White Oak Canyon Trail Hike
James Y. – Scorpions Patrol
On a Saturday morning, November 14th, we left at around 7:00 AM from St. Francis Church to go to go to Rose River Farm. It would be a hiking trip. We drove about an hour and a half, and when we arrived we unpacked our gear from the cars. 
Our campsite was a wide open stretch of grass, entered by a bridge over a stream. We set up our tents in neat rows according to our patrol and unpacked cooking boxes.
We made lunch before getting in the cars once again. We then drove to White Oak Canyon Trail. We all started hiking up, five minutes apart from each other. It was supposed to be 2 ½ miles up, and 2 ½ miles down, as long as you didn’t get lost. It was a long stretch up a mountain, yet rewarding us at the top was a nice view of all the waterfalls we passed, yet some never made it to the top.
After we arrived back at the campsite, we started cooking dinner, and Dutch oven was r
equired. As each patrol finished up their thing, we cleaned up and headed down to the campfire. During the night someone tried to sneak cocoa powder into the boiling water of cleaning stations, and one stove caught fire. When we arrived at the fire, we finished up the announcements, skits, and songs, and retired a flag before wrapping up for sleep. However, some scouts were particularly interested in keeping up others all night.
When we woke up, we made breakfast and took down our tents. Cleaning inspection would be extra strict, so patrols made sure to clean more efficiently. Once we finished cleaning, packing, and picking up trash, we headed back to our old inactive campfire. We 
discussed our outing had our usual group photo before heading back to the church once more.
I thought the hike was a fun experience and I saw some amazing sights in the mountains along with get a chance to bond with the rest of my patrol. I hope to go there again.
