The navigation hike was a great adventure and an amazing experience for all. This incredible hike was enjoyable and contained tons of troop bonding. The trail itself had beautiful views and was an easy 5-mile across Coyote Hills. We all started on the path after a short lesson on the way to hold and use a compass and find the basic directions-north, south, east, and west- successfully. Alongside, we had to stop at every turn, and decide where to go and take a bearing of a nearby object in the direction we decided to head towards. Since we started on a clear path we walked at a fast pace, covering a long distance in a small amount of time. We took the most amount of time to decide directions and took breaks throughout the hike to learn more about navigation-sort of like mini-lecture sessions. The hike seemed to be pretty average with a gradual slope challenging us then and there, but mostly a very beginner-friendly hike. Near the end we had some steep hills and saw a group of cyclists racing down the path, making the experience unique and a fun memory to remember. After almost taking multiple wrong turns and a lot of learning about navigation, a
compass, and how to use the stars and natural elements, we finally reached the peak. Mr. Ranjan gave
us many learning opportunities and gave all scouts a chance to work as a team and figure out the path, making funny jokes when the majority of the scouts chose the wrong path. The view was a breathtaking view of the vast bay, where the water seemed endless, and on the other side was a bird’s eye view of the hills and a small town nearby. Throughout the hike, we took two breaks, one at the peak where you could see Dumbarton Bridge and another near the edge of the creek on a few benches in a shaded area. Though it was a sunny day, most scouts did not get tired quickly and kept on moving. This hike was an amazing experience for all scouts, as they learned several skills, like how to measure the distance between where you are standing and an object far away and how to take a bearing of items in your environment. Even though there were plenty of stops, the hike itself provided several opportunities to learn about navigation. Also, there were several trees and bridges that we got to measure with our compasses. We were enjoying our hike, surrounded by diverse types of trees and nature, including beautiful patches of poppies. All the scouts worked together to take bearings and help each other finish the worksheet. In the end, we got to see a beautiful view where scouts could see the Golden Gate Bridge and multiple cities including Sunnyvale, San Jose, Oakland, and San Francisco. This hike was a memorable experience and we are enthusiastic to do it again.
-Sarah and Keisha
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