The scoutmasters have been watching the weather closely and have contacted Mt. Rainier national park regarding current conditions at Paradise. We have waited as long as we could hoping that our fortunes would change, however the snow pack at Paradise is roughly a foot deep at the base which is totally insufficient to do snow camp. The ranger at Longmire said that in addition to only being a foot deep, the snow has been rained on and refrozen numerous times. So not enough snow to build a snowcave and there isn't enough snow to sled either and the snow that is there is not conducive to building any snow structure because of the crust of Ice.
So, we are sorry to report that we will not be camping in snow next weekend. However, your Scoutmasters have come up with a new and exciting plan for you to learn and test your survival skills.
Instead of going to snow camp we are planning on going out Saturday morning to Camp Kilworth which is in the browns point area. There you will have the opportunity to learn about and build your own survival shelters from natural materials available in the camp and the items in your E-pack. If you have ever watched bear grills or "dual survival" and seen the stars of these shows build an improvised shelter and thought "I could do that" this will be your opportunity to test your ability to build a shelter and see how well you do staying in it overnight.
You will still have to utilize much of the same gear you would have needed at snow camp, with the exception of Snow pants and Shovels. No cotton clothes! bring your packs tomorrow along with your E-pack so that we can inspect gear and make sure you are set for a survival shelter outing.
Parents, please be prepared to sign a new permission slip with the updated outing info on it. We regret that we had to go to "plan b" on this outing but mother nature didn't cooperate!
Thanks!
David Nease
Unit Commissioner Troop 219