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Scouts and Scouters,

Welcome to the Grand Canyon Council Boy Scouts of America Summer Camp Season!

We look forward to a great year of summer camp activities at Camp Geronimo. The camp experience is always an excellent forum for Troop and Team members to hone their skills and develop new ones while having fun in the great Arizona outdoors.

This year, as in some previous years, it is possible that some National Forest lands may be closed to public access. We remain steadfast in our commitment to providing the best program possible if the surrounding Forest lands are closed. We urge you to consult our talented program staff upon arrival for tips, options and suggestions on in-camp programs.
We appreciate your patience and understanding over these past years as we battled repeated drought, bark beetles, fires, floods and other challenges. Camp Geronimo has benefited from our Capital Campaign funds in many ways thanks to your generosity. Our staff is ready to help facilitate an outstanding program for you and your scouts this summer.

Enjoy camp!

Take a look back at last summer’s Camp Geronimo, the August 2011 outing to the Lava River Tubes, Palace Station 2011, the October 2011 Survival Outing, the November 2011 backpacker, January 2012 Superstitions outing and the February 2012 base camp at Weimer Ranch and Picacho Peak.

The Jacob Sized fire at Palace Station - September, 2011

Here’s a quick fact sheet for Camp Geronimo 2012.  Troop 109 will attend session 4 (June 23-30)

2012 Camp Geronimo Fact Sheet  

  268.2 KiB  (290 downloads)

2011 Troop 109 Survival outing

Troop 109 just completed another great outing.  This month, the Troop went to an undisclosed pine forest under the Mogollon Rim and had one of the most successful survival outings to date.  This year, the scouts were divided into six survival teams and headed out to their survival campsites with only a sleeping bag, water and survival kit.  At their sites, they were provided a container of survival food.  The scouts had to build a fire with no matches and then figure out how to cook such items as whole tilapia fish, chayote squash, prickly pear pads and assortment of other raw vegetables using no cooking utensils.  Each survival group was graded on: fire making, camp craft, cooking and leave no trace.

The winning survival team.

Troop 109 survival team heading out to their survival campsite.Painted for survival war.

109 scout demonstrates his shelter.

The Wolverines show off their shelter.

The Panthers ready for the night.

It was a great year at Palace Station.  Chef Red, sous chef Dave and the kitchen put on a culinary extravaganza serving up slow roasted beef brisket with Carolina BBQ sauce, the best cowboy beans and the tastiest fresh-made potato salad ever.  We got a record amount of work done preserving this important piece of American history (the historic Palace Station stage coach stop).  The U.S. Forest Service was there helping us with Ranger Ron and the official archaeologist for the Prescott National Forest. We had crews who finished staining the wood on the cabin, a crew who worked on the landscaping in the Station yard, a crew who replaced rotting fence poles around the graveyard, a crew who did some great trail work and of course, the first year scouts felled several trees while earning their Paul Bunyan award.  We had a Jacob-sized campfire with good skits and stories.  The night was topped off by six different Dutch oven cobblers from Chef Red’s kitchen.

We were drawn for one crew to the world renown Philmont High Adventure base (9 scouts and 3 adults) for 2012.  The outing dates are July 14-28, 2012.  The prerequisites for attending Philmont with the Troop are:

• Must be 14 years old (or turn 14 on the trail)
• Must be a Star scout
• Must be active in the Troop from the time you register until Philmont – that means 75% of the Monday meetings and 50% of the monthly outings.
• Must attend Camp Geronimo with the Troop in 2012 (or have gone with the Troop at least 4 times already)
• Must be a capable, fit backpacker as this trek will cover 50-70 miles…everything must be packed in and packed out.

Since we only have 12 total spots for this once-in-a-scouter’s-career type of trip, if we have more people who want to go than we have spots, preference will be given to the most senior active scouts (based on joining date).  Since we have to make a non-refundable deposit to Philmont, your initial deposit will need to be non-refundable.

Payment Schedule

1. First payment – $320, due on Monday, September 26, 2011
2. Second payment – $100, due on Monday, December 5, 2011
3. Third payment – $320, due on Monday, February 12, 2011

You will need to make your first payment on time to secure your spot. 

Additionally, there will be additional expenses to cover gas, travel and food coming and going.  We don’t  have the exact figures yet, but we estimate this cost to be ~$300-500.  That money will probably be due in the April-June time frame.

There is a chance that if we have much more demand for a High Adventure trip in 2012 than we can accommodate with Philmont, we MAY plan a secondary trip similar to last summer’s trip to Weminuche.

Camp Geronimo is located north of Payson in the shadows of the magnificent Mogollon Rim on nearly 200 acres of forest and meadows. Surrounded by over 5,000 acres of ponderosa pine forest, trails lead from camp to the top of the rim where Scouts can stand at the very edge of the Colorado Plateau.

Camp Geronimo is a year-around facility. In addition to the Boy Scout summer camp program held June through August, Camp Geronimo hosts a number of events ranging from unit camping opportunities to training courses and district events.

More info on Camp Geronimo on the Grand Canyon Council website:

Camp Geronimo 2009 from Troop 109 on Vimeo.

The scouts of Troop 109 just completed their annual Mini High Adventure today.  The annual trip timed over spring break included canyoneering in Minnow Canyon near Apache Lake, backpacking to Reavis Ranch and a whitewater river run on the Salt River.

Two 109ers tackle the rapids

One of the crews celebrate the end of a great run.

The last part of the 150' repel in Minnow Canyon

Exploring a cavern in Minnow Canyon.

Backpacking into Reavis Ranch.

]]> http://phxtroop109.org/mini-high-adventure-packed-with-fun/feed/ 0 http://phxtroop109.org/troop-109-in-the-news-for-its-service-at-palace-station/ http://phxtroop109.org/troop-109-in-the-news-for-its-service-at-palace-station/#comments Tue, 21 Dec 2010 08:25:45 +0000 Scoutmaster http://phxtroop109.org/?p=1096

Boy Scouts of America Celebrate 30 years of caring for Palace Station

Courtesy photo Boy Scouts from Troop 109 apply stain to the aged timbers of the Palace Station stage stop on the Prescott National Forest this fall to help preserve it. By Joanna Dodder Nellans The Daily Courier Boy Scouts of America Troop 109 recently celebrated 30 years of caring for the historic Palace Station on the Prescott National Forest. Alfred Spence built the Palace Station stage stop halfway between Prescott and the Peck Mine in the late 1870s, and it continued to serve all the mining communities south of Prescott until the early 1900s. Now it is one of the few remaining stage stops in Arizona. Most of its outbuildings disappeared over time until the Prescott National Forest took ownership of the site in 1963. It is a private residence but people can view the station from the road. It sits along Senator Highway (Mt. Vernon Street in Prescott) about 11 miles south of Gurley Street. The road is rough south of Groom Creek, so a four-wheel-drive vehicle is recommended. Troop 109 has been highly instrumental in preserving the Palace Station, a National Historic Register site. Every September, the troop travels from Phoenix to the forest to help care for the building and surrounding land. The work brought the troop a National Take Pride award from President Ronald Reagan in 1988. Troop projects over the past 30 years include building and repairing fences, installing interpretive signs and a flagpole, clearing overgrown brush, maintaining a nearby forest trail and improving a helipad. This year the scouts, led by Scoutmaster Russ Carpenter and Forest Service official Ron Rodgers, painted stain on the stage stop’s old timbers to help protect them from the ravages of monsoon rains and winter. Then the boys celebrated their 30th anniversary at the station with a special evening barbecue. Prescott National Forest archaeologist Elaine Zamora presented special patches honoring the scouts’ efforts, and also presented awards to several others who have helped preserve Palace Station over the years – past scoutmaster Tom Potter, longtime Troop 109 supporter Ron McElhaney, and retired Prescott National Forest official Doug Vandergon (who lived at the station for 16 years). “They are helping preserve, protect, beautify and maintain one of the most important historic sites on the forest,” Vandergon said of the troop during a previous gathering.

]]> http://phxtroop109.org/troop-109-in-the-news-for-its-service-at-palace-station/feed/ 0 http://phxtroop109.org/new-video-troop-109-year-in-review/ http://phxtroop109.org/new-video-troop-109-year-in-review/#comments Sat, 11 Dec 2010 21:45:31 +0000 Scoutmaster http://phxtroop109.org/?p=1084

Let’s look back at some of the fun Troop 109 had in 2010.

Troop 109 Year In Review from Troop 109 on Vimeo.