Troop 104 37-Mile King's Canyon Trek

Sometimes, it’s not about getting from point “A” to point “B”, but what you see in between that matters. Such is the case for our recent “50 Mile” hike which unfortunately turned out to be 37 miles long. While we failed to hike the route we had planned and had to come home early, we learned many things between point “A” and point “B”.

Some were simple things, like “The muscles you use for swimming are not the same muscles you use to hike,” or , “scratching mosquito bites do not make the symptoms of said bites better, no matter what your idea of ‘better’ is.” Still, other boys learned more important life lessons about being prepared and dealing with disappointment and failing to meet your expectations.

At the same time, the things we saw between point “A” and point “B” were beautiful and amazing. While some people decided that the reason for such a magnificent place was simply because we were in god’s country or something spiritual of the sort (a perfectly acceptable statement, I may add), I will tell you now that a human being will only ever see such amazing things when he or she is the only pollution, the only scar, the only mark of “civilization”, in the valley or on the mountainside where he or she stands.

Some people say that a picture is worth a thousand words. Unfortunately, only truly great pictures are so, but if the images from our most previous excursion into the lords country can make you think of a hundred, then I have done my job well. If you want to hear the story behind the images, I recommend you talk to some of the boys and fathers who went; the diversity of their experiences will do justice to the beauty of Kings Canyon. Have an adventurous summer!