Bison, elk and geysers were just some of the things that the Scouts in Troop 202 — chartering out of Locust Presbyterian Church — were able to see during their recent trip to Yellowstone National Park.
“It was great because we got to see Old Faithful,” said Wilson Kippes, Troop 202’s senior patrol leader. “I want to do that for the rest of my life.”
The first day in Wyoming was spent at Grand Teton National Park where some of the younger Scouts worked on their Junior Park Ranger Badge and learned about moose, park stories and safety in the national parks.
“There were pages where you could color drawings of bison,” said Gabe Shoukry, who is one of the younger Scouts in Troop 202. “One of the questions was about what you hear in the forest and the things you see, like geysers.”
Some of the Scouts visited Mammoth Hot Springs in the northern part of Yosemite and hiked the Beaver Pond Trail into the state of Montana.
“I thought that was cool,” said Brett Gosse. “I stood with one foot in Wyoming and the other in Montana. It was fun.”
Cayden Osborne had a lot of appreciation for Yellowstone as a whole.
“Just looking at the springs, geysers and all the wildlife was beautiful,” he said. “I actually got to see a moose up close.”
While all of the wildlife and natural wonders were beautiful to see, some, like the Sulphur Caldron, located on the Mud Volcano Trail, came with a pungent odor. This is caused by hydrogen sulfide gas that rises like steam from out of the ground.
“It smelled like rotten eggs,” said Beckett Tucker. “It looked cool, though, just like bubbling mud.”
All of the Scouts camped for eight nights. Some of them spent as many as three nights in the backcountry, meaning they were on the trails with only the gear they carried in their backpacks — sometimes hiking more than five miles in a day.
Abyl Dahle spent two nights and three days in the backcountry, with his longest hike being 5.4 miles, which made him “very tired.” Still, he was able to enjoy the beauty of Yellowstone.
“Ice Lake was very beautiful,” he said. “We had a great time putting our feet in the water.”
Riley Honeycutt talked about how he swam in Shoshone Lake.
“The water felt like it was about 40 degrees,” he said. “But that’s the only place where the mosquitoes weren’t.”
“Many of these young men really proved themselves,” said Troop 202 Scoutmaster Matthew Sheffield. “We did a number of training hikes in the months leading up to this trip, but they absolutely came back home stronger than when they left.”
The Scouts were on their trip from June 8 to June 17.
Troop 202 has been active in the community through The Big Serve, picking up trash along Running Creek Church Road through the Adopt-A-Highway program and volunteering at West Stanly Christian Ministries.
Scouts meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays at Locust Presbyterian Church.