1/28 Wilderness Survival Merit Badge

January’s Winter Campout will be for scouts wishing to obtain their Wilderness Survival merit badge.

[box type=”info”] Please sign-up for this campout at the January 10th Troop Meeting[/box]

When: Jan 28 – 29, 2012

Where: Catoctin Mountain Park

Description: Wilderness Survival and Snow Shoeing (if possible)Additional information for the trip:

– Please bring one rake and a plastic tarp per patrol to collect leaves for the shelters.

– If you have a emergency space blanket, bring it.

– Please bring tents for shelter “just in case” we need them. You can leave the tents in the trailer.”

Schedule:

▪ Arrive at the Legion Hall on Sat Jan 28th at 7:45 am

▪ Depart the Legion Hall in carpools at 8:30 am

▪ Return from Catoctin Mountain Sun Jan 29th 11:so am

Catoctin Mountain Park lies within the mountainous area known as the Blue Ridge Province. This 5,810-acre hardwood forest park with its refreshing streams and scenic vistas, offers a rare haven in a rapidly developing area of the country.

However, Catoctin Mountain Park hasn’t always looked this way. In the 18th and 19th centuries the land now known as Catoctin was extensively logged to support local agriculture practices and to produce charcoal for the nearby iron works furnace. In 1933 the land was set aside as the Catoctin Recreation Demonstration Area with its purpose being to rehabilitate “sub-marginal” farmland.

In 1954 the Recreation Demonstration Area was divided, with half of the area becoming Cunningham Falls State Park and the remaining half becoming Catoctin Mountain Park. This venture, known as the Catoctin Project, was an example of a cooperative effort between State and Federal officials. Since then, the land has rejuvenated itself, transforming a disturbed environment into an excellent model of a second growth forest ecosystem.

Today, a mixed hardwood forest covers nearly 95% of the park. Catoctin Mountain Park is also part of a larger forested public lands complex that includes Cunningham Falls State Park, Frederick and Thurmont Watersheds, and Gambrill State Park. Many plants and animals, including several Maryland Threatened and Endangered species, thrive within this forest sanctuary. The high gradient streams, Big Hunting Creek and Owens Creek, run clean and support healthy populations of brown and brook trout. Catoctin Mountain Park is a very diverse place that offers respite to the plants and animals that depend on its existence. Its peaceful environment also provides a needed escape from the everyday hustle and bustle of city life for all people, including, on occasion, the President of the United States.

See the campout packet page for more information and directions to the campsite click here