Myles Standish Backpacking Trip

Saturday, November 3 -
Sunday, November 4, 2018
Carver, MA

Event Info

Hikers

Troop 54 last visited Camp Squanto three years ago, and we last visited Cachalot Scout Reservation two years ago. Both camps are in or adjacent to Myles Standish State Forest in Carver and Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Our plan had been to park at Camp Squanto and hike about five miles to Cachalot. The morning we left, however, thunderstorms were forecast until after noon. To stay near the cars, we went on a walking tour of Camp Squanto before hitting the trail. Our actual path on Saturday was around 4 miles, including a navigational error that took us almost back to our starting point. The terrain was so flat that we completed the hike in 2-1/2 hours. The hike back on Sunday followed our plan, coming to around 6.5 miles. See our actual trail as recorded by Joshua Froimson:

My Maps - map uploaded into Google My Maps
GPX file

We had seven Boy Scouts and three leaders participating on this trip. Two of our youth participants were first-time backpackers.

The weather was generally mild for November, with rain only heavy during the drive there. The temperature dropped to 38 °F overnight but made it back up to 55 °F during the hike back.

Both Scout camps were pretty busy. Camp Squanto had a couple dozen cars in its parking lot. Cachalot had three units besides us. We set up camp in the Camporee Road site, which was very flat. Having a water valve and heated bathroom within 100 yards of the site was almost too cushy (we scoped out a more remote site for next time).

On the trail, the Scouts identified deer tracks, and we saw a snake, some quail and a frog. The only people we saw on the trail were a pair of riders on horseback.

This was our one hundred nineteenth consecutive month with at least one overnight camping trip.

Page updated 11/21/18
J. Froimson

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