By Manuel Robles 

On a warm Friday afternoon in mid-June, the Scouts of Troop 100 gathered at the St. Ann’s Church parking lot to go on yet another adventure. Our task was to canoe down the Potomac River for about twenty miles. We loaded up the van and proceeded to our campground near the Paw Paw Tunnel in West Va.. When we arrived there, an outfitter was waiting for us with the canoes, paddles, and life vests that we were to use for the entire trip. After receiving our gear, we sat around for a few minutes and then slept tucked underneath a blanket of stars because we had decided not to bring any tents on this trip.

            The next morning, we woke up bright and early and had a quick trail breakfast. We hiked to the Paw Paw Tunnel  which is part of the C & O Canal and decided to go through it before returning to our campsite and loading our canoes. Once we were packed and ready, we launched off of the shores of Maryland and began paddling down the serene waters of the Potomac River as it winded its way down to the Chesapeake Bay. We paddled for a few hours before stopping for lunch in Virginia right next to some railroad tracks. We then proceeded to paddle for a few more hours before arriving at our campsite located in Maryland along the C & O Canal. After tying off our boats, we relaxed and cooked a wonderful dinner and again slept underneath the stars as the trees sung us sweet lullabies and the insects tickled our ears unaware that we would be rudely awakened by the 5:30 express from Virginia to somewhere up north.

The next morning, we had a quick breakfast, did a complete canoe crew shuffle, and continued our journey. We arrived at our next site around 2:00 pm and had a late lunch after climbing a steep bank. After lunch, we decided that to make the bank climb easy we should make steps into the walls to help us get up and down the wall. Afterwards, we spent the afternoon relaxing our muscles and playing in the river. Scot decided that he wanted to cross the Potomac in a makeshift raft, so he lashed two logs together and created a paddle and began to cross the river. He succeeded when he reached the other shore 300 yards downstream from where he began. After a fun afternoon, we had a “wonderful” freeze-dried dinner and slept once more under the stars.

            The next morning, we woke up, had another quick breakfast and paddled the last leg of our journey. When we arrived at our pick up point, we dressed into dry clothes and waited for the outfitter to come and collect the gear. After the outfitter took the canoes, we had a warm lunch at a diner in the nearby town and then traveled back home after visiting a nearby museum to enrich our knowledge on geology. Thus ended a great trip in June.