Good choice boys!) then we're going to wait a week or two to launch rockets.  For those boys who will be in town tomorrow we'll be tasting the local ice cream shops so come hungry.  We'll meet at my house (Don's home) at 6:30pm.  Come hungry, Dave's paying:)

Rockets Built

Stage 1 is complete. The boys each built a water rocket this evening. In two weeks we plan on launching them at Pickett Elementary. Because a number of the boys will be at football camp next Tuesday we won't launch them as planned next week. A couple snap shots of the boys working in the "lab" on their rockets.

We'll take pictures of each boy with his rocket before we launch.

Matt and Kyle with an exacto knife.  We were all holding our breath.

The boys cut balsa wood strips to strengthen the fins that they eventually attached to their rockets

My son wondering what is Matt doing.

Dave from my office was kind enough to come down and show the boys the ins and outs of water rocket building.

The Motley Crew

H2O Rockets

This coming Tuesday, June 10th, we'll be building H2O rockets which we will launch later in the month.  This will be a great opportunity for the boys to have some fun while learning a little about some basic scientific principles.  Your boy will need to bring:

• 2 plastic bottles of any size but the two must be identical.  Anything from a 16 oz sprite bottle to a 2 liter pop bottle.
  
• 1 tennis ball
• 1 old or unused CD (will be cut into 3 sections so basically destroyed)

There are a couple other items but I'll be supplying those to each boy on Tuesday.  

As a side note for camp.  I've spoken to all the boys and 90% of the parents on this matter.  The cost of Del Webb has been covered through fundraising activities except for $50.00 per boy. Please remit those funds no later than the end of June to our sponsor; the Peccole Ranch Ward.