Boy Scouts make 33rd annual trek through Washington County
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Members of Boy Scout Troop 496 of Hookstown play cards after finishing a portion of their 100-mile trek on Thursday. From left are Garrett Thomas, Anthony Spencer, Allen Cox, Noah Carpenter and C.J. Christiansen.
Courtesy of April Carpenter
Boy Scouts from Troop 496 in Hookstown trek through Washington County during their 100-mile hike. It’s the 33rd year for the event.
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Alex Reick, left, and Robby Carpenter, members of Boy Scout Troop 496, relax in North Strabane Township park on Thursday, after hiking about 14 miles. The troop was five days into a seven-day, 100-mile hike.
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Noah Carpenter, 10, rests in a sleeping bag atop a picnic table in North Strabane Township Park. Carpenter was accompanying Boy Scouts from Troop 496 in Hookstown on a 100-mile hike.
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Robby Carpenter, left, a member of Boy Scout Troop 496 of Hookstown, throws ball with Noah Carpenter, 10, at North Strabane Township Park.
Since 1988, members of Boy Scout Troop 496 of Hookstown have hiked 100 miles to Camp Heritage in Farmington in Fayette County.
But this year – which marks the 33rd annual trek – the Boy Scout camp has closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The boys, though, still wanted to make the hike.
And the Beaver County troop leaders felt it was important to keep up the tradition, even though they had to take extra precautions because of COVID.
“So we decided we’d hike halfway, to Scenery Hill, and then turn around and retrace our steps back home,” said Randy Cox, hike coordinator.
On Thursday, about 65 miles into the hike, the six Boy Scouts and their troop leaders and support personnel camped overnight at North Strabane Township Park.
They have hiked on average about 14 miles a day, packing up their gear and starting around 7 a.m. and walking until they reach the next destination, usually between 3 or 4 p.m.
It’s Cox’s eighth hike.
“Every year has its own thing that makes it unique, and obviously, this year it’s COVID,” said Cox. “You always meet a lot of nice people along the way, and that’s true this year, too.”
People have provided donations so the boys could buy ice cream, and Subway in Hickory donated breakfast sandwiches on a recent stop, and will give the boys hoagies when they pass through on their return to Hookstown.
“People toot the horn, wave at you, cheer you on. It’s a hard hike. A single day isn’t, but when you’re doing it day after day, it gets tough,” said Cox.
At North Strabane Park, the boys set up sleeping bags on the picnic tables, ate prepared meals, played cards, threw ball, and compared blisters before turning in for the night.
For the boys, the trek, which concluded Saturday, offers an opportunity to hike different terrain, to cope with unexpected weather and to bond with the group.
And completing the trek brings a well-earned sense of achievement.
“These Scouts have stories they could tell that will last a lifetime, and go through a bonding experience that will also last,” said April Carpenter, a parent and support car driver. “It shows them that they have the ability to do anything they put their minds to.”