Activity Write-Ups

In the morning hours of the day, the crew set out to Castle Rock State Park for a much anticipated climbing outing. Three experienced climbing school instructors helped us get proper gear on, and led us up to the climbing rock. We attempted multiple courses set up on the rock. They were all challenging, but were great fun to figure out how to reach the top. Many crew members enjoyed figuring out how to position themselves to get around a protruding rock shelf, and to find the sturdiest foot and hand holds that they could push themselves higher. 

We also had great fun climbing all together into caves that were a part of the large climbing rock. There were some interesting holes in the side of the caves that we could look out of and even watch each other climb past. Overall, the climbing outing was challenging physically for many, but it was a great amount of challenge that left us with much satisfaction.

By Katie

Camporee is an event that occurs once a year to test scouts of various troops in activities that use their skills as scouts. The scouts participate in their patrols to accomplish tasks that require both teamwork and individual prowess, including lashing a chair to carry a member of the patrol, archery, shooting, and knot expertise. The day after the action the event runners, composed of adult leaders from the attending troops, announce the best performers of each event as well as in other categories such as teamwork and scout spirit. The entire excursion is a great time for all involved and an opportunity to utilize the skills that scouting teaches in fun and interesting ways.

By Griffin 

On a cold, Saturday morning of Spring, Treasure Hunt, an event looked forward to by most Scouts and Crew members commenced. The theme this year was Spies. The main objective of Treasure Hunt varied from person to person, such as keeping competitive and being first to each station and hoping to ultimately achieve 1st prize, or perhaps just enjoying the activities with friends. During the course of the events, scouts from Troop 27 were challenged with skills they had learned over the past few months to prepare them for such an event. In contrast, Crew was tasked with running said events such as bomb defusal, dead drop, and Jib Crane. While events were occurring, scouts and crew members alike had to deal with occasional harsh rains, however, the rain cleared up in time for camp at Memorial Park. On the second day, final events were finished up and prizes were distributed to scouts ranging from orange sodas to Starbursts and such.

By Arthur

The Klondike Derby is the annual two day long snow excursion that is attended by both Venture crew members and Troop Twenty-Seven scouts, and be it cold, frigid, chilly, or all of the before, it’s always a blast. The first day of the trip was spent setting up camp. Once we arrived, we packed our equipment onto sleds and hiked them up to a suitable campsite. Then, after probing for snow deep enough, we took to saws and shovels to dig out and build up shelters out of icy blocks, which were topped with tarps. This shelter housed our personal gear and, at night, ourselves. With our constructions strong, we were then able to experience day two. The second day was dedicated to various snow and skill related activities, such as a sled race and snowball throwing, as well as other more standard scout tasks. After lunch on the second day we filled in our shelters, packed our things, and left.

By Griffin

The goal for the Dunes Beach Service Project was to uproot invasive plants and allow native plants to regrow there instead. We helped do this by uprooting the invasive plants and setting down cardboard on the ground and shoveling mulch on top of the cardboard. This makes it so that invasive plants can’t grow back and the area’s natural plants can. The project was really fun and with the large group that we had, we were able to get all the work done and even did a little extra. Now plants will be planted in the mulch we spread out and the area can grow into a beautiful landscape for people and animals to enjoy.

By Perry

The Huddard Park Service Project was based on fixing up the trails at the park, and it was a fun way to make a big difference. Specifically, we restored the fences along the sides of a path by checking the structural integrity of the posts and fixing those that were loose. When we found a loose post, we would remove the rails and post. We would then dig a better hole, put in the post, fill it with concrete, pack it down, and put the rails back on. We also installed extra screws on the old rails secured only with nails. It was a fun project, and it was immediately evident that we were making a big difference because people walking by kept thanking us. Another upside to the project was that the work that we did will last a long time, so many people will be able to use the now-enhanced trail for a long time.

By Evan

It was a crisp, chilly morning when We arrived at Coyote Point Range. We took an hour-long class indoors learning the basics of owning, operating, and maintaining handguns, then went off to the range. The next few hours where spent letting lead fly and comparing our accuracies. Before we knew it we where cleaning up the many shells on floor, and after thanking our instructors, two of which had strong ties to the crew, we headed home.

By Kheo

For the Ropes Course outing, we went to Mount Hermon Adventures. Upon arrival, we ate lunch and threw frisbees. We quickly got suited up with our gear and began the course. We participated in a three-tiered ropes course that weaved throughout the redwood canopy. The course consisted of many components of varying difficulty like wobbly wooden platforms, rolling logs, swinging monkey bars, and a Zipline. We started at the bottom and made our way through the course through the different elements. There were so many paths you could take there never was much waiting. As we got higher, the elements became more complex and at the end of the second tier, we latched onto a zipline that spanned the valley. After that, we headed to the third part, which consisted of the most challenging components. We all finished without any mishaps and went home exhausted but with smiles on our faces. This was an enjoyable outing for sure. 

By Corey

During this outing we focused our time on the first day building an obstacle course for use the following morning. We spent our evening at the Troop 27 hosted campfire program. We were able to use the obstacle-filled rope course and bridge for a local Cub Scout den’s bridging ceremony the next day to graduate over to Troop 27. Shortly following the ceremony we lashed together makeshift watercraft made from spars, water jugs, and trash bags to use in the pool that was located near the campsite. People enjoyed building the watercraft and testing them out in the pool.

By Gavin

Each year the crew always does a halloween party. This year included food, karaoke, big chess and checkers, and gaming. The most fun part of the party, and of any activity, is the time we all get to spend together. Each year we always have so much fun and we plan on doing it again in the years to come.

By Allie

After some crew members finished the Wilderness First Aid course at Twin Pines Park, we got together and left directly for our campsite. After arriving, everyone pitched in to make a delicious biscuits and gravy for dinner. For dessert we ate a Dutch oven cooked peach cobbler. Everyone spent a relaxing evening talking with friends under the stars. In the morning, we packed up, ate a hearty breakfast, and per a member’s suggestion, went geocaching. After searching around the campsite and leaving behind our own contributions, we started our hike up San Bruno mountain. After hiking through the mist and cold wind we found gorgeous views and a few more geocaches. Finally we descended back down the mountain and drove home.

By Kheo

After taking an online course in order to prepare themselves, members of Crew 27 spent a day doing practical hands-on activities and scenarios to earn their Wilderness First Aid certification.  From bandaging to lifts to simulated accidents and illnesses, everyone learned a lot.

 By Pat