| Troop 33 Adventure Program |
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Troop 33 Adventure Programs | Backpacking | Bicycling | Canoeing | Caving | Hiking | Horseback | International | Jamborees | | Ocean Adventures | Rafting | Sailing | Winter Adventure | Our Backpacking & Hiking Program BACKPACKING We live in the flat farmland of Illinois, so we have to do some traveling to get to large wilderness areas. Our backpacking activities have taken us across the Rocky Mountains from Montana to New Mexico, and even into old Mexico to backpack the breathtaking canyons west of Chihuahua and the Sierra Tarahumara mountains. We have backpacked sections of the Appalachian Trail in New Hampshire, Tennessee, and North Carolina. We have also hiked along the shoreline of Land Between the Lakes in Kentucky. HIKING We don't do a lot of trail hikes like the old days when we earned patches and medals. Mostly our hiking is in the form of adventurous exploration. We hike in local areas in northern Illinois, among our favorite sites are Starved Rock, Mattheison, and Mississippi Palisades State Parks. While touring across the nation we often take time out to enjoy hiking in National Parks, including Yellowstone, Badlands, and the Everglades. We have enjoyed hiking internationally in areas as far north as British Columbia in Canada, south to Tararacua Canyon in Mexico, and east to the Swiss and Austrian Alps. TROOP 33 BACKPACKING LOCATIONS LOCATIONS WE'VE BACKPACKED COLORADO - Maroon Bells/Snowmass Wilderness, Colorado - Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado KENTUCKY - Land Between the Lakes, Kentucky MICHIGAN - Porcupine Mountains Wilderness, Michigan MONTANA - Glacier National Park, Montana NEW HAMPSHIRE - Great Gulf Wilderness, New Hampshire NEW MEXICO - Philmont Scout Ranch, New Mexico NEW YORK - Adirondack Park--New York TENNESSEE-NORTH CAROLINA - Great Smokey Mountains National Park, Tennessee VERMONT - Long Trail, Vermont WYOMING - Cloud Peak Wilderness, Wyoming - Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming I N T E R N A T I O N A L CANADA - Algonquin Provincial Park--Canada MEXICO - Batopilas Canyon--Mexico - Sierra Tarahumara Mountains, Mexico Return to Top of Page BACKPACKING LINKS Adventure Sports Online Afternet Hiking Links American Discovery Trail Anyplace Wild Appalachian Mountain Club Applachian Trail Conference - Appalachian Trail Appalachian Trail Home Page The Backpacker Backpacker Magazine Basecamp Backpacker's Extreme Backpacker's Guide to the Internet Backpacker's Index Backcountry Home Page Camping Fools The Campsite Chet Fromms Backpacking Guide Chuck's Backpacking Bonanza Cool Trails Cordura Desert USA Escaping to Nature Equipped to Survive Equipment Gear Addict Gear Finder Lightweight Backpacker Get Lost Adventure Magazine G.O.R.P. Great Outdoor Recreation Pages High Altitude Illnesses Hypothermia HikeNet Hiker's Home Page Hiking & Walking Homepage L.L. Bean Park Search Leave No Trace Program The Lightweight Backpacker Mining Co. Guide to Backpacking Mike's Hikes at Rocky Mountain National Park Mountain Zone National Geographic Map Machine National Outdoor Leadership School National Park Service Search Nerd World Hiking Resources Outdoor Action Program (Princeton) Outward Bound Outdoor Enthusiast Backpack Page Outside Online Pacific Crest Trail Peak to Peak Trail & Wilderness Links Ro's Essentials of Backpacking Sensible Backcountry Guide Take it Outside Ultralight backpacking software. Software for those who use ultralight backpacking techniques! Water Disinfection Wilderness on the World Wide Web Wilderness Wanderer The Wilderness Web Site Winter Backpacker World Outdoor Web Return to Top of Page TROOP 33 BACKPACKING LOCATIONS Adirondack Park -- New York Algonquin Provincial Park -- Ontario Canada Appalachian Trail -- various portions Batopilas Canyon -- Chihuahua Mexico Cloud Peak Wilderness -- Wyoming Glacier National Park -- Montana Grand Teton National Park -- Wyoming Great Gulf Wilderness -- New Hampshire Great Smokey Mountains National Park -- Tennessee Land Between the Lakes -- Kentucky Long Trail Vermont -- Vermont Maroon Bells - Snowmass Wilderness -- Colorado Philmont Scout Ranch -- New Mexico Porcupine Mountains -- Michigan Rocky Mountain National Park -- Colorado Sierra Tarahumara Mountains -- Chihuahua Mexico ADIRONDACK PARK--NEW YORK This vast park contains over 6 million acres of rugged wilderness, larger than Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Everglades, and Glacier National parks combined. There are several areas for backpacking with return or loop trails. There are many excellent lake routes for canoeing. We have visited the Cranberry Lake area with Mt Arab. For more information click here Return to Backpacking Locations ALGONQUIN PROVINCIAL PARK--CANADA This vast park in Ontario Canada contains nearly 2 million acres of rugged wilderness. There are three backpacking areas with loop trails. There are hundreds of lakes and dense forests. Wildlife include bears, moose, and timberwolves. We have visited this area in February doing winter backpacking with snowshoes. For more information click here Return to Backpacking Locations APPALACHIAN TRAIL--VARIOUS STATES We have backpacked on various stretches of the Appalachian Trail in Tennesse and North Carolina at Great Smokey Mountains National Park, in Vermont in the Green Mountain National Forest, and in New Hampshire in the Great Gulf Wilderness of the White Mountain National Forest. See details under those entires. For more information click Appalachian Trail Home Page Return to Backpacking Locations BATOPILAS CANYON--MEXICO This was a great adventure into a canyon 6,000 feet deep. The greatest part about the trip involved meeting a Tarahumara indian who shared our campsite one evening. It is a land of rugged country and people who live in simplicity. We attended the great fiesta of Holy Saturday in Batopilas, and visited the "Lost Mission of Satevo" on Easter. This area wasn't connected by road with the modern world until 1984. For more information about this area of Mexico visit the Copper Canyon website here or here. Return to Backpacking Locations CLOUD PEAK WILDERNESS--WYOMING This is a beautiful wilderness area visited by few people if you avoid the Tensleep Canyon area. Early in the season you can hike days without encountering another person. We start from the Shell Canyon area in the north. High alpine lakes, moose, and rugged peaks await those who journey into this vast wilderness. Most of country is around 9,000 ft elevation with the highest point being Cloud Peak at 13,175 feet. Visit the Cloud Peak Wilderness Web site or the Bighorn National Forest Web site. Return to Backpacking Locations GLACIER NATIONAL PARK--MONTANA Glacier National Park is one of the nation's most beautiful parks. Due to it's location you can avoid some of the crowds of people that are found in other locations. The "Going to the Sun" road is a definate must. Remember this is Grizzly country so you must be especially vigilant about a clean campsite. For more information on visit the Glacier National Park web site for more information. Return to Backpacking Locations GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK--WYOMING We have backpacked this wonderful park from the Jenny Lake as a base. The park can be crowded at times which takes a little away from the wilderness experience, but the scenery is worth it. You can find more information on the Grand Tetons National Park web site. Return to Backpacking Locations GREAT GULF WILDERNESS--NEW HAMPSHIRE This is a rocky and rugged area with the highest peaks in the Eastern United States. The Appalachain Trail runs through this area. We start from Pinkham Notch. Mount Washington is the greatest attraction for thousands of people, it is known as the windiest point on earth. More information is available by visiting the Great Gulf Wilderness web site or the White Mountains Home Page web site. Return to Backpacking Locations GREAT SMOKEY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK-- TENNESSEE A busy place in the summer, you need to get your permits in early. We have mostly backpacked along the Appalachian Trail which runs through the park. Our starting points have been at Cades Cove and Clingman's Dome. You can stay in shelters along the trail on the AT. Bears can be a problem. Expect rain. There are many attractions in the area which can add to the enjoyment of the trip. We usually visit Gatlinburg in Tennessee and Cherokee in North Carolina. You can learn more by visiting the Great Smokey Mountains National Park web site. There are other excellent web sites on the Smokey Mountainsworth visiting, Appalachian Trail Home Page, and don't forget this one. Return to Backpacking Locations LAND BETWEEN THE LAKES--KENTUCKY This area is best hiked in the fall or spring, unless you're really fond of heat and humidity. We have backpacked the North/South Boy Scout Trail which follows the lakeshore on the west side of the park along the banks of Tennessee Lake. You can enjoy a cool swim in the many bays at the end of a long day of hiking. Don't forget the nearby National Scouting Museum in Murray, Kentucky. Visit the Land Between the Lakes web site for more information. Return to Backpacking Locations LONG TRAIL - VERMONT This trail runs the length of Vermont from the Canadian Border to Massachusetts. It was the first long distance hiking trail in America. The southern portion is conjoined with the Appalachian Trail. There are 70 shelters spread out along the 270 miles of trail. The area we have backpacked has been near Rutland, Vermont and Mount Killington. The main trail also has a network of side trails leading from it. It connects the major peaks of Vermont. Visit the Long Trail for more information. Return to Backpacking Locations MAROON BELLS/SNOWMASS WILDERNESS--COLORADO This was the site of our greatest wilderness adventure. We entered the area early in June about a week after a major storm had dumped record snowfalls in the area. We were required by the district ranger to have snowshoes and ice axes before venturing into the high country. We encountered snow at about 9,500 feet. A major storm system caught us on day 4 at 12,000 feet forcing us to turn back. Avalanches were both visible and audible on the nearby peaks. Freezing rain pelted us while lightning was striking all around us. We returned to lower elevation by nightfall. The next morning we hiked out to our base near Marble, Colorado (a few miles from the Outward Bound School). We arrived at our vehicle just before another violent storm hit. We drove 20 mph through near zero visibility to Glenwood Springs where we returned our rented snowshoes and ice axes to a very relieved outfitter (he didn't think we'd make it). This area is remote, rugged and extremely scenic. We were the first group registered to go into the area since the previous October. For high mountain passes plan on mid July. If you plan to enter the high country earlier in the summer always consult with the local district ranger in Carbondale. For more information on this area visit the Maroon Bells/Snowmass Wilderness web page or the White River National Forest web page. Return to Backpacking Locations PHILMONT SCOUT RANCH--NEW MEXICO Scouting paradise in the Sangre de Christo mountains of northeastern New Mexico makes for an adventure of a lifetime. Troop 33 has been to Philmont 11 times, backpacking on 7 trips, and riding horseback on cavalcades for 4 trips. We have been to nearly every point on the ranch except for the relatively new Valle Vidal area. The program and staff at Philmont are exceptional. There are a number of excellent resources about Philmont on the web created by other troops. Troop 24 of Berkeley, California has an excellent listing of Philmont Websites available. Return to Backpacking Locations PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS PARK, MICHIGAN This wilderness park is located along the southern shore of Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Thousands of acres of virgin woodland feature elevations up to 1900 feet. An extensive trail system features remote campsites and well as a number of rustic cabins available for rent. We have visited this area for winter backpacking using snowshoes. For more information click here. Return to Backpacking Locations ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK, COLORADO One of our favorite backpacking locations. We have been to Rocky Mountain National Park 3 times. We have backpacked on both sides of the continental divide. Our favorite is hiking the divide itself. Usually you can expect snow in the high passes before mid July. We have had to posthole through some large snowfields on the divide in late June. It's fun at first, but the novelty wears off quickly. There are several excellent source of information on the Web; visit the Official Rocky Mountain Web Site, Gorp's Rocky Mountain NP Web site, Mike's Hikes at RMNP which is excellent, Rocky Mountain National Park by Rick Edwards, and the Unofficial Rocky Mountain National Park Home Page Return to Backpacking Locations SIERRA TARAHUMARA MOUNTAINS--MEXICO This is in the Copper Canyon region of Chihuahua state in northwestern Mexico. It comprises the mountains above the canyons. Maps are very poor. Trails are usually not recreational, they often lead to goat pastures, then end. We followed land forms often hiking cross country and using trails when available. Water can be a major problem during the dry season (Nov-April). Be sure to carry adequate water and be alert to heat related illness. The nights will be cool. Laguna Arareco is a beautiful place to camp. Don't miss Cusarare Falls or the Recohuate Hot Springs. Also there are many cliff dwellings still inhabited by native people. Remember respect the privacy of those living in them, especially in the remote areas they are not used to outsiders. For more information on this area visit the Copper Canyon web site. Return to Backpacking Locations HIKING LOCATIONS WE'VE HIKED Acadia National Park, Maine Arches National Park, Utah Backbone State Park, Iowa Badlands National Park, South Dakota Banff National Park, Alberta Canada. (other site) Black Hills, South Dakota Buttermilk Falls State Park, New York Everglades National Park, Florida Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona Great Sand Dunes National Monument, Colorado Hoodoo Badlands, Alberta Canada Kootenay National Park, British Columbia Canada Mattiesson State Park, Illinois Mississippi Palisades State Park, Illinois Monadnock State Park, New Hampshire Mt St Helens National Volcanic Park, Washington Newport State Park, Wisconsin North Cascades National Park, Washington Olympic National Park, Washington Starved Rock State Park, Illinois Swiss Alps; Zermatt, Switzerland Tararacua Canyon, Mexico Theadore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota Tyrolean Alps, Austria Valley of the Mushroom Rocks, Mexico Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming Zion National Park, Utah

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