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Alec Newman
By Alec Newman
Eagle Scout, Troop 822
The 50-mile hike on July 11 was “adventurous” for Troop 822, to say the least. Scouts Michael Garcia; Life Scout, Grant Smith; Second Class, and Alec Newman; Eagle Scout aided by Terry Newman; Scoutmaster and John Eckert; Assistant Scoutmaster (The Power Ranger) survived the hike with minor injuries, such as blisters, soreness, tiredness, and a dab of whining; and no scout is ever known for whining. The group of five began their tedious trek at the peak of the infamous, crisp, slightly undercooked Mt. Lemmon at the Boy Scout camp, Camp Lawton.
The group ventured down the backside of Mt. Lemmon with Mr. Eckert ahead of the pack 2.5 miles with a water station prepared. The first day was slow going, starting at 7:38 a.m. and breaking for lunch after only 8-miles. The boys were unflinching, however; this was the last hike required for the Backpacking Merit badge and the last requirement Alec Newman needed to get the National Outdoor Challenge Medal. After every approximate 2.5 miles, Mr. Eckert would be waiting for the boys and Mr. Newman to arrive for water and a quick rest before shoving off.
After about 17-miles, day one had ended and it was time to eat and sleep. Each boy had their own meal, Mikey had canned Chef Boyardee Chicken Alfredo, Grant had a combination of half eaten freeze dried meal substitutes, and Alec had a wonderful bounty of taste bud tantalizing MREs. Nature wasn’t done with these young hikers; before too long a small drizzle began and the boys rushed to get their sleeping gear out and under the truck as a makeshift tent. The rain persisted onwards, never ceasing, only growing in both strength and speed.
In an attempt to keep away from the rain, Grant moved closer and closer to the center of the truck; unfortunately, without his knowledge, he was under the opening between the cab and the bed of the truck … in the middle of the rainstorm. Once the rain had given up, Grant realized his sleeping gear was soaked after day one. A little down in the dumps, Scoutmaster Newman and Assistant Scoutmaster Eckert aided Grant in sleeping through the night without getting further soaked, if the rain decided to come back.
The morning had finally come around and the ground was only slightly muddy; the boys were met with the laughter of the adults as they crawled like cockroaches from under the truck. The morning meal for the youths consisted mostly of freeze dried meal substitutes. The morning had only just begun for the young scouts as they continued down the dusty trail.
During the hike, the boys had met with a blanket of ants carrying with them their spoils of victory; a bark scorpion that was ripped to itty bitty pieces. Strength in numbers almost always trumps strength in skill. Unfortunately, injury was also included in the morning highlights, both the scoutmaster and life scout suffered from blisters.
Enough of things such as those, the boy scouts and scoutmasters pitched in their help at the Peppersauce campground by cleaning up some of the unfinished campsites up towards Peppersauce caves. After a few hours of working and cleaning, the troop set up relaxed at Peppersauce then their adventure continued onward.
Including walking down Mt. Lemmon, a portion of the hike was on the historic Arizona Trail, which brought back fond memories of years past that they had been and worked on the Arizona Trail. The first time was the Arizona Trail was strenuous and painful; the boys were to move 10+ tons of rock to help rebuild it.
The boys had arrived home, sweaty and tired; smelly and out of commission, but they had finished their hike and were more than obliged to rest and recuperation.
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