Fall 2020 Activities

Virtual Escape Room and Games Night

Check your emails for details for another fun night of escape rooms, games and campfire songs.

Wednesday November 25th, at 7:00 pm. 

This is the last regularly scheduled zoom meeting for the fall.  

Good News!

Both Scouts Canada and Burnaby Parks and Recreation have confirmed that outdoor scouting can resume. Scouts Canada has put all of BC back into Stage 2.

This means that our planned hike in two weeks can proceed.  There is one key change: All youth and volunteers must wear a mask at all times during the outing.

In two weeks on Dec 5th we will be doing our Baden Powell Trail part 2.

What’s Next?

Our next Zoom session will be on December 2nd for those who have registered for next year to plan what we wish to do.

There will be an all-sections Christmas Zoom Christmas Party on Saturday Dec 12th at 7:00 pm. Notices will go out for these additional activities.

Virtual Escape Room and Games Night

Check your emails for details for another fun night of escape rooms, games and campfire songs.

Wednesday November 4th, at 7:00 pm. 

Baden Powell Trail Hike - Oct 24

History (wikipedia.org)

The Baden-Powell Trail is a rugged but well-maintained 48 km hiking trail that traverses from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver to Deep Cove in North Vancouver, BC. It was named after Robert Baden-Powell, Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the world Scouting Movement. The trail is about forty-eight kilometers (48 km) long, extending (west to east) from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver to Deep Cove in the District of North Vancouver. In between, the trail winds through the heavily forested North Shore mountains. It also connects with several other local trails. The trail was constructed in 1971 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of British Columbia's entry into Canada as a province. The project was initiated by the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides organizations of BC and much of the work of building it was done by their young members.

This Hike

Our goal is to complete the entire Baden-Powell Trail during this Scouting year, in multiple segments. This hike will cover approx. 1/4 of the Baden-Powell Trail, from Mt. Seymour Road to Lynn Canyon. The normal trailhead at Deep Cove is currently closed due to COVID-19.

Start Point - Trailhead

The trailhead is approx. 3 km (5 min) drive north on Mt Seymour Road from the turn off from Mt Seymour Parkway. There's a small parking lot (will likely be full but at least a good drop-off area) and it's well signed: Seymour Provincial Park - Baden-Powell Trailhead. https://goo.gl/maps/Ad56AzuFMPposkXv9

Departure time from the trailhead parking lot is 9:00 am. We expect the hike to last approx. 5-6 h, depending on our hiking speed, rest breaks, lunch time, and scenic stops along the way.

End Point - Rendezvous

Our hike will end at the Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge (3690 Park Rd, North Vancouver). Parking is usually a little better in the Lower Parking Lot. We'll meet near the picnic tables across from the Lynn Canyon Cafe.

https://goo.gl/maps/koKywRLjoMzRx9KG6

Pick-up time from the rendezvous is 3:00 pm. Hopefully, we should arrive here a little early. If that's the case we'll do a little extra hiking around the Lynn Canyon Park.

Packing - What to Bring

For this day hike, Scouts should ensure they pack & carry the following.

1. Raingear. We hope for the best and plan for the worst. The Scout's motto has always been 'Be Prepared'.
2. Hiking boots. The Baden-Powell Trail is, for the most part, well-maintained and hard-packed. However there are some challenging sections, and some wet sections. Sturdy hiking boots are strongly recommended.
3. Lunch & snacks. Each Scout will need to pack & carry their own lunch and trail snacks. We'll stop mid-trail for a lunch break.
4. Water. Each Scout will need to pack & carry their own water. Recommended minimum is 1 L water for each Scout. There are very limited places to refill water bottles along our route. 

Packing - The 10 Essentials (https://www.northshorerescue.com/education/what-to-bring/)

In addition to the above personal gear, every person heading out hiking should always pack & carry the following 10 Essentials in the event of an emergency.

1. Light (flashlight, headlamp, light stick, etc.)
2. Signaling Device (whistle, bear bangers, etc.)
3. Fire Starter (matches, candle, flint & steel, lighter, etc.)
4. Warm Clothes (toque, mittens, raingear, extra layers, spare socks, etc.)
5. Pocketknife (multitool, etc.) 4SW Scouts knife permit required!
6. Emergency Shelter (large orange plastic bag, thermal blanket, etc.)
7. Water and Food (extra water, extra snack, beyond the expected minimum, etc.)
8. First-Aid Kit (basic personal kit should include bandages, blister dressing, antiseptic cream, etc.)
9. Navigation (compass, GPS, etc.) 4SW Scout Troop carries an emergency locator beacon for most events.
10. Communications (not required for Scouts youth) 4SW Scouters will carry mobile phones, and emergency locator beacons as required.

RSVP Required:

Scouts Canada does not allow us to have more than 16 youth at a single gathering. We presently have 22 registered.  In order to attend, you MUST reply, telling us the name of the youth who plans to attend.  We will accept cancelations after Thursday at 9:00 pm for reasons of injury or sickness or equivalent only. 

In short, by Thursday at 9:00 pm, you will have made up your mind that you are doing this activity and NOT something else. Changing your mind because you decided to do something else instead is unfair to any who may have been waitlisted.  Late cancellations for any reason other than injury, sickness or equivalent will guarantee your place on the waitlist for the remainder of the fall session.

When you RSVP, I will reply with your position on the list. You may be told you are waitlisted.  I will take RSVPs on a first-come-first-served basis, based on this email inbox.  If someone cancels and you are on the waitlist, I will change your position and email you that you are now in position ‘n’, ‘n’ being the position vacated by the person canceling.  If there is a late cancellation (after Thursday at 9:00 pm) I may email those on the waitlist for a confirmation from you that you can make it. I will confirm the first waitlisted person that responds.

I will take late additions, if there is room.

Night Scavenger Hike - Sat Oct 3

Our second in-person meeting for troop will be a night hike at Everett Crowley Park in Vancouver on Kerr street.  Details below:

Location:

Everett Crowley Park is on the east side of Kerr street, up from Marine Drive. Here is the google maps location for the parking lot:

https://goo.gl/maps/ReQ22PgRGS2rUVLL8

If the parking lot is full, there is street parking. Note that if you street park, you have to park over from the curb so as not to block the bike lane.

Drop off and pickup will be at this location.

The Activity:

The activity will be a scavenger hunt. We will likely divide up into two groups. One group will have the two smaller patrols and the other group will be the larger patrol. This is dependent on having 4 scouters attend.  Otherwise, we will do the scavenger hunt as a single group.

We will gather, spend some time discussing upcoming activities, provide instructions, and likely get going by 7:30.  Each group will have an hour to return to the starting point, by 8:30, where we will review who was able to find the most items.  Here is a map of the location that we recommend you print off for your use:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everett_Crowley_Park#/media/File:Trailmap.jpg

Alternately, if you have a device with GPS capability (smart phone) Apple Maps, Google Maps, and the Geocaching App all have a good trail map of the park. Make sure the device is charged, and if you don’t have a data plan, download the map to your device.

You must bring the following:

• Warm clothing as it will cool off at night
• Rain gear, if the weather requires it
• Water bottle
• Small pack
• Flashlight
• Your neckerchief (we’ll bring one for our new scout)

Optional:

• Snack
• Copy of the map and a compass
• Device with GPS capability

 

RSVP Required:

Scouts Canada does not allow us to have more than 16 youth at a single gathering. We presently have 20 registered.  In order to attend, you MUST reply, telling us the name of the youth who plans to attend.  We will accept cancelations after Thursday at 9:00 pm for reasons of injury or sickness only. 

In short, by Thursday at 9:00 pm, you will have made up your mind that you are doing this activity and NOT something else. Changing your mind because you decided to do something else instead is unfair to any who were waitlisted.  Late cancellations for any reason other than injury, sickness or equivalent will guarantee your place on the waitlist for the remainder of the fall session.

When you RSVP, I will reply with your position on the list. You may be told you are waitlisted.  I will take RSVPs on a first-come-first-served basis, based on this email inbox.  If someone cancels and you are on the waitlist, I will change your position and email you that you are now in position ‘n’, ‘n’ being the position vacated by the person canceling.  If there is a late cancellation (after Thursday at 9:00 pm) I may chase you down for a confirmation from you that you can make it. If I don’t get that confirmation, I may move on to the next waitlisted person.

I will take late additions, if there is room.