Eleven scouts and five adults, in true"Troop 2 Can Do!" spirit, braved the recent storm on Veteran's Day weekend to complete another required 15-mile, 3-day, 2-night trip for the Backpacking Merit Badge. The Sespe Wilderness, extending from Santa Maria to Ventura, was wet and wild but proved a challenge for the merit badge group as they battled rain, cold wind, and mud to complete their weekend.

It was a slippery, muddy trail along Sespe Creek, usually a small trickle of water but engorged and rapid from the rains. There were multiple places where the creek needed to be forged. At one point,the creek was 30' W and 5-6' D where the trail crossed the water. Unwilling to let the weather interfere with the weekend, the scouts and adults found a crossable location upstream and constructed a footbridge of stones and a six-foot log.

Using tools of bravery, teamwork, ingenuity and strength, a bridge was constructed that allowed passage over the 15 foot creek. It was the highlight of a wet weekend in the winderness.

Led by Cameron "River Rat" Aziz (spending his birthday on this trip) who located many of our crossing points across the creek, Max "Bridgeman" Monboquette who was instrumental in construction of our bridge, and Jonathan "JB Eagle Eye" Nagata, who scouted the trail ahead to keep the group on track, the group enjoyed a challenging trip. There was plenty of sun the next two days and time to explore the rocky creek and its banks. Alex Kim and Alex Blanco may have sighted an endangered Arroyo Toad along the creek; photo verification pending. Unfortunately, no condor were sighted as we hiked near the Sespe Condor Sanctuary.

As with previous outings, the scouts also worked on skills such as backpacking cooking, proper use of stoves, water purification, keeping themselves and their gear dry and staying warm. It was a great weekend to test out equipment, utilize rain gear, practice techniques of staying warm and dry and experience, firsthand, how to deal with inclement weather.