TRIP REPORT:

Well we are finally back and rested. I am working on the 2,000+ pics to post to our site but here is the trip in a nut shell…

WED: Left at 7am and headed to gettysburg. Arrived at 5:30 at the visitors center. Had 20 minutes to stretch, use the restroom and get a glimpse of what was to come. Headed to Camp Tuckahoe and settled down for the night.

THURS: Arrived at the Visitors Center and spent several hours there with the movie, cyclorama, museum. Eat lunch in the parking lot and then did the National Cemetery. Then hiked the Johnny Reb trail. We took our time and enjoyed the walk and it took about 3+ hours. We started in two groups of 15 then merged into one group after the National Cemetery. SIDE NOTE: A Park Ranger came up and helped us park our Trailer out of the way by the old Cyclorama. When he saw our logo he told us he was from Indiana (the town next to ours) and that his old Math Teacher visited with his son 3 weeks ago. His son is an Eagle Scout, from our Troop about 6 years ago. Small world.

We headed back to camp and enjoyed a great dinner and nice evening playing games and watching Gettysburg.

FRI: The big one. We hiked the Billy Yank Trail. Started at Meade's HQ and ended with Pickett's Charge. I could go on and on about the hike, pros and cons. Bottom line, the Scouts and Scouters had a FANTASTIC time. Not one grumble, problem, fight or issue. A great time was had by all. After we ran the last 40 yards of Pickett's Charge, we went right to General Pickett's Buffet and had a great meal. Home was calling and we got to the Cabin and played some more games adn went to bed a little early.

SAT: Went to Pfizer Woods to see the 15th Alabama Re-enactors. They were great with a live fire demo and we spent over an hour there. Went to Little Roundtop for more, Sharpshooters and a bit more exploring. Lunch at Devil's Den and some rock climbing. After lunch we went to the Gift Shop at the Visitors Center and finally we ended the trip with sunset at the Peace Monument. Back at camp we had a steak dinner and then the Scouts helped with the Cub Scout Haunted Trails they put on every year, 1080 Cubbies showed up….

SUN: Packed the gear, said a prayer and headed home.

It was a fantastic trip with incredible highs! I will be doing it again (most likely in 2011) with another group from the Troop, we had a waiting list of over 20 people.

The Park Rangers did not mind the large group, we started split and then talked to the one ranger and he had no issue with 30 in one group.

A majority of the hike was newly paved! If you follow the BSA Program there are 2 errors (The Wheatfield entrance has been moved and the Restrooms near Devil's Den are gone). There is no water but ample port-o-lets. we also saw several new Rest Area buildings being constructed. They are small and out of the way.

We drove to our locations on Saturday and the Park was PACKED! We saw almost nobody on our Thursday and Friday hikes. I talked to more than 6 Troops doing the BSA Hike to alert them to the 2 changes (we spent 20 minutes getting our bearings after them). That is a lot on the Trail and tons more traffic to dodge. Plan your hikes during the week if you can.

General Pickett's Buffet was great. The food was good after 10 miles, the service was quick and they had our tables set up when we walked in…immediate seating!

Camp Tuckahoe was a dream. Bill the Asst. Ranger was fantastic. They opened the trading post for us so we can get our patches. The cabin was nice and the camp itself was so nice that the guys want to do Summer Camp there in 2012…plus it is the focus of the back page of this month's SCOUTING MAGAZINE.

Thanks to all the forum members for their help! We had a great trip and one that we will be doing over and over again!

More details coming on our website http://www.troop199.org

YIS
Bryan

Camp Tuckahoe was incredible. We stayed at Maple Cabin and showered at the Castle