Dry Creek Trail (10 Mile Hike and Overnight Camp out.)

Camp out at the Sand Dunes

On Friday May 1st and 2nd we will be camping at the Little Sahara.
http://www.utah.com/playgrounds/little_sahara.htm

On this camping trip we are planning a 10 mile hike for those working on their hiking merit badge.

We will meet at the Church parking lot at 3:30 on Friday. We will leave between 3:45 and 4:00 pm

Look forward to seeing everyone there!

Snowshoeing up American Fork Canyon

It couldn't have been a more beautiful day for snow shoeing. Here's some video and pictures to show you just how amazing it was!

Here's some video of the boys on on walking on their snow shoes:



These next pictures are some video footage taken on the trail:


Here is some video showing some of the great scenery we took in:


I probably took to many pictures but it still doesn't capture how much fun this day really was:

Saturday Snowshoeing Event

What to bring for snowshoeing:

• Day Pack
• Lunch
• Fruit
• Candy Bars
• Sandwich
• 2 water bottles—sports drinks if preferred, no soda
• Chap stick
• Sunglasses
• Sunscreen
• Extra socks
• Extra gloves
• Extra sweater or sweatshirt—wool is the way cotton kills. Consider wearing wool shirts, sweaters and pants if you have them. Wool keeps you warm even when it is wet. Cotton fabrics pull body heat away when wet. You can reduce the chances of hypothermia if you get wet when you wear wool clothing.

What to wear:

• Hiking boots—wear something that fits well you will be doing a lot of walking
• Snow boots
• Socks—wearing one pair of heavy socks will probably be adequate because we will be walking lots. If the boots you are wearing are stiff or prone to rubbing wear a light weight nylon sock underneath your heavy sock for protection. Two thick socks in a tight pair of boots can actually be worse than one good sock and a good pair of boots sometimes because the feet end up being tight and blood circulation is restricted causing the feet to get cold.
• Coat
• Gloves
• Hat

How to prepare the night before:

• Eat plenty of carbohydrates for dinner and for breakfast this includes any thing like pasta or bread things that have potatoes, corn, flour or that are otherwise high in starch and sugar.
• Drink lots of water. You can do a lot to avoid dehydration and improve your stamina by making sure that you are properly hydrated 12 to 24 hours in advance. Drink 16 to 24 oz in the evening and another 16 to 24 oz at breakfast.

Optional Items:

• Long underwear
• Ski pants (light weight shell is ideal)
• Boot/Ankle Gaiters
• Camera
• Compass/Map
• Pocket Knife

Klondike: What to Bring

Food
Breakfast items--bagels, granola bars, fruit
Snacks--hard candy, chocolate bars


Winter Clothes

1. Winter Coat
2. Mittens and extra gloves
3. Pull over hat (wool knit)
4. Snow Pants
5. Good winter boots

Clothing

1. 2 Pairs of Long Pants (wool if possible)
2. 2 Long Sleeve shirts (wool, or insulated shirts are good)
3. Sweat Shirt, or wool sweater
4. 2 pairs of underwear & 2 tee shirts, 2 sets of long underwear
5. 2 to 4 pairs of socks (wool socks are best)

Required Equipment

1. Rain gear or poncho
2. Flashlight and extra batteries
3. Sleeping bag ( 15 degrees or less) & ground pad and Garbage Bag to store it
4. Plastic ground cloth
5. Backpack to organize and consolidate equipment
6. Water bottle
7. Mess kit and knife, fork, spoon and a camp cup
8. Pocket Knife--no sheath knives
   

Optional Equipment

1. Tent or Tarp
   
2. Snow Shovel
3. Rope
   
4. Camera
5. Compass

Personal Cleaning:

1. Soap
2. Toothbrush and toothpaste
3. Comb
4. Wash cloth
5. Towel
6. Toilet paper and or tissue
7. Extra garbage bags
   

Scout Camp!

Scout Camp will be held this year June 8th to the 13th at Camp Maple Dell. The cost will be $206 due Feb. 15th. One Hundred and $150 will be refunded when you complete Scout Camp. Early withdrawal from Scout Camp for any reason will void the refund.

Stake Merit Badge Pow Wow

Dates: 2/10/09 and 2/24/09
Place: 1125 W 300 N Chapel
Time: 6:30p.m. – 8:30p.m.
Who: All Willow Park Stake Young Men

Merit Badges offered:
Citizenship in the Nation
Citizenship in the Community
Citizenship in the World
Family Life
First Aide
and a few more still to come

BYU Merit Badge Pow Wow

Brigham Young University is excited to announce that it will hold a Spring PowWow for the first time on March 7th and 21st! Classes will begin at 9:00 a.m. and end at 12:45 p.m. both Saturdays. The merit badges that will be offered are listed on the PowWow website (powwow.byu.edu) along with other general information. Registration for this program opens February 2nd at 10:00 a.m and will close February 25th at 5:00 p.m. All registration will be done on-line at the previously given website. No walk-ons will be permitted into the classrooms. We apologize for the inconvenience. If you have any further questions about registration, please call (801) 422-8925. We hope to see you all at BYU's first Spring PowWow!

Merit Badges!!!

Guys,
If you are interested in picking up a few extra merit badges check out the Utah County Merit Badge Group now listed in the important links section of this blog.

Astronomy Merit Badge

Wednesday night the deacons spent some more time learning about astronomy. Gentry, Rhett, David,Tyson, Jaxon, Thomas and Kayden spent time fulfilling these requirements:

1. We learned about the composition of the sun and how its' weather can affect the Earth.
2. We learned what sunspots are and what causes them.
3. We learned why there are red, yellow and blue stars and what makes them that way and examples of each.
4. We learned where our sun is in comparrison to other stars in the galaxy and universe.
5. We learned how and why the moon has phases and how eclipses occur.
6. We learned why the moon orbits the Earth and why one side always faces us.

Remember to sketch the big dipper in the early evening and again late at night.

Also remember to sketch Venus or Saturn at the same time of night once a week for 4-weeks

Court of Honor--Coming Soon

A court of honor was planned for the 22nd of January. This conflicts with the Draper Temple Open House and as a result will not be held on the 22nd. That said a court of honor is coming to your local meeting house SOON! Please work on finishing up those partial merit badges, and other advancements. You have worked hard and we want you to receive credit for the work you have done.

Calendar Changes

Please note changes to the February calendar. Changes have been made to accomadate the young men and young womens attendance at the Draper Temple open house on 2/25. The open house will be a great opportunity to invite friends, see and learn more about the temple. See you there!