Troop 849
Manhattan Beach, CA
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Hikemaster
Weekend
Longterm
December 20, 2006
| General |
Hikemaster's Handbook | Reservations | Showers | Banquet This entire guide is also available in PDF format (132k) | ||
Longterm Hikemaster's Handbook
Introduction | Locations | Permits | Equipment | Food | Travel | Cost | Checklist
Hike Locations
Route Planning
The longterm hike location is usually decided at a Troop Committee meeting many months or even a year before time. A list of past longterm locations is available on our web site. New locations are always encouraged so do don't feel constrained by this list.
Scouts are generally available during the summer. The best time to schedule a longterm is between the end of summer school and the beginning of school. Avoid summer camp week too. Most often it is impossible to satisfy all constraints so just do your best. Other factors are the number of mosquitoes and possibility of rain. Both go down later in the summer.
Some longterm hikes are harder than others. In any one give year, there should be at least one easier longterm for first time scouts and one more challenging longterm for the advanced scouts.
Troop 849 requires three training hikes prior to going on a longterm. This requirement can be waived for those who have been on a prior longterm. Most longterm training awards require a minimum of two training hikes within 90 days of the longterm. That requirement cannot be waived. Longterm hikes are usually above 8000 feet and have multiple peaks available for climbing. Participants are encouraged to climb all peaks (weather permitting) but that is not a requirement.
Patches
Special longterm patches are available from the Los Angeles Area Council High Adventure Team. There are patches for various areas in the Sierras along with patches for specific trails or routes. Patch requirements vary but generally the hike must involve at least four nights of camping and 25 backpack hours to qualify. See Hike Aid #6 for details. The most popular awards are:
| Any public lands, four night minimum, 25 or more backpack hours. | ||
| Any one of six 50 mile segments of the John Muir Trail, six nights minimum. | ||
| Trail must be entirely within the northern portion of the Sierras, four nights minimum, 25 or more backpack hours. | ||
| Trail must be entirely within the southern portion of the Sierras, four nights minimum, 25 or more backpack hours. |
Topo Maps
Full size topo maps are generally provided for all participants. Not only are they very useful during the hike, but they also make a very nice souvenir. Maps can be purchased at http://store.usgs.gov/. If only a small portion of a map is required, then a color copy of a full size topo can be used.
All California topo maps are also available on-line in electronic form from the California Spatial Information Library (CaSIL). Although not very useful on the hike, they can be used for planning purposes or for printing out a small section of a map.
Contents of this page entered by Tom Thorpe. Made on Macintosh.
©2007 Boy Scout Troop 849, Manhattan Beach, CA. http://www.troop849.org/