BLACKSMITH DAY!!  WOW!  A few burns, okay, alot of burns, but still a great day!  Lots of iron shapes came home, some even recognizable, and that means more Christmas presents!  They were there the whole day and really got to see how difficult the work of blacksmithing is..... One scout said, "It was so hard because I would pound and pound on this hot iron and then it would just suddenly fold over and break."  Apparently, it takes a lot of experience to know when the metal gets thin enough to hold its shape, but not so thin that it breaks.  I think they all gained some appreciation of the art of blacksmithing.  How are all those burns coming along?  :)

SEPT CUYAMACA CAMPOUT - MAKE A RAFT THAT FLOATS!

CAMP WENTE - SUMMER 2008  YAHOO!!!

The High Sierras Backpack Trek

The High Sierras Backpack Trip 

August 1st - 8th

FLAG DAY CEREMONY

FLAG DAY CEREMONY AT THE ELKS LODGE ON SATURDAY, JUNE 14TH!!!!!!!  WAY TO GO, SCOUTS!      Jonathan Kilmer, Corey Pigott, Andy Adams, Kyler Pigott, Griffin Gamble and Matt Adams all participated in this flag day ceremony.

Life Service Project of Griffin Gamble and Troop 617 hits the papers!

Troop 617 gets publicity in the Ramona Sentinel after it's, soon-to-be, Life Scout, Griffin Gamble and the help of his fellow scouts, enhanced the grounds of Mountain Valley Academy with four new Redwood Benches.  Griffin reports that his benches are being used every day and that everyone enjoys them tremendously!!!

Great job, Griffin! 

Who has the next service project?????????????

Attention! Our Flag raising went great... (cough!) we won't go into Andrews accomplished skill in zip-ties! (ahem!)

Also, we got some compliments on quality of food!  Plus. we sold all the food! YEA!

Anyways, we didn't make as much money as last year but everyone did enjoy the days activities. 

In Memory of Bobby Coeur...

Troop 617 grieves the loss of Bobby Coeur, who was killed in a car accident on March 15, 2008. We greatly miss our dear friend, Bobby, whose wild antics and great sense of humor added so much to our troop and outings.  We will always remember him for his humor and toughness on outings.  He was definitely one who was up for the challenge!

Friday's Recruiting Activity

For our first Recruiting activity we did an excellent job! Thanks to everyone who showed and  was a scouting example!

Granite Springs; March 2008

Tell us what you did!  Any good stories?  What about wildlife?

Scouting For Food

Boy Scouts of America Scouting For Food Run!
Saturday Morning was a great workout. Walked all over Garden Road Area and got to practice our Citizenship and salesmanship skills!

You should have see Andy run from 20 cub-scouts... literally we imagined him getting carried off in a mob of miniature, donut crazed scouts!

Got any stories of your own on this activity? Share them on the comments page!

Ski Trip 2008 Yea!

 Here I am without a ski on a Black Diamond Lift!

 Nice View

The Blind Man's Drum Walk - Mussey Grade Area

During our Pioneering weekend we had the awesome opportunity to do several activities with two guides who led our troop in many exercises beyond the norm!!!!  It was a great team builder and personal stretching time.  

Good Times

This is great! Awesome job to whoever thought of this. Here is a photo of "the next generation" of scouts at Idylwild and one of our visit to the Hoover Dam.

The joys and memories of scouts will last your lifetime and bring comfort and joy to your life as you think back upon the days of blissful freedom. The outdoors, brothers in arms (more like legs), companions for the testing of yourselves.

CANOEING ON THE COLORADO

Few trips can match the beauty, challenge, serenity and fun of the Black Canyon Canoe Trip.  The sharp contrast of the blue-green water, which we could see through to the bottom, with the cliffs on either side of the canyon were very dramatic.  The additional treat of hot springs along the way were an absolute blast and Mr. Z's airplane ride sure helped out with traveling miseries after the long 3-day trip on the river.  Thanks to all!! 

EXTREME BACKPACKING

Little can be said, when so much has been experienced, of a week-long adventure! Our Troop plans to challenge both the strength and teamwork of its scouts this summer with a Serria Expo, tallying over 50+ MILES!

Pictures: Top-Sierra-Nevada Trek, Bottom-Grand Canyon Trek

Chargers 2007: Troop Service and Experience

You Can't IMAGINE the ROAR and shudder of a 20,000 man stadium! It felt like a Tidal River and Earth Quake smashing a massive gong over and OVER! My eyes rang with the noise!!!
No TV can compare to that feeling...that fear; the feeling of complete helplessness! Its an experience I'll never forget and am grateful to learn.
Thanks,
-Jordan

Zacks Service Project 2008

Helping the City of Poway in their renovations of Silverset Park last Saturday