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Troop 288 & Troop 7 – Nantahala Rafting Trip Recap

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September 11–13, 2026 | Bryson City, NC Troops 288 and 7 joined forces for a great weekend in the North Carolina mountains, camping at Deep Creek Campground in Bryson City and spending Saturday on the Nantahala River. We had 14 Scouts and adults make the trip — 9 from Troop 288 and 5 from Troop 7 . Saturday's highlight was a day on the Nantahala, with 13 members of the group taking on the river in inflatable kayaks. It was a great mix of adventure, teamwork, and plenty of opportunities to get wet along the way. After getting back from the river and spending some time at camp, the group headed into downtown Bryson City Saturday evening for a well-earned ice cream stop at Soda Pops . In addition to the ice cream, one of the highlights of the stop was meeting the owner's friendly chocolate Lab, Tank , who quickly became a favorite with the group. Sunday morning we broke camp and headed back toward Charlotte after a fun and successful joint outing. A big thank you to Troop 7 for ...
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Birkhead Mountain (Philmont '27 Shakedown Trek 1)

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Great job yesterday, Troop 288! 🥾⛰️ Birkhead by the Numbers: 🥾 About 10 miles — including a couple of bonus miles courtesy of a few wrong turns 😄 ⛰️ ~2,600 ft of elevation gain ⏱️ Over 5 hours on the trail We headed into Birkhead planning to spend the night, but the trail had other plans for us! Several of the creeks and water sources we expected to use were completely dry. With the heat and no dependable source to replenish everyone's water, we made the decision to adjust our plans and hike out rather than camp overnight. Along the way, we dropped our full packs for about 1.5 miles to hike up to Cooler’s Knob , the highest  point in Uwharrie, which was a welcome break. We also made a couple of wrong turns that pushed the Scouts' total mileage closer to 10 miles — a good reminder of the importance of navigation and checking the map at trail intersections. Then Birkhead gave us one final challenge: the last 1.7 miles were through a thunderstorm and heavy downpour. ⛈️🌧️ By...
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Backpacking MB - Trek 1

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On Saturday morning four Scouts from Troop 288 set off into the Birkhead Mountains Wilderness area of the Uwharrie National Forest just southwest of Albemarle, N.C. With a common goal in mind everyone  loaded backpacks with the essentials for their first backcountry trek.  Ready to go at the Robbins Branch Trailhead Scouts (and their parents) made quick work of the first three and a half miles, of the moderate Robbins Branch Trail before stopping for a lunch break at the Thornburg Trail spur with. Along the way Gavin keep a close eye on the map keeping the group on track.  Our plan was to setup camp between mile 5 and 6. As it often does when backpacking, we ended walking to mile 6.5 before heading back and setting camp at about mile 6. All in the Scouts logged 7 miles on Saturday.  After setting up camp Scoutmaster Peine showed the Scouts how to baton wood, in order to use the wood found on the ground but expose the dry part of the wood.  As everyone broke...
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