2014 Wood Splitting and Trail Ride

Well, you know what they say.  When life gives you lemons, split some wood and then go ride a horse!

The weekend plans fell apart soon after they were made.  The troop had planned on camping at Bodega Dunes State Park and then heading across the highway to Chancelor Ranch to do a trail ride at their corral.  Unfortunately, it turns out that the weekend we selected to go was the same weekend as the Bodega Fisherman's Festival!  There were no accommodations to be found anywhere along the coast!  They had all been booked months and months ago.  After trying for some time, we had to fall back on plan B.  Since the trail ride reservations were still valid, we decided to continue with those and put a wood splitting activity in the early afternoon hours since that requirement is usually difficult to arrange on our busy camp outs.

Starting at noon, all of the scouts who needed to complete the requirement showed up at the Scoutmaster's house and several of the senior scouts went over axe safety and then it was time to have at the wood rounds!  As always, it wasn't nearly as easy as it looks and the junior scouts had their work cut out for them.  Thankfully, there was plenty of time for them to complete the task, and the troop ended up with several more campfires worth of split wood.  

After the last axe fell and the wood had been stacked, it was off to Northwest Prep to meet the other members of the troop and Webelos from Pack 134 to take off for the coast.  A short half hour later, we rolled into the ranch.  Chancelor Ranch is at a lovely spot just north of Bodega Bay and had rolling hills to ride and stunning views of the ocean.  Oh yea, they also have 22 horses!

The troop brought 26 riders so they were split into 2 groups to fit the horses.  While each group was out on the trail, one of the ranch hands gave the other half a lecture on horse maintenance and stable knot tying.  Meanwhile the riding half was paired up with a horse, the group was mounted and took off for a ride around the hills.  The ride went over several of the hills and valleys with great views of the sand dunes and the sparkling ocean beyond.  One group even got to see a bobcat slink his way into the underbrush.  

After the last group finished, the troop mounted their steel horses and rode back into town having had a fun afternoon on the coast.

 Participants: Daniel, Bryce, Owen, John, Evan, Sebastian, Diego, Ewan, Quinn, Joseph, Brian, Carl

Leaders:  Mr. Polkinghorn, Mrs. Jacobs, Mrs. Delao, Mr. Frazee, Mr. Brisgel

Lessons Learned:  Don't go to Bodega Dunes in April.  Do go to Chancelor Ranch and Horsin' Around Trail Rides.  They do a great job!