Hiking at the Piedmont Environmental Center

On a very warm Saturday in July, the Cobra Patrol from Troop 42 took a 5 mile hike.

The four boys (Christopher, Cory, Michael, & James) were joined by Madison, Michelle, three dads, & myself.

We got off to a good start at 8:00 am in an attempt to beat the heat. The goal for the day was to successfully complete a 5 mile hike utilizing a map and a compass, and identify 10 different forms of wild animals along the way.

After orienting our position on the map and deciding which trail we were following, it was time to start our hike.

The boys did a great job of behaving and they also were very good at spotting the wild animals along the trail.

We saw several toads, a couple of different species of ducks, cardinals, sparrows, loon, a woodpecker, two different species of turtles, and squirrels.

The turtles were probably the most interesting animals that we spotted on our trip. They literally were on the edge of the trail as we walked by, so we were able to stop and observe them and compare them to our animal spotting guide.

After we finished locating all of our required animals it was time to focus on our compass skills and see if we could use them properly.

We had a great time and everyone was able to complete the hike. Some of the boys were even thinking that they were ready to tackle the Hiking merit badge now.

These are the kinds of days that make Scouting fun!