Activity Write-Ups

Our Venture Crew hosted a fantastic Halloween party filled with fun, food, and festive costumes! We enjoyed delicious snacks, desserts, and classic grilled favorites like hamburgers and hotdogs. Everyone showed off their creativity with unique costumes, adding to the spooky atmosphere. A highlight of the event was the play structure, which provided endless entertainment, and the giant chess board, where we tested our strategy skills in life-sized matches. It was a night of laughter, games, and great memories!

By Tyler

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On October 11, Crew 27 traveled 4 hours to reach Redding near the Sacramento River where they would be canoeing 50+ miles down. Crew members woke up early on Saturday the 12th to tie their catamarans together and get on the river early. Canoeing on Saturday consisted of paddling through mostly still waters and we got through 26 miles of river before stopping to set up camp and eat dinner. On Sunday, we got to experience the China Rapids that were very low at this time of year on Saturday and then we got to cool down and jump into the river after getting through the rapids. The Crew finished paddling down the Sacramento River, untied the catamarans, and gathered people into cars before heading home. We all went to In N Out for dinner before heading back to CCP and returning to our homes.

Zachary W

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At Hardin Flats, the crew had the opportunity to learn valuable skills, including how to properly use large fire hoses. They enjoyed delicious meals, including baked mac and cheese with cobbler for dinner, eggs benedict for breakfast, and popcorn as snacks. The crew also had fun throwing tomahawks, practicing their aim and technique. Additionally, the crew rehandled some axes, learning how to care for and maintain this essential equipment. Overall, the event combined practical learning with enjoyable activities to create a fun time for all.

By Aaren R

On August 18, 2024, Crew 27 set out for the South Fork of the American River from the Congregational Church of the Peninsula. Upon arrival at Camp Lotus, we met up with our amazing raft guides and set out down the river. The river ranged from class 1 to 3 with some really fun rapids that we boated through. There were also quite a few swimmer’s rapids that we were able to get out of the boat and float through. We stopped along the river to eat a delicious spread of chips, lemonade, and sandwiches. After lunch, we hit the largest rapids of the trip and were buffeted up, down, and across the river. Our river rafting sadly came to an end as we were driven back to our cars. After changing into dry clothes we loaded up into our cars and began the drive home. We stopped at In n Out for some dinner before heading back to the CCP where our adventure had begun.

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Fresh out of school, Venture Crew headed out to Yellowstone for Supertrip 2024. Throughout the 10 days we were in the National Park we stopped in 4 states, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Utah respectively, got multiple junior ranger pins for several different parks, and experienced crazy weather that varied from sunny to snowy. Some of the trip highlights were the multiple Bison sightseeing stops, a night hike at Craters of the Moon, stinky sulfur pits and the beautiful Grand Prismatic hot springs both at Yellowstone, ziplining and whitewater kayaking near Yellowstone River, the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center, getting food poisoning at Cooke Montana, visiting the Army Surplus and Potato Museum at Idaho, and finally, the various fancy meals we prepared throughout the trip. We packed a lot into those 10 days but it all worked out in the end!

By Skye

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On Memorial Day weekend Crew 27 went up to Brannan Island for our annual family camp. We used a lot of the time here to practice our water skills for the upcoming Super Trip. We did some basic kayaking and went on a small expedition around the delta. Later in the day we constructed and practiced with a tool called a z-rig in case we need to get a boat unstuck in a river. We also practiced bracing to make sure we know how to stay upright in any rapids we encounter on future trips. The crew cooked hot dogs on sticks over a fire for lunch which turned out really good. During dinner we tried our hand at cooking some clams we fished from the river and no one got sick from them which was great. Overall the crew had a really great time improving our water skills and cooking food at camp.

By Zack B.

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On Memorial Day Crew 27 teamed up with Troop 27 to decorate the graves of veterans at Skylawn Memorial Park. The day started with a hearty breakfast of doughnuts and a briefing. Now equipped with screwdrivers, mallets and a massive amount of flags a small army of scouts and parents traversed the park, adorning every grave belonging to a veteran with an American flag. Despite a cold morning start and some light rain, together we were able to cover the entire park. Memorial day flag planting is an honored tradition the 27 family does every year and it is truly such a special experience to be a part of.

Charlotte K.

Gavin C​

This year, we only had 5 participants to help our crew compete against other crews and troops from our council, Pacific Skyline Council, as other troop members were either studying for AP exams or helping out in Troop 27. Though we did not get first place overall in the competition, we won multiple events and got second place in a group of 5 different patrols from 4 troops. We started the outing by departing on Friday afternoon and set up our campsite to have the full day competing in events. On Saturday, we had a very tasty breakfast of pancakes with whipped cream and fruit, then went on to the competition. After the competition was done in the evening, we made a wonderful dinner consisting of bacon cheeseburgers with garlic, caramelized onions, mushrooms, and more. We then had an amazing peach cobbler for dessert. The next day, we made delicious biscuits and gravy for breakfast, then ran the morning flag ceremony, and attended the awards ceremony. After all this, we helped with a service project, which was mainly moving a giant wood pile to a different spot for a shed to be built in that spot. After lunch, we packed up and returned to CCP.

By Zachary R

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The theme this year was Zelda because a crew member had wanted to do it for so many years. Troop 27 patrols found their clues in donut boxes and had to decode a passage leading them to the next station (standard treasure hunt).  From there there were many activities and stations planned for them. There was hawk-throwing and wood chopping, There was archery, and there was a cone event where the patrol had to lash a sail onto a pre-built catamaran and do a canoe course. There was fire building where patrols had to melt a poisonous goop (aka jello) to find their clue hidden inside. There was also a first aid station where the patrol assisted the wounded patrol leader to a witch hut where they received a healing potion, patrols also got to do bridge-building activities and grappling hooks. The end location was Mount. Madonna where the patrols and Venture crew spent the night and the next morning summited Mount. Madonna to an amazing view. According to Troop 27, it was a very successful treasure hunt and everyone had fun, the video this year with the bears was also spectacular with a great editing team.

By Julian

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On the weekend of the 3rd and 4th, Crew 27 embarked on a journey up north. We sojourned across California to the Sierras. We finally arrived at Dodge Ridge only to find that it was chock-a-block with skiers and the other snow-faring types, forcing us to head back down the mountain to find another spot off the road. Eventually, a location was found, the gear was unloaded, and the process of building shelters began. It was a bad snow year and only about a couple inches or so of snow covered the ground. We were forced to quarry out snow from far and wide to build up the snow for our shelters. When the shelters had been finished, night fell and we enjoyed our dehydrated meals before tucking ourselves into our sleeping bags to hopefully get a few hours of shut-eye. Unfortunately, the universe felt bad for not giving us any snow to build our shelters with and decided to dump a couple of feet on us overnight to make up for this deficit. Thankfully, most of the shelters survived, though some people got a rude awakening with a face full of snow around 5:00. In the morning, the snow turned to rain as the sun came up, and we were forced to leave before everyone got hypothermia. Though all the events seemed like they would ruin a trip, the Crew managed to make the most out of it and have a great time anyway. 

A group of roughly 20 of us went up to a crew member’s family’s cabin in the Sierra Nevada Mountains this year to go skiing. We went up on Friday night, and went skiing all day Saturday and Sunday. We had lots of fun skiing, with some Crew members doing black diamonds all day, while others stuck to the greens. On Saturday evening the crew made chili for dinner with brownies for dessert. We played board games in the evening and got ready for another day of skiing on Sunday. After a second day on the slopes, we had dinner out at the local pizza restaurant. On Monday, we all voted as a group whether or not to go skiing again, but ultimately decided not to, and went home early. Overall, it was a very fun outing, with lots of skiing and fun time together.

Zachary R