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Local Boy Scouts take high adventure trip to New Hampshire

Local Boy Scout Troop 130 pauses from their adventure to take a group photo at the Mt. Garfield summit in New Hampshire. Pictured are (front row from left) Eric Bruce, Owen Follis, Jackson LeMar, Bailey Bruner, Ethan Meyer and Jared Cartwright; and (back row from left) Brad Gordon, Logan Murray, Jacob Bruce, Breckin Hammel, Jacob Worsham, Brendan Brinkman, Isaac Gordon and Jeff Cartwright. Not pictured are Mike Cook and Jeff Webb.
Local Boy Scout Troop 130 pauses from their adventure to take a group photo at the Mt. Garfield summit in New Hampshire. Pictured are (front row from left) Eric Bruce, Owen Follis, Jackson LeMar, Bailey Bruner, Ethan Meyer and Jared Cartwright; and (back row from left) Brad Gordon, Logan Murray, Jacob Bruce, Breckin Hammel, Jacob Worsham, Brendan Brinkman, Isaac Gordon and Jeff Cartwright. Not pictured are Mike Cook and Jeff Webb. Photo provided.

During the week of July 14 to 20, scouts and adult leaders from Troop 130, of Huntington, ventured to the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire for their annual high adventure trip.

Participants included Brendan Brinkman, Bailey Bruner, Jared Cartwright, Owen Follis, Isaac Gordon, Breckin Hammel, Jackson LeMar, Ethan Meyer, Logan Murray and Jacob Worsham. Adult leaders included Eric Bruce, Jacob Bruce, Jeff Cartwright, Mike Cook, Brad Gordon and Jeff Webb.

The excursion featured backpacking along the steep, rugged Garfield Trail to the Appalachian Trail, which runs 2,190 miles along the Appalachian Mountains from Georgia to Maine. Scouts camped in the Appalachian Mountain Club’s group campsite on Mt. Garfield, where they honed their outdoor skills and learned to use ultra-light camp stoves, water filters and other backpacking essentials. Scouts also received training in the “leave no trace” program from the AMC group campsite’s caretaker.

While in the White Mountains, the scouts had lunch at the summit of Mt. Garfield before hiking along the Franconia Ridge Trail to Mt. Lafayette. On the ridge, they experienced the high winds and unexpected rain showers for which the Presidential Range is known for. Later in the week, scouts trekked up Mt. Kinsman and visited the AMC’s backcountry Lonesome Lake Hut, which caters to Appalachian Trail through-hikers and weekend campers. A night of camping on Mt. Kinsman included an evening swim in Kinsman Pond, capping off the scouts’ five-day experience in the New Hampshire wilderness. On the way home, scouts visited Niagara Falls in New York and witnessed the nighttime light display over the falls.

Other recent high adventure trips have included backpacking in the Wind River Range in Wyoming, hiking the Upper Peninsula’s Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and cycling around Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan.

Troop 130 meets weekly on Mondays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at an outdoor location throughout the warmer months, and 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Life Church in Huntington during the winter. They welcome all young men; families interested in scouting can contact Scoutmaster Eric Bruce at egbruce1975 @gmail.com.