2011 Troop Raccoon River Canoe Trip

The Troop went canoeing down the North Fork of the Raccoon River. We set afloat with 15 Scouts and 4 Leaders. The first day we struggled with shallow water but were able to make the sand bar behind Kent's house by 6:30pm (2-3 hours later than expected). We gathered wood and started a fire so we could cook our 'Silver Dollars' and 'Banana Boats'. Our shelter was erected from our canoes and some tarps. The evening was cool but everyone survived. Sunday morning another fire was needed to fight the cool morning off. We then shoved off for the remainder of the trip. This time the log jams worked on us. One jam was so bad we had to portage around it (not expected). Then we came to the fork in the river to take us to the boat ramp. It took everything we had to get through it without another portage. The boys learned a lot about teamwork and how to read the river. All in all it was a great trip with spectacular weather.