On Sunday, November 19th , Warwick’s BSA Troop 38 and Cub Scout Pack 177 went to the Town of Warwick’s newest park, Mountain Lake Park, to blaze and restore hiking trails around its lake. The scouts worked on two trails, removing overgrowth and dead foliage. The upper trail called “The Loop” was pruned. The lower trail, aptly named “Rhododendron Ramble” was widened after being initially blazed by park volunteers. After being cleared, the trails were also mapped through the use of an online hiking app which will facilitate future hikers. The trail map will be displayed on the park’s new outdoor message boards with information about the park, hiking trails, history of the park, plants and animals, and more. 

After the trails were cleared, two of Troop 38’s scouts, Klaus Lindeneau and Paul Helmrich, worked to complete their Orienteering Merit Badge. Orienteering is a sport where a group of competitors use a map and compass to navigate their way to certain places marked on their map. For their final requirements, these scouts needed to set up an orienteering course and teach a group how to navigate their way through the course. Once the course was set-up, Klaus and Paul taught some younger scouts how to orienteer using the “EDGE method”. This teaching method, developed by Scouts BSA, instructs youth and adult leaders to Explain, Demonstrate, Guide, and Enable others in order to teach a skill or concept. The group of scouts then skillfully made their way through the 12 point course in under a half hour. Good job team! 

Throughout the day, scouts often passed by the vents adjacent to the kitchen in the Main Lodge. Each person was greeted with the wonderfully delicious smell of fresh kettle corn, wafting out of these vents. After all activities were finished the scouts went into their original meeting place to find a tray of fresh and tasty caramel corn, waiting for them. This delicious snack was given to the scouts, compliments of Jason from “Grandma Terry’s Caramel Corn”. The tray was soon empty, as the popcorn was perfectly crisp and flavorful. Mr. Jason was using the Main Lodge’s kitchen to test new recipes using his family’s generations old process of making caramel corn. While not being sold yet, the company has some delicious recipes that everyone is sure to love. The up and coming business will be available soon, and you will not regret trying some! 

In short, it was a great day. There are many amazing amenities available to the citizens of Warwick and their families. The Mountain Lake Park offers swimming, fishing, pickleball, theatrical events, rentals for all occasions, and now hiking. Troop 38 will look to continue to work with Ms. Sam Walter, the park’s recreation director, in helping with other improvement projects in Mountain Lake park. Having this park in our home town is a wonderful opportunity for all to get outside and have fun in the great outdoors! Congratulations to Klaus and Paul for earning their orienteering merit badges, as well. Lastly, be on the lookout for “Grandma Terry’s Caramel Corn”, coming to a local store near you!