San Gabriel Hike, November 10-11, 2008

Photos from a last hike of the year to San Gabriel. A bit chilly but a very nice escape!

Doane Valley Campout

The scouts of troop 718 had a chilly evening of camping on Mount Palomar at the Doane Valley Family camp on 24-25 October. Connor H., Connor M, and Devon A. enjoy cooking dinner.

Cesar C. still attended despite a broken ring

finger on his right hand.

Connor H., Connor M., Cesar C., and Devon A. have their tent setup and are ready to hit the sack.

Devon A. served as the cook for the campout and did a great job.

Fishing at Doane Pond was not happening. Water is low and too warm and the aquatic plants were overgrown.

Court of Honor

On September 30th, the scouts of Troop, Team and Crew 718 were acknowledged for their scouting efforts at a combined Court of Honor. Scouters and family members were on hand to see these young men receive merit badges and rank advancements. Nick A. receives a merit badge from Brett J. as Bill R. looks on.

Devon A. and his mom are all smiles as he is awarded a rank advancement to second class.

Connor H. and his parents are thrilled at his star award!

Connor M. pins his tenderfoot rank pin on his mom while a proud father looks on.

Sam F. and his family celebrate his rank advancement to second class as Scoutmaster John looks on.

Cesar C. and his dad are VERY proud of his life scout rank.

Tanner M. and his parents celebrate his star scout advancement.

Trevor C. receives congratulations from his scout leader, Bill R. for a merit badge award.

Gary N. and Gary B. receive hugs from their mother and grandmother as they are acknowledged for passing their Eagle Scout Boards of Review.

Emerald Pool, San Gabriel Mountains

The scout leaders from troop 718 spent two nights in the San Gabriel mountains and located the famous Emerald Pool on a small tributary of the East Fork. A very challenging 2.5 hour hike off trail took us to this magnificent, deep green pool of cold and clear water. Enjoy the video.

Lost Valley Scout Camp 2008

Eight scouts and two leaders from Troop 718 attended Scout camp from 21-26 July at Schoepe Scout Reservation at Lost Valley Camp, Orange County Council.



An awesome week as the scouts earned 31 merit badges, three partials, 8 Polar Bear patches, three rank advances, and earned 5th place in the Team Triathalon.

Scoutmaster Bryce competes in the Scoutmaster shooting/archery/skeet competition and places fourth with a score of 166/200.

Tanner learns the value of work as he cleans the camp outhouse sink. The Scouts earned a perfect score for camp cleaniness and order for the entire week!

Aram looks great in our new Scout activity shirts. All Scouts had their Class A uniforms complete except for their Scout trousers. We plan to have them in complete uniforms by September.

Tanner is one happy camper waiting for the trading post to open to buy some Scout gear otherwise known as candy!

Brett climbs Guitarneck at Lost Valley climbing area. Brett will be staff for the rest of the summer at SSLVR working with High Adventure.

Sam attends summer camp for the first time and looks great in his class A uniform and is ready for breakfast.

Scoutmaster John takes the easy way rapelling down Guitarneck.

Scoutmaster Bryce lives the good life on top of the rock!





Conor works on the fingerprinting merit badge. Conor's first summer camp was a blast and he earned three merit badges and is ready to advance to the Tenderfoot rank.

Tanner and Cesar trade places in the canoe as they are tested in the water for the Canoeing merit badge. They both successfully completed the course and the badge!



Polar bear swim at 0600 every morning woke us up and help keep us clean during an dusty week. Here Tanner and Conor imitate crabs as they crawl along the deck.

Devon, Sam, Conor, Tanner and Aram show respect for the flag of our great country during the morning flag ceremony as they raise the colors for Camp Grace.

Connor and Cesar squeeze through a tight spot on the the Water Caves hike at the headwaters of Agua Caliente Creek. What an awesome hike!

Connor, Cesar, Conor and Devon (in the waterfall) are having a great time as they finish the water caves hike.

Thanks to the Lost Valley staff for a great week and to the parents and Scout leaders of Troop 718. Special thanks for Chris N. for all her work as the Committee Chair.

Rifle Shooting Merit Badge Activity

The scouts of Troop 718 are working on the Rifle Shooting Merit Badge with our counselor Gary from Fallbrook fire. Here Gary works with Sam on his aiming technique.

After driving to Orosco Ridge, an open range just north of Ramona, the scouts had a safety brief and set up the range.

Cesar is the focus of concentration as he shoots the .22 caliber rifle.

Scoutmaster Bryce works with Tanner to perfect his shooting technique.

Gary helps Connor as he fires at the targets.

Tony gives some tips to Cesar on shooting skills.

Finally, Bryce brings out the cannon, his .338 WIN Mag Elk rifle. Sam fires the weapon and gets a kick that pushes him back in his chair!

It was a great activity. Many thanks to our merit badge counselor, Gary for his time and rifle shooting tips. Next up, Scout camp and Lost Valley.

San Gabriel Day Hike, May 17 2008

The Scouts braved the heat and rattlesnakes on their 15 mile round trip hike along the East Fork of the San Gabriel River to Iron Fork. We attempted to get to Airplane Flats but found the way too steep to be safe without ropes and harnesses.

Scoutmaster Bryce and Ken review the topo map at the Bridge to Nowhere. Sam, Connor, Tanner, Cesar and Aram left the parking lot at 6:30 am and made the bridge by 8:15.

The river flow was brisk and a couple of river crossings nearly turned into swims for Sam and Tanner. The fish were plentiful and quick to bite if not very large.

Connor and Aram enjoy a break by the river.

A quick side track to Rattlesnake Falls yields two surprises. The falls were booming and a snake right in the middle of the trail. This Western Diamondback was given a wide berth.

Rock Mountain Rappelling, May 16 2008

The Scouts of Troop 718 rappelled off the cliff face of Rock Mountain in Deluz on a very hot afternoon. The steep climb was challenging in the heat but the rappel route was in shade and a cool breeze was very welcome.






Scoutmasters John and Bryce helped the boys tie into their harnesses using the correct knots and call out the correct commands as the scouts completed requirements for the rock climbing merit badge.

Aram, Devon, Cesar, Connor and Sam all had the chance to rappel and belay each other down the cliff face.