These past few weeks have been some of the most incredible days of my life. They have been full of preparation, the closeness of family – both near and far. acts of kindness and randomness. Invention and new ways of thinking. and also some frustration and uncertainty. These are days I will not forget for the rest of my life and I imagine you will not as well.

While a lot of our daily life has changed and we are all doing our parts to help flatten the curve of this illness. not everything has to stop. It may change a little, but we will learn new ways to be a scout and to participate in our scouting tradition, even if we are scouting from home…

Below are scouting resources to be used as you want. Maybe you need a break from schoolwork at home or from your Moms or Dads, or your brothers or sisters (let’s face it…social distancing sometimes is hard). Come here and find something fun to do. this will be a mixture of live online events (pack meetings) and advancement work or just some get out and hike with the family challenges.

Marn Council Bingo Card Challenge (click to enlarge)

Advancement Work

• Tigers – TIGER BITES – 4/6-4/12
• Wolves – PAWS ON THE PATH – 4/6-4/12
• Bears – BEAR CLAW – 4/6-4/12 (parent supervision needed)
• Webelos 1 – Date TBA – 4/6-4/12
• Webelos 2 – Arrow of Light part 2 (date TBA) 4/6-4/12

April Fun Activity Challenges

• Hiking Challenges
  • 5 days in a Row Hiking Challenge – go for a hike of any distance every day for 5 days – record your hikes in the scouting app
  • 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 mile challenge – Go on a family hike for each distance – record your hikes in the scouting app
  • Downtown Mill Valley to the Mountain Home Inn – Hike up from MV to the inn….If you go back down, its called a double mountain home. Record your distance in the scouting app
• Home Economics Challenge – when your grandparents went to school, they had a class called home economics, where they learned how to do things in the house – how to cook, how to sew and much more. Try these challenges and help your parents around the house. Its fun learning new skills!
  • THE DISHWASHER – clean the dishes and load the dishwasher for 7 days in the month of April
  • WISHY_WASHY – Help with the laundry. either bring all the laundry to the laundry room and sort the dirty clothes by colors OR neatly fold freshly dried clothes – do this 7 times in the month of April.
  • HOUSE CLEANING CHALLENGE – Participate in a full family house cleaning party 1 day a week for April. One week you must be the leader.
  • THE FRIENDLY LABORER – Choose one home improvement project (with the blessings of your parent)
    • Plan it
    • Make a material list
    • Ask a parent to help you get the materials
    • Enlist members of your family to help in different ways (delegate)
    • Execute the project.
      • Ideas:
      • make a birdhouse,
      • Paint a wall
      • plant some flowers
      • change the lightbulbs
• Exercise challenge – Make up an exercise routine and do it every day for 10 days

Service Projects

During this time of isolation, social interaction is missing from all our lives. Our friends and neighbors all need help throughout these hard times. It’s a perfect time for scouts to do a good deed and perform a service project for our community.

• WRITE A LETTER TO THE REDWOODS – More than ever, Scouts can play an important role in our community by helping others. At the April Pack meeting (via Zoom on April 1), we announced a program to send letters to seniors who are currently sheltered-in-place at the Redwoods with no visitors allowed. The Redwoods would like handwritten letters with hand-drawn pictures. You can write the letters and seal them into an envelope and leave them at scout hall – I will put out a cardboard letterbox to collect letters in on the Mountainview side – hike by and drop a letter off. Bring a smile to a senior!! Add your name and you pack #
• SEW A MASK FOR HEALTHCARE WORKERS. There are not enough masks around for all the doctors and nurses who need them. They need our help!! There are all sorts of ways to make masks. you can fold bandana, you can sew scraps of fabric. you can cut vacuum bags. Find a fun way to make masks to share with hospitals

Live Scouting Events

• APRIL 16th – Bear Den Meeting – online Whittling Chip Course – A PARENT MUST ASSIST
• APRIL 27th – Online (zoom) Campfire program !!! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ we’ll see how it goes. Den leaders, I will be asking for content.
• May 6th, May Pack meeting.
• Other Den meetings to be announced shortly.

Car Impound – Date, Time, Location Instructions:
Date & Time:              Wednesday, March 4^th from 6pm – 8pm.

Location:                    Scout Hall, 30 Mountain View Ave

Held during our regular scheduled Pack meeting.

Instructions:

• Please ensure that your car has been completed, is fully prepared for racing, and that it conforms to the rules & regulations before bringing it in for impound.
• Be sure to specify that you are impounding your vehicle for Pack 34 just in case other volunteers are assisting or packs are impounding at that location.
• Paint must be dry, graphite must be applied, the wheel’s set correctly, dimensions within limits, and weight must be within the 5oz. restriction.
• Please ensure that your scout has a name picked-out before arriving at impound as we will need it for the racing software… plus it’s just plain cool to name such an awesome creation!
• If a car does not conform to the Racing Rules it will be rejected at impound and not allowed to race
• Once a car has been officially impounded it cannot be accessed until after the racing has concluded the following day
• Your car must be impounded within the timeframe specified above and no cars will be inspected or accepted on the day of the race.

Race Day – Date, Time, Location Instructions:
Date & Time:              Sunday, March 8^th from 12:00-2:00pm.

Location:                     Scout Hall, 30 Mountain View Ave

Instructions:

• Sign’s will be up showing where the racing will take place (hint… it’s in the main gym/auditorium area)
• All Scouts and Leaders should be in uniform, with neckerchiefs on and shirts tucked in.
• Our Scouts have worked hard for this event and everyone loves to have a crowd see them race so please do your best to stay for the entirety of Pack 34’s racing time slot.
• The track can be tricky and we don’t want to have anyone jumping over the track, tripping on cables, etc., so please keep all Scouts and siblings away from the track, behind any barrier lines and away from electronic equipment.
• Root for your favorite car and have fun!

Race Rules Reminder:

Racing rules for this year’s event are as follows:

• No Car Recycling: The car must have been made for this year’s race.
• No Prebuilt Cars: The whole point it to build it.  You can buy prebuilt cars on the internet.  Please do not.
• Weight:
  • Car’s must not exceed 5.0 ounces on a scale accurate to 1/10th of an ounce.
• Dimensions:
  • Width – Width between the wheels not to exceed 2 ¾ inches
  • Length – The derby cars are to measure 7 inches. Your car can be shorter, but please know that it will likely slow your car down. Cars cannot exceed 7″
  • Height – Not to exceed 4 inches
• Clearance:
  • Center Rail Width: Must clear center guide rails, typically no less than 1-3/4 inches minimum.
  • Bottom:  No less than 3/8 inches from track surface between center rails.
• Body Design:
  • Front of the car must be a minimum of ½” wide, centered, and no more than 1” off the track because the start system of the track consists of the cars resting on a slope against a pin. No part of the car can extend past the starting pin.
• If you choose to push the boundaries and try to get “creative” please be aware of the following:
  • Materials: Only the official BSA kit blocks, wheels, and axles may be used.  One complete kit will be provided at a pack meeting in January.  Replacement kits and wheels can be purchased at the Trading Post in San Rafael.  Again, only official BSA kits/parts may be used.  Please, do not purchase prebuilt or pre-cut cars or “aftermarket” parts such as wheels or axles.
  • Axels:  Pre-cut axle slots MUST be used and not modified in any way.  Only official BSA Nail type axles may be used. Axle nails may not be bent or grooved or in any way altered. Axle sanding or polishing is permitted.
  • Wheels:  Use only Official BSA wheels. All lettering/numbering, both inside and outside, must remain complete and be visible. The fluting and other BSA markings on the outside wheel area must remain visible.  Outer wheel surface may be lightly sanded, shaved, or polished to remove surface imperfections and mold casting burrs, but must not be reshaped in any way in an attempt to lighten the wheel, minimize tread contact or alter aerodynamics. Tread surface must be flat and parallel to the wheel bore. Coning the hubs and truing the inside tread edge is allowed. Tread width may not be less than 7.5 mm.

• Key Rules of Note:
  • No bearings of any kind may be used
  • Wheels cannot be painted, lacquered or modified in any way
  • Wheels cannot extend beyond either the front or back of the car body
  • All four wheels must be in contact with the flat surface when rolled on a flat surface

• Prohibited Modifications:
  • Rounding of tread surface/wheel edges
  • Grooving, H-cutting or V-cutting
  • Altering of the wheel profile
  • Narrowing the tread surface, other than truing inside tread edge
  • Drilling sidewalls
  • Hollowing, sanding, or otherwise removing or modifying material from inside the wheel
  • Filling of any wheel surface with any type of material
  • “After Market” wheels are usually lightened in a way that violates these rules.

• Prohibited Items:
  • Springs
  • Starting devices or propellants
  • Electronic or lighting devices that interfere with race electronics.
  • Liquids, wet paint, oil, sticky substance, or powders of any kind (other than axle lubrication)
  • Glass or excessively fragile parts
  • Bearings, bushings, washers, sleeves, hubcaps or inserts attached to or in contact with the axle, body or wheels.
  • Loose objects on car
  • Magnets
  • Motors

Racing Format:

Racing will occur by Den, and in the following order: Tigers, Wolves, Bears, Webelos 1, Webelos 2, with one winner out of each age group.  This will be followed by an open race targeted primarily at siblings.  Open race cars must still conform to all of the above rules and be checked in on Saturday.

Each car will race in four heats – one on each of the four lanes of the track. Of the four heats, the worst time is dropped and the winner is the car with the fastest average time for its three best heats, measured in elapsed seconds. The five Den winners qualify to race in the Marin Council Meet, which annually is held on the first day of the Marin County Fair. The five Den Winners will be impounded at the close of our races, in accordance with Marin Council rules, in order to qualify to run at the Council Meet.

Design:

Funny, unique designs are encouraged.  There will be special design prizes awarded irrespective of car performance.  Cars can be accessorized with almost any kind of item provided the completed car meets all the rules, which are listed above.

February 1st is Pack 34’s annual rocket launch – 10:30 – 12:30 at Vallecito Elementary School – 50 Nova Albion Way, San Rafael, CA 94903, United States (map) (directions)

The rocket launch is just that!!!! Blasting off model rockets. Starters and motors (A&B) will be supplied. Each scout who is participating must bring his own rockets.

You can buy rockets online through Amazon, locally at Marin Hobby and Gift (224 Greenfield Ave, San Anselmo, CA 94960), or directly from Estes rockets – (Moms and Dads will want to lend a hand.)

UPDATE

Lexi Jones will Lead the hike on the Rock Spring trail, with conversations about the state rock found on that trail and a special conversation about water use in the outdoors.

Same start location( rock Spring parking lot) same time (9 am)

Dear Pack 34

On January 11th, Our rain or shine hike will start at the Rock Springs parking lot at 9am. ( Directions )

We will be hiking the ROCK SPRING TRAIL Cataract Trail

Plan on about 30 minutes to drive there from Mill Valley.

Be sure to bring:

• Warm clothing
• Rain gear ( do a sanity weather check before you leave )
• Water bottle
• Hiking shoes ( expect mud )

See you up there.

Please RSVP using the scouting app

Pack 34 Webelo 1 & 2 Marin Sierra Winter Camp Adventure: we’ll focus on being outside and work on many W1 & W2 requirements.

Cost: $35; for food Pack 34 will cover the cost of the campsite fee. REGISTER HERE

Who: This is a Webelos 1 and 2 event, 1 parent, 1 scout (max occupancy is 40

Time: Jan 24-26, 2020

Activities: Saturday Morning through Sunday lunch

Volunteers: Several adults to help with meal prep, scouts will make lunch AND help clean up all meals.

Friday – show up anytime with a shared dessert for the group
Sat – Plan for an outdoor hike (starts at 10AM), we’ll adjust route depending on weather
Sun – Morning session through lunch for W1/2 requirements

Meals: Provide by pack Sat Breakfast to Sun Lunch

Lodging: No tents needs, bunkhouse (sleeps 40) unless you rather be outside with the bears.

Needed Items:

• Sleeping bags
• Cold-Weather Gear
• water bottle
• Mess Kit
• Webelos Handbook
• Sense of Winter Adventure!

REGISTER HERE 

Directions to Marin Sierra

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