Angel Island 2008
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A total of nine Scouts, with all four patrols (Eagles, Cobras, Bats and Coyotes) represented, and four Adults departed Elks Lodge in three vehicles at 8:00 on March 8, bound for Tiburon. Scouts: Miguel Francisco, Mark Matney, Matthew Puliz, Andrew Toy, Anthony Fong, Robert Shirley, Joseph Krieg, Mark Thompson and Elisha Cheng. Adults: Todd Thompson, Mickey Fong, Ike Krieg and Bill Kirk. The drive was uneventful and traffic was light. But it took nearly two hours to make the trip, which put us a bit behind our plan to arrive at the Ferry Terminal by 9:45 to make the 10:00 ferry to Ayala Cove. After a brief search, we found suitable (e.g., reasonably priced) parking in a grocery store parking lot about half a mile from the ferry terminal. (Note: The sign on the parking fee deposit box called for $5.00 per vehicle. However, to be on the safe side, we deposited $10.00 per vehicle for the two days.) Although we missed the 10:00 ferry, the 11:00 ferry got us to the island early enough in the day to allow plenty of hiking and exploration time on Saturday. The main body trekked the long route around the south side of the island, particularly so those going to Philmont could log some training miles. The shorter northerly route nonetheless provided some challenging up hill stretches, aka "the stairs". After setting up camp in the early afternoon, the full group hiked (sans backpacks) around to Quarry Beach, exploring the old abandoned Army post on the east side of the island. It was easy to imagine ghosts from times past still wandering the old buildings from when thousands of military recruits were processed through the post and were cared for in the hospital during WWI and WWII. We couldn't have asked for better weather for the trip---65 degrees, sunny with a slight breeze during the day; 50 degrees, calm and no fog overnight. With no lights near where we were camping, the night sky was brilliant with stars. Several constellations were clearly visible. Our campsites were on the east side of the island (East Bay sites 1 and 2) at about 400 feet elevation, looking toward the Bay bridge. Treasure Island and Yerba Buena Island were right about in the middle of our field of view with Emeryville trailing off to the left and part of the downtown San Francisco skyline around to the right. The city lights were stretched all across the horizon and up into the surrounding hills. Some serious cooking began around 5:00 as the Scouts prepared Mac 'n Cheese and hot dogs and the Adults opted for Mulligan Stew. No one went to bed hungry. As we were shutting things down for the night, we were entertained by the screeching and flashing eyes of raccoons making exploratory forays in the woods around camp, hoping to find scraps from our meal or anything that we might not have locked up in the food box overnight---one of those basic life lessons every Scout learns in the woods After dinner, the Scouts played poker using beach rocks for "chips" until 9:00 when we were gifted by an unexpected 20-minute fireworks show across the bay on Treasure Island. We never did find out what was being celebrated---perhaps Daylight Savings Time. All campers were in their tents by 10:00. (Note: If the East Bay camp sites are used in the future, put ear plugs on your list of things to pack. Bouy tones sounded off every eight seconds all night long---no doubt to keep any campers from running aground during the night---it worked and for that we were thankful.) As it turned out, the time change gave us one less hour in camp as we had to break camp early on Sunday morning after a breakfast of instant oatmeal. The full group hiked the northerly return route to the west side of the island in time to make our outbound ferry back to Tiburon. En route to Sacramento, a carefully coordinated stop at the In-And-Out Burger in Vacaville rounded out another memorable Troop 259 overnight trip. The small but dedicated band of backpackers pulled into the Elks Lodge parking lot around 1:00 on Sunday, March 9.
All Scouts and Adults were present and accounted for at the end of the trip, although at least a few of us "older" hikers were feeling the backpacking miles in our legs after the return car ride back to Sacramento. Whether it was the up hills, the down hills, the packs, the shoes or perhaps the water, the debate will likely continue unresolved as to why our muscles and joints were talking to us. But when all was said and done, a good time was had by all and we are looking forward to making the trip again next year.
