Community youth program based in Belmont, California: serving San Mateo, Foster City, Redwood City, Redwood Shores & San Carlos
The annual June canoe trip outing was fantastic success. Fifteen scouts went on the outing together at Coyote Lake Reservoir in Gilroy. We also had five parent ASMs join the fun on the trip in addition to driving and towing 12 of the troops 18 canoes. The trip gave many of our newer scouts a chance to get a head start on their canoeing skills for summer camp.
The troop’s highlight event of the year did not disappoint. We benefited from our ability to build our camp where conditions were best. Even though many reservoirs had very little water we found a great lake to continue our tradition of water oriented activities. Summit Lake, elevation 7100′ in the Stanislaus National Forest. From July 16-18, older scouts and adults built our camp: a kitchen that can feed up to 75 people at each meal, a safe waterfront area for swimming and canoeing, latrines, dishwashing lines, assembly/flag areas, camping sites – all using pioneering skills – no nails necessary.
From the 19th – 26th it was the quintessential summer camp, canoeing, swimming, hiking, outdoor skills, games, merit badges, campfires, skits, astronomy talks and our signature Mountain Man event – jumping into the lake at 7:00 in the morning! When all was cleaned up and put away on the last day we restored the area to the way we found it – or even a little better.
September 21
Troop 27 and Crew 27 participated in the BSA Pacific Skyline Council’s annual Webelos X-treme Event. Our scouts and associated Venturing Crew setup and operated 2 fun activities: a climbing tripod and canoe catamarans. The event allows Webelos to experience some Boy Scout activities, lets Webelos families become familiar with some Boy Scout troops and facilitates bridging from Cub Scouts.
August 24-25
Canoeing & Sunset Beach Camping
The Elkhorn Slough is one of 27 National Estuarine Research Reserves established nationwide as field laboratories for scientific research and estuarine education. It is the largest tidal wetland marsh in California after San Francisco Bay.
On Saturday the troop paddled our fleet of canoes into Elkhorn Slough, finishing just before the tide would have been against us. During the tour of the slough we had an opportunity to enjoy the local wildlife, while continuing to build on canoe skills. We camped at Sunset Beach where scouts had an opportunity to work on skills, enjoy a beach campfire, and learned about astronomy while gazing into the nighttime sky. After a hot breakfast and a discussion on a bluff overlooking the ocean on Sunday morning, we cleaned up one mile of the beach, packed our lunches and explored the museum at the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve.
August 17, 2013
The San Francisco Bay is considered one of the most fun and windiest places to sail in the world and it is right in our backyard. Some days it can be foggy and some days sunny. Sailing in the bay can be very rough and wet so wear layers. On the other hand, sailing can be beautiful with the view of the Golden Gate and San Francisco.
This year, the 34th America’s Cup races were held in San Francisco. It is a sailing race dating back to 1851 and has boats that go up to more than 45 knots. Safety is a priority, and all scouts wore PFDs at all times. We sailed most of the day and had own sack lunch on board. The America’s Cup races took place that day. This was a good opportunity for scouts to experience sailing activity and practice their scout skills. Sailing involves the use of lots of knots.
Church repairs and improvements, plus cleanup activities at the nearby storage locations that assist the troop with complementary equipment space.
Troop 27 welcomes Scouts BSA for girls age 11-17 starting February 1, 2019. Visit Scouting.org for more information about Scouts BSA.
Private membership area, for scouts, parents, and leadership of Troop 27.
