Jim Gleason

Oak Mountain and High Point

October 26, 2021October 26, 2021 by Jim Gleason, posted in Uncategorized

On our October 2021 trip we went camping at Oak Mountain and had a great time. When we arrived we discovered that some recent floods and storms had caused damage to our favorite campsite with the footbridge to half of the site raised 10 feet in the air by a fallen tree.

We set up camp in a different way and had a good night’s sleep with a little rain. In the morning one of our scouts ran a 5K while the others spent a few hours orienteering.

Saturday afternoon we returned to our campsite to do some repairs. We cleared many fallen limbs and culverts under the road. The adults also worked to get the bridge off the root ball using makeshift levers and pullies. The scouts then finished the repair to make the bridge even better than it had been for years.

After a great campfire and great weather for sleeping, we packed up the campsite on Sunday morning and drove over to Highpoint Climbing to have some fun.

Colorado Adventure

August 10, 2021 by Jim Gleason, posted in Uncategorized

Troop 100B enjoyed a week of adventure in Colorado in August 2021. It started with many delays of canceled flights.

The first group arrived at Noah’s Ark in Buena Vista, CO on Sunday night and were able to do some rappelling and rock climbing on Monday.

The second group had a second cancelled flight and spent the day in Birmingham at Top Golf and the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.

By late Monday night everyone had arrived in Colorado. Unfortunately, a couple of the scouts were not able to join the group in Buena Vista due to COVID quarantine.

On Tuesday we all took a hike up Brown’s Creek. It rained much of the way up, soaking everyone. When we arrived at the waterfall, we cooked some lunch and warmed up. Thankfully the sun came out on the way back down and we were able to dry out a little.

When we got back to our basecamp we dried everything out and played some 9 square and volleyball.

On Wednesday morning we hit the river for some great white water rafting.

Wednesday evening was spent at the Brown’s Canyon Adventure Park with a sunset ropes adventure.

Thursday morning we left Noah’s Ark and drove down to Royal Gorge.

After a quick picnic lunch and short hike at the gorge we went on a Zipline course.

We then traveled to Colorado Springs for our next adventures.

On Friday, we rode horses through Garden of the Gods in the morning and took a hike there in the evening.

After a great night’s sleep we returned to our adventures on Saturday with a Cog Railway trip up Pikes Peak where we hikes around a little and ate some donuts.

We then made our way to the airport with the hopes of all of the flights not being cancelled and being able to make the connection in Dallas. Thankfully everything went smoothly and the scouts were able to make it back home.

We all had a great time and created many memories that will last a lifetime.

LNT #7: Be Considerate of Other Visitors

September 29, 2020 by Jim Gleason, posted in Leave No Trace

Whether you are paddling on the water, climbing, geocaching, hiking or biking, being considerate of other visitors helps everyone enjoy their outdoor experience.

Principle #7 means more than “be quiet.” Decreasing the noise pollution is very important, but it is not the only thing to consider when being considerate of others. But I saw this photo and had to share.

10 Essentials for your backpack

January 11, 2020 by Jim Gleason, posted in Be Prepared, Camping Trips

Before every camping trip, a scout or scouter will ask, “What do I need to bring?” Well, each trip is a little different, but one thing remains the same: the 10 Essentials.

10 Scouting Essentials:

Pocketknife or multi-tool
Rain Gear
Snack
Flash light
Extra clothing
First-aid kit (including a whistle)
Sun protection (hat, sunscreen, lip balm)
Map & compass
Matches & fire starter
Water bottle

You may be thinking, Hey! It’s the 21st century. Aren’t there a few more essentials? Absolutely!

Cell phone (and a power bank if you will need to recharge).
Handheld GPS (and a few extra batteries). A map and compass are great, but the accuracy of a reliable GPS is far better.
Pen or pencil

You may be thinking, Hey! I’m a girl. Aren’t there a few more essentials? As a female scouter, here are a few more items I consider essentials:

Bandanna
Feminine hygiene products
A FUD

While almost all of the listed items are good to have on every outing (especially the outdoor outings), be smart and use common sense when considering what items will be appropriate for a specific outing. Depending on where you’re going, some of the items will not be allowed. For example, having a pocket knife with you is a good way to be detained at a museum, airport, or government building.

Be smart and be prepared.

Troop 100 Community Service

November 3, 2019 by Jim Gleason, posted in Community Service, Uncategorized

Service to our community of Northport, AL, is one of our top priorities as a troop. This month alone saw our boy and girl troops serving the community at the Kentuck Festival of the Arts, the Northport Police Department Fall Festival, and collecting canned goods for St. Mark’s Food Pantry (Scouting for Food.) That’s more than 60 hours of time given to our friends and neighbors!

Troop 100G trunk-or-treating at Northport Police Department’s Fall Festival. We gave candy to about 1200 children and invited their older siblings of scouting age to join us for a troop meeting to learn more about Scouts BSA. Can you see our campfire glowing in the trunk??? It was spooktacular!

Community service projects reminds us to keep our promise to cheerfully help others, to be friendly, and to “do a good turn daily.”

As we gear up for the holidays, we like to go Scouting for Food to help replenish the food pantry at St. Mark United Methodist Church. On Monday night, the boy troop put out 153 grocery bags on various streets in Northwood Lake. Saturday morning, the girl troop met to gather the bags of donated food. We collected 137 items. I think that giant can of pork-n-beans counts as 4.