Simsbury Troop 175

Simsbury Land Trust "Inspired By Nature" Competition

How does nature inspire you?

To write a poem, paint a picture or take a photograph? Please share your work by entering the Inspired by Nature: Poetry, Painting and Photography contest offered by the Simsbury Land Trust.

ENTER IN ONE OR ALL OF THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:
• Growth • Seasons • Water • Light

THERE WILL BE THREE AGE GROUPS:
• Grades K – 8

• Adult Category
• High School

Inspired by Nature:
Poetry, Painting and Photography

A CONT E ST SPONSORED BY THE SIMSBURY L AND TRUST
All entries must be labeled on the back with entrant’s name, address, phone and email along
with the age group and category (growth, water, seasons, etc.) you are entering your work in.
Limit of one entry per category, no more than four entries per person.

Winners will be selected by a panel of experts. All entries are the property of the entrant, but
the Simsbury Land Trust reserves the right to use all submissions for promotional materials,
advertising, website, and publicity. Winners will be notified by phone, and a reception will be held in
November (location and date to be determined).

ART
> Oil, Watercolor or acrylic.
> Up to 24 x 36 inches
> All entries must be submitted in a form suitable for display purposes (matted, framed, mounted).

POETRY
> All forms of poetry will be accepted.
> Limited to one page, minimum of 12 point type.

PHOTOGRAPHY
> Black and white, color, computer enhanced are all acceptable.
> Must be submitted in printed format on photo quality paper.
> Minimum of 8 x 10, no larger than 11 x 14.
> If possible, also please include your image on disc.

 

Download Inspired_by_nature_flyer

Troop 175's Newest Eagle Scouts

Simsbury Boy Scout Troop 175 recently held a Court of Honor to award the coveted Eagle scout rank to three individuals. Troop 175’s newest Eagle Scouts are Rob Burke, Andrew Fletcher and Tristan Chambers.

Eagle Scout Rob Burke

Growing up in Simsbury, Rob attended Latimer Lane elementary school, where he joined Cub Scout Pack 174 in first grade. At age 10, he joined Simsbury’s Boy Scout Troop 175.

It was at Henry James that he was introduced to what quickly switched from an elective to a passion - woodshop. Woodshop and Scouting—these were two things that once Rob had started he wouldn’t stop. That He intends to continue his pursuit of woodworking.

Becoming an Eagle Scout is never a path that Rob thought he would take, but the longer he was in scouting, he realized that he too wanted to join this brotherhood.

For his Eagle project, Rob took two of his passions and welded them together in his high school woodshop, turning red oak boards into a super fancy filing cabinet for Saint Mary’s church organist.

 

Eagle Scout Andrew Fletcher

Spending all of his school aged years in Simsbury, Andrew attended Tariffville Elementary School, then Henry James Middle School, and finally Simsbury High School. At SHS, he was an Honor Roll student and a member of National Honor Society. He also rowed on the Simsbury High Boy’s Crew team for a total of eight seasons competing in events such as the Head of the Charles. Andrew’s hobbies include Otherwise playing guitar, sailing and snowboarding.

Scouting for Andrew began when he joined Cub Scouts Pack 175 and then crossed over to Troop 175 when he was 10. Many of his favorite scout memories come from the trips. He enjoyed the leadership snowshoeing trips and staying in all of the different White Mountain Huts, .the Block Island trips and Philmont National Scout Camp in New Mexico. One of his most memorable trips was the Allagash waterway trip canoeing from the St. Croix river bordering Maine and Canada to the Atlantic.

Andrew’s Eagle Scout project was for an organization which he had given a great deal of time and service to, the Simsbury Crew Team. He raised funds for and built a team uniform cabinet in the Simsbury Crew Boathouse. It had to be water-durable in order to last through intermittent flooding. The project de-cluttered the coaches’ office and made the uniforms more accessible and organized, plus it’s great to lean on.

This fall Andrew will be attending Colby College in Waterville, Maine.

 

Eagle Scout Tristan Chambers

Tristan was born in the town of Charlottesville Virginia before moving to Avon with his family when he was two.

In third grade Tristan remembers seeing the Boy Scouts march in the Memorial Day parade and was convinced that joining scouting was for him. He started as a Tiger Cub with the Avon Cub Scout Pack 122, and I still have great memories of summer camp and making many friends – many of whom he still loves to hang out with today.

After fifth grade Tristan started playing lacrosse and instantly fell in love with the game. He has played lacrosse all the years since then, through the town league, the high school, fall league and pickup games. Also in fifth grade, he joined the Avon Boy Scout Troop. While a member of Troop 274 I progressed to the rank of First Class

During Middle school Tristan continued to participate in swimming, music, lacrosse, and Boy Scouts. In the summer before freshman year of high school he traveled with his good friend Dustin Nord and a group of seven scouts and leaders to the Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico. Of all his experiences hiking and backpacking, this trip truly made him appreciate nature and the outdoors.

Towards the end of freshman year in High School, Tristan joined Troop 175 in Simsbury, at the urging of fellow classmate Mike Vallen.  He credits Troop 175 scouts and leaders for helping him completing his road to Eagle. Experiencing the outdoors with Troop 175 will live with him forever.

Tristan’s Eagle project was to install bleachers at the Buckingham Lacrosse Fields in Avon, thanks to the generosity of business and lacrosse families, and with the help of scouts, friends and family. The bleachers were his way of giving thanks to the Avon Lacrosse community for the many great memories and experiences it has given me.

A graduate of Avon High School, Tristan will be attending San Diego State University, majoring in Nursing in the fall.

 

Hike Up Mt. Greylock

Troop 175's May troop trip was a backpacking trip to Mt. Greylock State Park in northwestern MA. The Mt. Greylock campground has been converted to backpacking use only which reqires a 2+ mile hike in.

All participants were able to practice and improve their outdoor skills, including orienteering, bear avoidance, water filtration, and backpack menu planning.  We summitted Mt. Greylock, the MA highpoint.  Side trips included additional summits along the Appalachian Trail or short hikes to nearby March Cataract Falls and Roaring Brook Falls.

The 2011 Philmont Crew started the hike a day early and hiked the long way to the top, also summitting another nearby mountain before making the top of Greylock.

The two hiking groups met at the cabin at the summit to watch an Native America blessing of the mountain before hiking back down to the campground.

After a backpacker meal and deciding to invest in Jetboil backpacking stoves for the troop, the troop settled in for the night.

Sunrise means breaking down the camp, packing up and heading home.

Check out the photos of the trip in the Troop Photo Library.

Tips for Distributing Weight in a Backpack

Proper weight distribution in a backpack is essential for comfort on the trail. Improper load arrangement can place uneven strain on your muscles, resulting in fatigue, strain and potentially serious injury. Check your backpack before you hit the trail to make sure its weight is evenly distributed, and properly adjust all straps and load supports.

Read more at Trails.com: Tips for Distributing Weight in a Backpack

Immortals Backpack Trip - The Long Trail

The car ride to Vermont was a great way to start our weekend hike. Everyone was laughing and having a good time. We stopped at Burger King on the way for food, which was excellent! I ordered a tasty cheeseburger and strawberry shake, which cost no more than $3, what a deal! Joey Dunn enjoyed a nice bucket of chicken fries, which I had never heard of before.

One hour later, we arrived at the parking lot where we would spend the night. As daylight was already slipping through our fingers, we set up our tarps and sleeping sacs immediately. While I was rolling out my sleeping bag, I imagined a fellow hiker pulling into this parking lot and seeing a bunch of people sleeping. Boy, would that be a shocker. Luckily, no such thing happened and after camp was secured we engaged in a competitive game of midnight frisbee (with a glowing frisbee, of course) in which much fun was had.

The next morning, we set out on the trail with an attitude to climb a mountain. Once we conquered the mountain we sat and rested for a while, climbing the watch tower and tossing the frisbee around. After we were restored, we took a side hike to the chairlifts, which looked righteous when not covered in snow!!!  Returning to the trail, we continued our crusade (now going down the mountain) to our campsite. Now downhill, the trip was much easier. On the way we saw literally thousands of moose feces, which was needless to say smelly. As we drew nearer to the campsite, everyone was sore, tired and eager to kick back. I thought it was the best thing ever when we got to the campsite... until the curse of the black flies descended upon us.

I was unable to count the amount of black flies there, partly because they flew in seemingly random patterns, but mostly because there were just too many to count. The bugs got to the point where we grew to hate them. Nick Carabillo even said "I wish these bugs would all drop dead". And I agreed with him! The next day we made the decision to morph 2 more days of hiking into one day of MEGA HIKING, as the prospect of dealing with another day of the black flies was simply too much.

On the way, we stopped at what would have been our campsite for lunch, and I could not have been more happy that we weren't staying for the night, as there were about twice as many black flies here as there were in our previous one. I am not quite sure how i knew this, because I was still unable to count the amount of flies. 5 miles later, we emerged on the road bitten, blistered, beaten, battered, and other adjectives that begin with the letter "B".

To sum things up, everyone had fun on the trip, despite the bloodthirsty bugs which tried to bring our spirits down.

Submitted by Drew Veltrop

 

Check out 575 photos from the trip in the Troop Photo Library.

How to Find Water in the Desert

In honor our our Philmont Crew, we thought we would include this artiucle on the troop website. In hindsight, maybe we should have posted it before they left!

While providing an absolutely beautiful natural environment for hiking, camping, mountain biking and other outdoor activities, the desert is one of the most unforgiving atmospheres that you can get caught in.

 

Since our Phillmont Crew will be hiking for 10 days in this enviorment, here is an article from Trails.com on How to Find Water in the Desert

Philmont Car Wash A Success

The 2011 Philmont Crew from Simsbury troop 175 held a fundrasing car wash to help underwrite the cost for attending the Philmont Scout Camp in New Mexico this summer.

While competition from 2 other car washes was a concern, the scouts efficiently organized themselves to wash up to three cars at a time. Scouts on the street helped to drive in traffic and keep the washers busy throughout the morning.

Dirtiest car of the day went to Max Drake who went "Mudding" with his Jeep before coming to support his friends in Troop 175.

Not only was more than $800 raised for the Philmont Crew, but everyone involved had a great time.

Check out the Troop Photo Library for more photos of the event.

 

Troop 175 Scouts off to Philmont

Did you ever wonder what Philmont scout ranch was? Philmont Scout Ranch is the largest national Boy Scout reserve and the premier high adventure base with more than 214 miles of rugged northern New Mexico wilderness. It has 34 staffed camps and 55 trail camps. Backpacking treks, horseback cavalcades, and training and service programs offer young people many ways to experience this legendary country.

Troop 175 Eagle Scout of to Annapolis

Troop 175 wishes Lee Adamovich best wishes has he starts his carreer in the Navy as a Plebe (or first year student) at the United States Navel Academy at Annapolis, MD.

Lee had a positive impact on our troop and we hope the Navy will not be too boring for him after his adventures with Troop 175.