Angel Island / Blue Angels

October 8th: Updated with Logistics info.

Date: October 10-12, 2014 (Friday – Sunday)
Location: Angel Island
Cost: $60
Attire: Class A for travel, Class B for hiking
Required: Permission slip

A two-night backpack camping trip on Angel Island, the weekend of S.F. Fleet Week. We’ll take a privately chartered boat (HyperFish) to ferry us from Jack London Square in Oakland to Angel Island on Friday evening, and hike to our campsite on the west shore of the island. We’ll hike Saturday morning, then watch the US Navy Blue Angels airshow in the afternoon, returning by commercial Blue & Gold Ferry service on Sunday.

This outing is limited to 20 participants. Participation will be on first-come, first-served basis (check in hand); however, priority may be given to scouts whose parents can provide transportation.

We will need six (6) drivers to take us to Jack London Square on Friday evening, and six (6) drivers to pick us up at Jack London on Sunday evening. Please volunteer on the permission slip.

Important Dates & Time:
09/16 (Tu) 7:00pm – Permission slip due at Troop meeting
09/23 (Tu) 7:00pm – Mandatory planning meeting 1 at Troop meeting
09/30 (Tu) 7:00pm – Mandatory planning meeting 2 at PLC meeting
10/10 (Fr) 4:00pm – Meet at Sycamore Park and Ride. Schedule is extremely tight. Arrive early if possible.
10/10 (Fr) 4:30pm – Drivers take Scouts to Scott’s Seafood at Jack London Square (Google directions)
10/12 (Su) approx 2:30-3:00pm – Return trip begins at Angel Island – Look out for email on Sunday for arrival updates
10/12 (Su) 4:40pm – Drivers pick up at Scott’s Seafood at Jack London Square
10/12 (Su) 5:30pm – Return to Sycamore Park and Ride

Bring:
– Tent parts assigned to you!
– Sack dinner
– Layers – it can be windy and cold on the bay.  A lightweight waterproof, windproof shell is an excellent idea!
– Lightweight binoculars (optional)
– Lightweight camp chair for the 4-hour airshow (optional)
– Playing cards etc, for passing the time (optional)
– 10 essentials and camping gears

Logistics

Drivers:

Drivers must take scouts and backpacks. I have therefore utilized all drivers to include capacity for equipment, and in the event of unplanned emergencies or equipment failure. Here are the day / family driver assignments, and the number of scouts you have told me you can carry. If your situation has changed or this is impossible for you, PLEASE NOTIFY ME IMMEDIATELY.

Friday: Aidan (4), Andre (4), Chris (4), Eric (5), Ethan (7), Jared O (5), Owen (4)
Sunday: AJ (4), Jared O (5), Jared Q (3), Jimmy (6), Justin (3), Lucas (4), Matthew (6)

Friday: (All Families)

Drivers (and all families) will meet at the Park & Ride Friday at 4:00 sharp. Please arrive early if possible. Our schedule is extremely tight. We have to distribute some equipment and food, get it packed in backpacks, get it in the cars, drive in Friday evening traffic through the maze to Jack London Square in Oakland, find our boat, board a boat, motor to Angel Island, disembark, hike a mile in, and set up camp – hopefully still in some daylight. (Don’t forget a sack dinner.)

I will have driver packets with driving information for all drivers on Friday, but essentially, we are going to Scotts Seafood at Jack London Square. Here is a link with location and driving directions. http://www.scottsjls.com/location.html. Please familiarize yourself with them in advance so we have smooth sailing on our way to the waterfront. 🙂

Sunday: (All Families)

Unfortunately, we will not know what time we will need to be picked up at Scott’s Seafood until sometime around 2:30 or 3:00, when we return to the docks on the island. We do not know (and can’t know) whether we will be able to take a direct Ferry back to Jack London, or whether we will have to go first to San Francisco, and take a different Ferry from there. We therefore have a fairly large swing in possible arrival times at Jack London, from about 4:00 to 6:00 – “ish.” For non-driving families, that puts our arrival at Park & Ride likely somewhere between 5:00 and 7:00 (ish). When I know more on Sunday afternoon I will email all of us. Thank you for your patience and being on “standby” for our transportation and pick up. I would be more precise if I could.

Scouts:

You have been assigned, and taken home, split portions of tents. If you unpack and repack your pack, DO NOT FORGET TO PACK ANY TENT PARTS. The tents will not work without all their parts. Your patrol will have a very cold, windy set of nights in the open on the bay, and you will not be popular at all! 🙂

Each patrol will need to bring whatever cooking equipment/utensils it needs for your planned meals (and no extra equipment). Generally, this means selecting a large pot and lid from a red kit (and perhaps a serving spoon from a green kit) for the whole patrol, and bringing your personal mess kit, but it depends of course on what you have planned for meals. Each patrol will have to arrange to get what it needs from a patrol quartermaster this week, so we have it packed at the Park & Ride. We will distribute stoves and fuel at the Park & Ride.

Consider bringing lightweight binoculars if you have them, and a camp chair if you can carry it. The airshow is four hours long, and we will likely find a good spot somewhere within a mile of camp and set up for the afternoon to watch. The hike into camp is one mile, with some short, moderate climbing. Consider your comfort hiking versus your comfort sitting. Consider also cards, etc. for passing the time. Camera? Cell phones are permitted on this special outing for photography only – and of course for posting videos or texting pictures with cool blue jets in them to your buds and making them jelly. (Using phones for games will result in confiscation and return (sadly) at the end of the outing.)

Weather:

The weather looks outstanding:
– Friday Night Patchy fog after 11pm. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 60.
– Saturday Patchy fog before 11am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 68.
– Saturday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 61.
– Sunday Sunny, with a high near 74.

With that said, we are right on the water, and fog is damp and cold and can make you quickly miserable. A lightweight waterproof, windproof shell is an excellent idea (as well as being one of the 10 essentials).

That’s about it! I am SOOOOOOOO excited! (I love air shows and the Blue Angels!) I hope you are too.

For more information, contact the ASM in charge, Mr Gary at todd@thegarys.net or (925) 518-9896.

Posted in Activities, Troop News | Tagged backpacking, camping