Kingston Hill Academy Cub Scouts Pack 8 Archive Page
January Campout
On Friday January 20 the pack trekked to the Cub World property for its winter campout. All the participants had a wonderful time and I would like to thank all the parents who helped out. I would especially like to thank Eric and Candy for getting enough food to feed two packs. The choice of food was excellent and no one was disappointed. I’d also like to thank Paul for putting together the campfire program. Saturday’s fire situation was exciting and challenging with the high winds.
For those of you who like to camp, there will be another spring and summer opportunity. I will be meeting with your den leaders to discuss where and when our next campout will be. Stay tuned!
Indoor Rock Climbing
On Sunday January 15, the Bears did some indoor rock climbing. This is Bear Den Leader Vic Fay-Wolfe take
Indoor rock climbing at the Rhode Island Rock gym is a great Den/family
activity. Their web site is: www.rhodeislandrockgym.com No experience is necessary.
The gym has 50+ climbing stations (one climber at a time on a station).
Most walls are 30 ft high. Each climber needs a partner to belay them
(hold the safety ropes). Most of the time the adults in our group
belayed for their son. Occasionally an adult belayed for another adult
to get a climb in. Climbs can take from a few minutes to 20 minutes per
climb depending of the difficulty (all climbs are rated with a
difficulty level) and the ability of the climber. Most of the Bear boys
took about 10 minutes a climb and climbed a lot!
They don't advertise it on the web site, but they have "family time"
T,W,Sun from 4pm-8pm. During this time, the rate is $15/person which
includes equipment, a pass to climb until they close at midnight, and a
lesson. If you want to bring an official group, that rate is $25/person
paid in advance. With that you get one or two dedicated staff members.
We decided to go the unofficial route and all just show up at family
time for the lower rate and no need for reservations. The family rate
gets you a lesson, which is all any of us needed - we did not need the
staff after that, so I don't think that paying for the dedicated staff
member that comes with the group rate is necessary.
The adults started by taking the lessons to learn to belay, the kids
just played on the low climbs while we did this. The kids did not need
lessons to climb - their monkey instincts were enough! The belay lesson
took about 45 minutes and is very important for safety reasons. It seems
that they run lessons as soon as several people show up waiting for
them. After the lesson, the parent/boy teams were free to climb
anywhere, so we all went off and climbed!
Most of us stayed 4-8pm and left tired but happy. We ordered pizza in
the middle. If you go to the main desk, they have an account at a local
pizza place and will arrange to have it delivered for you. There are
tables in an upstairs balcony where you can sit and eat and watch
climbing. There are vending machines too. We brought a cooler with
drinks and snacks as well.
The place is in Lincoln not far off of 95. It was about a 35 minute
drive from KHA. The atmosphere is pleasant and layed back. Dress in
active clothes (shorts, t-shirt, and light sweatshirt/pants). They
provide climbing shoes.
I think all that went really enjoyed it (from Ellie who is 5, to the
Bears, the adults).
Feel free to contact me (wolfe@cs.uri.edu) with questions.
- Vic