BSA Troop 1116 Sugar Land, Texas

Our Mini-Philmont weekend at Hamman Scout Ranch near Bandera, texas was a great success. The weather was a challenge that we met and met well. We got some good lessons on equipment selection and use in the AM. After lunch we hiked approximately 5 miles back to Spring Lake near the Hill Country State Natural Area. Our weekend training paid off and we were one of the first groups to make camp. Being first, we got one of the better spots. After setting up the tents some prepared dinner while others explored around the camp. We also setup a dining fly where we could cook and eat if the freezing rain started before dinner was complete. We lucked out and dinner was dry. After dinner, some of the boys went right to bed while a few others experimented with reconfiguring the dining fly. By 7:00 PM EVERYONE was inside their sleeping bags and by 8:30 we were all asleep. It takes a lot of energy to stay warm in freezing temps and most of us slept till 6:00 or 7:00 the next morning.




It got colder during the night and there was some freezing rain. Water bottles we left out had ice in them and the dining fly had a thin layer of ice on it. So did much of the vegetation. Tents weren't as bad due to the heat from inside. We broke camp by 8:20 and headed back to Hamman HQ. There was quite a bit of discussion about which trails to take and a couple of instances of backtracking but we madit back by 10:00 AM just as planned. We drove to Boerne for brunch at the Whataburger. Everyone was ravenous. We will be going back to Hamman again before Philmony so those who missed it will have a second chance. Beautiful country and excellent hills.