Gem of the Berkshires

Troop 550 and Crew 550 had a great time on the mountain last week. An Indigo Bunting has taken up house keeping in the tree tops around the clearing and we were able to capture it with the Geartner. The new locking diagonal that Bruce made for the telescope will allow the use of the large eye pieces.

The scouts conducted a orienteering course across the clearing and several pioneering projects took shape. One, a Cranson kitchen, is still set up for use behind the pavilion. We also conducted CPR and First Aid certification and had numerous nature walks on the trails. Tuesday night was music night featuring the Bruce and Joe show with special guests. Wednesday was a canoe trip on the Deerfield river and movies in the Pavilion in the evening.

There was general agreement that it was better than any BSA summer camp.

The new showers were well received. Everyone used them whether they wanted to or not. Even with a three day hike on the Appalachian Trail, I managed three long showers. When the week was over we had used only one of the three tanks. Suffice to say we have built plenty of capacity into the system.

I was up on the hill today removing one last car load of camp equipment. I also cut and installed the rafters for the shower house. All that is left is the roof. We need to decide what kind of roof we want. It could be pine boards and shingles or metal.

It is time to put some work into the roadway. At the next work weekend I will start spreading lime stone and gravel.

Well that's all the news from the Mountain. All the girls, boys and parents of troop and crew 550 say thank you Arunah hill it is truly one of the gems of the Berkshires.

Joe