Gettysburg Historian ReportsBy Andrew B., Jason J. and James Y.
Biking Historian Report by Andrew B.
(Dragon Patrol Historian)
On April 11th, about 40 scouts from troop 55 went to Gettysburg. The fun activities for the weekend included biking, hiking, and going to a museum about the history of Gettysburg. After enjoying these activities, the troop camped in tents overnight. All the scouts packed days before the trip, so that they would be best prepared for the outing.
The biking activity was very scenic. It included some amazing views of Gettysburg and the battlefield. The circuit was about 14 miles long and was fairly hilly, so we got some good exercise. All scouts brought their own bikes for this activity. The sight I most enjoyed seeing on the bike trip was the different statues. I heard that the hiking trip was also impressive and was about 4 miles long. I didn’t participate in this portion, as each scout had to choose whether to bike or hike.
Finally, the museum was very interesting. It included a great deal of information about the important battle that happened in Gettysburg during the Civil War. It even had a scaled down model of all the locations where the battle took place. This was particularly interesting because it showed exactly where the troops were positioned during the actual battle.
My favorite part of the whole trip was getting to see a big part of Gettysburg on my bike. I would recommend this trip to scouts who haven’t yet participated in it.
Hiking Historian Report by Jason J.
(Bears Patrol Historian)
On April 11, we left St. Francis Church in the morning to go to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. When we got there, people started to take off their bikes and started practicing. Then we ate lunch, which was provided by the patrol or by the scouts. Then, we were driven to the diorama, which explained the events of the battle and what happened with lights and gunshots. We were driven back to the campsite to set up our tents. Then, we started our biking and hiking.
On the hike, scouts had to avoid horse poop and we saw many horses. Then, we followed a road. On a bridge, we saw a snake crawling on the ground. When we followed the road, there were many rocks and monuments along the way. There was even a point where we saw a red Mustang club! We hiked to Devil’s Den, which is a lot of rocks spread randomly on the ground. There was a hill with a miniature tower, which was supposed to be a monument. Then, we followed another road that led us back to the horse trail, where we had to avoid horse poop again, which led us back to the campsite. The bikers biked about 13 miles while hikers hiked about 4 miles. We went in a circle and came back to the campsite to have free time.
After a while, we made dinner. Each patrol made something to eat, while some people were taking photos of our food. Everybody cleaned up what they used for cooking. When it turned nighttime, everyone huddled around the campfire to stay warm. Then, we hopped into our sleeping bags.The next morning, everybody woke up and cooked breakfast. It was still cold. After breakfast, everybody started to pack up their gear. When they were finished packing up, people just talked or rode their bicycle. Soon, we pick up trash and clean up the campsite. It took a while, and then we went on to the religious service.We left the campsite and ate lunch at different places depending on the driver. Finally, we packed up and went back to the church within two hours. We learned more about the Battle of Gettysburg. Everybody had fun on the outing.
Biking Historian Report by James Y.
(Scorpion Patrol Historian)
On a Saturday, April 11th morning, we woke up early to get to St. Francis Church at 6:30. It was a hike/bike trip, so some of us had brought our bikes to put in the bike trailer, but others were hiking, and didn’t need to worry about it. Once everything was loaded up, we set out for Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, a one and half hour drive.
We got to the campsite first and took out all our gear. Some of us started riding bikes around. However, we were instructed to put our gear back into the car, and we set off again to the Gettysburg Diorama Museum. It was huge! The trees looked realistic, and they put on a show once we all sat down, including a projector, music, and lights. After it was finished, we walked back into the cars and head back to the campsite to set up our tents.
Once we finished setting all out gear up and eating lunch, after so time, we were to start the bike/hike journey. The bikers were to bike 14 miles; the hikers were supposed to hike 4. At one point the bikers split between older scouts and newer scouts so the newer scouts could do a bit less. There seemed to be a lot of horse poop on some of the paths, and it was a lot of work dodging them on a bike.
Once we arrived back, we began to make dinner, and after we had ate, we went to the campfire to sing songs, do skits, and say some random joke. There was cake and doughnuts! 
After the campfire, we all went to our beds, while some had scoutmaster conferences.
After the campfire, we all went to our beds, while some had scoutmaster conferences.We woke up at 6:45 on a Sunday morning, and began to start cooking breakfast. We had some more scoutmaster conferences, and we finished our breakfast. It was time to start police lines to start cleaning up. There were some people who hid behind rocks during the police line.Everyone was present at the service, and we sang songs read lines, and listened to people talk.
Finally it was over, and as always, we took a picture of all of us.We left around 11:30 after we had packed up our gear and loaded it into the cars. The bikes were back in the bike trailer. We drove another one and a half hour to get back to St. Francis Church. Then we at last went home to relax and maybe play our X-Box!
