The first weekend of February, Venture Crew and Troop 27 drove up to the Dodge Ridge area for this year’s Klondike. it was certainly a unique experience. Saturday started as usual with everyone building their shelters. Overnight three feet of snow chich caused several shelters to cave in. Backup tents were brought out and many scouts learned a lesson in snow shelter design. There was so much snow that the Sunday activities were canceled, but it didn’t stop scouts from enjoying hot chocolate and soup. Klondike was quite an adventure and a very enjoyable experience that we will always remember.

-Andrew Altorfer Bear PL

Alex Kaiser’s Eagle Project will be on March 4th and 5th. It will be trail restoration for San Mateo County Parks.

Treasure Hunt is coming! It will be on March 11th and 12th. Treasure Hunt is a yearly event run by Venture Crew 27. It is a patrol competition with all sorts of fun activities and great prizes.

Troop 27 had an incredible new year’s overnight event at Saint Bart’s Church! The fun began with various activities such as playing video games, glow stick tag, and attempting Grandma’s Keys. One of the highlights of the night was a patrol-based iron chef competition. There were all kinds of tasty creations in the mix, with teams trying their hardest to impress the judges. As midnight came and went, some scouts stayed up to watch ‘Alone in the Wilderness’ while others retired for the night.

On November 19th scouts went on a shooting outing at Coyote Point Range prior to the Henry Coe Backpacking outing. There was a briefing on gun safety and then scouts went out to the range to begin shooting. They shoot single-barrel rifles on an outdoor range. There were four groups of shooters and four rounds for each group. Some adults shot rifles as well. In between turns some of the scouts studied for the Ham Radio exam. After the shooting, the scouts had lunch at the range. The scouts going to the backpacking outing left with the ASMs.

It started with about an hour-long drive to the Henry Coe State Park Information Center from the Coyote Point Shooting Range (an event that was right before the outing). Since it was a backpacking outing, the troop hiked in with all of their gear except for the water and some other materials (such as spars, tents, axes, and hatchets). Some set up tents, and some just tarped out. Then there was dinner—hot water was distributed for meals and a campfire. Next was glow-in-the-dark capture the flag. Afterward, scouts went back and did astronomy, led by Mr. Frydenlund. Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn were visible throughout the night. Afterward, some scouts swung around glow sticks from the game of Capturing the flag. Then everyone went to bed.
In the morning, we packed up and had breakfast. After breakfast were two fire stations and one knots and lashings station, where fire stations led by older scouts taught scouts how to prepare wood for fires and build fires. At the third station, scouts build a shade structure to provide a place to eat lunch. After lunch, the troop packed up and got ready to leave. Then, after an FRS radio briefing from Mr. Frydenlund, the troop hiked back to where the cars were parked, along the nature trail where scouts could identify plants at certain marked spots along the way. Then the troop drove to the Park n’ Ride, where troop gear was distributed and scouts went home.

-Aaren Gurskus
T27B Scribe