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| Paying it forward to the next generation. |
Three crews of Arrowmen completed projects within Mount Rainier National Park and the surrounding Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, while joining in shows and friendly competitions back at Camp Sheppard.
Strike Team Paradise A led by Cameron Devine traveled to the Paradise picnic area for grounds cleanup and trail maintenance projects, cutting back brush that had crept uncomfortably close over the past decade. Paradise B crew led by Leland Shields also performed trail work along the Wonderland Trail near Reflection Lake and Stevens Canyon. Their work included using weed whips to clear encroaching bush fro the trail and learning how to operate a crosscut saw. As one crew member said, “the view was spectacular and we made it better.” Outside the park, Crystal Mountain Strike Team led by Matthew Gates, nickname the “pickup-stick crew” engaged in seed collection for re-vegetation efforts and cleaning up sticks at a local visitors center for fire prevention and visual beautification. After 2 days of irksome tasks the crew got out on the trail for boardwalk maintenance and trail improvement at Greenwater Lakes.
At camp, attendees were entertained by Steve and Quinton Lum who performed songs each night and led teams in friendly competitions of physical strength and wit. The running theme of the week, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, was incorporated in all the games and encouraged horrid English accents for the rest of camp.
By the end of the week scouts dreary from lack sleep and hard work yet energized by great food from the kitchen crew left behind the work gloves and hard hats for recreation activities like field games at camp and hiking around Sunrise. All in all, ArrowCorps2014 was a huge success, with over 620 volunteer service hours completed.
In addition to the leadership provided by CLC members, CLC was directly involved in planning and preparation for ArrowCorps2014. After the enormously successful ArrowCorps502 project in 2011, CLC hosted CLC hosted Conservation Leadership School (CLS) in 2012 and 2013 to train youth leaders in trail skills, wilderness first aid and ethics, and expedition leadership. CLC will again be hosting CLS in the coming years to prepare for the next major project, to be held in summer 2017.
To learn more about ArrowCorps2014 and the rich history of Scouting service at Mt. Rainier, please visit their official website. You can also check out photos and videos from this and past projects, and keep appraised of the latest developments on their Facebook page.
- I.B. with M.K.
