Weekend Campout
Enchanted Rock State Natural Area
Fredericksburg, Texas
Depart: Friday 04 February 2006
Return: Sunday 06 February 2006
Estimated Cost: $30.00 per person (approximate)
February in Texas is typically a short, blustery month with an occasional hint of the impending spring season, so what better time to spend it outdoors camping on a rock in the Texas hill country? Troop 1852 will hold a weekend campout at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area starting Friday (02/04/05) and expecting to return Sunday afternoon (02/06/05).
Just to tease you with some of the details on the area:
Enchanted Rock State Natural Area consists of 1643.5 acres on Big Sandy Creek, north of Fredericksburg, on the border between Gillespie and Llano Counties. It was acquired by warranty deed in 1978 by the Nature Conservancy of Texas, Inc., from the Moss family. The state acquired it in 1984, added facilities, and reopened the park in March 1984, but humans have visited here for over 11,000 years. Enchanted Rock was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1970 and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The Rock is a huge, pink granite exfoliation dome, that rises 425 feet above ground, 1825 feet above sea level, and covers 640 acres. It is one of the largest batholiths (underground rock formation uncovered by erosion) in the United States.
History: Tonkawa Indians believed ghost fires flickered at the top, and they heard weird creaking and groaning, which geologists now say resulted from the rock's heating by day and contracting in the cool night. A conquistador captured by the Tonkawa described how he escaped by losing himself in the rock area, giving rise to an Indian legend of a "pale man swallowed by a rock and reborn as one of their own." The Indians believed he wove enchantments on the area, but he explained that the rock wove the spells. "When I was swallowed by the rock, I joined the many spirits who enchant this place." The first well-documented explorations of this area did not begin until 1723 when the Spanish intensified their efforts to colonize Texas. During the mid-1700s, the Spaniards made several trips to the north and northwest of San Antonio, establishing a mission and presidio on the San Saba River and carrying out limited mining on Honey Creek near the Llano River.
Activities: Visitors can enjoy primitive backpacking, camping, hiking, technical and rock climbing, picnicking, geological study, bird watching, and star gazing (minimal light pollution). Remember, at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, do not disturb plant or animal life, geological features, or Indian or historical artifacts. These park resources are protected by law! Bring your own firewood. Rock climbers must check in at headquarters; route maps and climbing rules available.
For more info on the park, checkout their website: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/park/enchantd/enchantd.htm
The plan for the weekend is to depart Friday for the park with a slight modification, if we have enough participants. Since it is supposed to be a FBISD holiday, we might have a small contingent depart early Friday morning to secure our campsites and set up an initial base camp. A second group would follow at the normal departure time (~6:00 pm) to arrive later in the evening. The trek to E-Rock will be roughly 5 hours, so we should try to get an early start, if possible. This park is a fantastic area with lots to do and see. This campout is again a great opportunity for all scouts and scouters to practice their outdoor skills. Lots of hiking trails to practice the art of getting lost. If we look at historical trend, it will probably be cold and wet up at E-Rock for the weekend (the past two years we woke up to snow on the tents!), so one should prepare accordingly.
Camp Out this weekend! !
Form up at church on Friday at 1800. Depart by 1830. Remember to eat before you arrive.
January is typically a cold and wet month, so where better to spend your weekend than at the infamous Aransas National Wildlife Refuge? Troop 1852 has been camping at the refuge for more years than I can recall and this year is no different! We have our site staked out for the weekend of 14-16 January 2005 and I am starting to stir the pot for participants.
For those unenlightened souls, Aransas is one of the national wildlife refuges in Texas where you can truly get back to nature. Located a mere 3 hours southwest of Houston near Rockport. The Aransas National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1937 to protect the vanishing wildlife of coastal Texas. It is an ever-changing land and is still being shaped by the waters and storms of the Gulf of Mexico.
This 70,504-acre refuge is made up of the Blackjack Peninsula, named for its scattered blackjack oaks, and three satellite units. Grasslands, live oaks, and red bay thickets cover deep, sandy soils. Ringed by tidal marshes and broken by long, narrow ponds, Aransas is home for cranes, alligators, deer, and many other species of wildlife. For more info on the refuge, checkout their website: http://southwest.fws.gov/refuges/texas/aransas.html
Typically, we spend the weekend at the refuge touring the refuge, performing some service project, or working on skills training (i.e. cooking, camping, nature, etc.). This campout is at one of our most remote sites where there is little city noise/disturbances (cars, planes, etc). The only sounds we typically hear at night is the roar of the waves and the occasional lonesome call of a passing train (far, far away), and your abundant nocturnal wildlife that reside in the area. This is a camp for one who really wants to get away from the city. There are limited facilities and the area is lightly used (not many campers). The refuge will only let qualified youth groups use the facility (i.e. scouts) for minimal cost. Normally, we are required to perform some service project in the area to pay for our accommodations, so the cost will be fairly minimal to the troop.
This is a great opportunity for all scouts and scouters to practice their outdoor skills. We have discussed at the committee meeting making this a family campout and we will have enough room to accommodate little brother/sister (if they are so inclined).
Specs on the trek:
Weekend Campout
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge
Austwell, Texas
Camp Site #2
Depart: Friday 14 January 2005
Return: Sunday 16 January 2005
Cost: $20.00 per person (est.)
To All:
A list of merit badge counselors for the next semester has been added. However, to get back to the main site you'll have to hit the back button on your browser, due to the way the page came formatted out of Troopmaster.
Hope its of use to everybody,
Chris Atwood
The troop has elected to go to Sid Richardson Scout Ranch for Summer Camp 2005!
Sid Richardson in a big scout ranch in the Longhorn Council of Fort Worth located a few miles west of Decatur. A ton of activities and looks like a good program. We are even trying to look into coordinating our high adventure out of Sid Richardson in conjunction with summer camp.
Want more info on the camp? Try this link: http://www.longhorncouncil.org/camp/sid_richardson/index.htm
Approximate fees for now are hovering around $235 - 250 per scout, but we need to hammer out a more exact figure (# of adults, transportation, etc.)
How to pay? You can pay for the entire camp fee at one time (the treasurers favorite practice) or for those who prefer the Troop 1852 e-z payment plan, a rough payment schedule would look like this:
02/01/05 Initial deposit $50.00
03/15/05 2nd payment $75.00
04/15/05 3rd payment $75.00
05/15/05 Final payment $35.00 (or balance due)
There is an OA Banquet on January 8th.
See our lodge's web site for more details.