2007 Fall Camp Out - Ponderosa Campground, Payson, AZ (10/20 - 10/21)

Over 30 people attended the 2007 Pack 478 Fall Campout in Payson.  We had a blast!!!
  • We all setup camp and helped each other.  We made lunch.  Then, we went on 2 Geocache adventures.
  • Geocache #1 - we treaded across 300 MILLION YEAR OLD FOSSILS (from the Carbiniferous Period - 50 Million years BEFORE the dinosaurs!!).  This is considered the most fossilized site in the state of Arizona featuring Paleozoic Era fossils in the weathered limestone, shale and sandstone.  Everyone picked & traded toys, signed the log and headed back for #2.
  • Geocache #2 - at an elevation of 5675.  We started on a steep climb where teamwork was key!!  What an awesome hike up over the top of the treed hilltop and down into a wash where the cache was discovered by a scout going to pee.  An ammo can in a tree (hey, that rhymed).  No time to trade toys as the sun was going down.  We signed the log and double timed it back to the cars.
  • What followed was an evening of dinner, campfire, songs, skits, jokes, laughter, s'mores, marshmallows, hot dogs & family bonding.  Fantastic!!

Chilly & cozy night in our tents, then up for breakfast, a.m. campfire & off on a hike.  The final event was a group trash hunt.  We cleaned up trash and left our site better than we found it!!  "Leave no trace!"

Camp Site Setup

      

The Circle of Life & Death (Tarantula and Wasp Beetle)

 

Geocache #1 - "Fossiliferous" - found in the end of a fallen tree - lots of toys!!

       

Nature: Changing of the Seasons

 

Geocache #2 - "Hokey Highline" - found in an ammo box in the base of the tree

Day 2 Morning Hike after Breakfast - Finding the "Magic Pack Power Bone"

**Thank you to Mr. Jim DeLashmutt, Bear Den Leader, for being our photographer for this event.