New Monterey Bay Area Council Website

The council has done an overhaul of their website and the url is a bit easier to remember. It is now http://mbacbsa.org.

Adventure is all around the Pico Blanco section of California. It is a land of spectacular scenery. The Little Sur River, wending its way through a primitive forest of giant redwoods, a waterfall gushing from the mountainside into the river, its spaciousness, its wild tempestuous backdrop, and its latent opportunities for wilderness treks and exploration are symbolic of the area’s rugged beauty.

-Men in the Making, Alfred Young, 1963

(Photo: The waterfall at the Second Circular Pool of the Little Sur River. About 6 miles upstream from Pico Blanco, the hiker enters a series of deep pools with large waterfalls. The trail is gone at this point. It is a true High Adventure experience.)

Enjoying An Afternoon Upstream From Camp

Opportunities for outdoor fun are everywhere at Pico Blanco. Last summer, some Scouts decided to spend a warm afternoon exporing the pools upstream from camp. As the river meandered beneath the canopy of alders and old-growth redwoods, the boys discovered deep pools that afforded hours of fun. Under the supervision of the qualified staff members, the boys not only had a memorable afternoon but also stayed safe.

When your unit is in camp, we encourage you to talk with a staff member about opportunities for hikes, both short and long. Sometimes you hike on trails; other times, the river is your trail.

Rattlesnake near Lachance Creek

Handicraft

Do you like to make things with your hands? The Handicraft Lodge is the place for you! The Handicraft Lodge offers instruction in skills such as leatherwork, woodcarving, sculpture, basketry, and art. For Cub Scouts, a special craft is selected that fits that year's theme.

Register for Pico Blanco 2011

You can register for a great summer camp experience at Pico Blanco this summer by filling out one of the following forms:

Boy Scout Troops:
http://mbacbsa.org/Camping/2011%20Summer%20Camps/~/media/72D197CDC40B4403928B4FD243C4983E.ashx

Cub Scout Packs:
http://mbacbsa.org/Camping/2011%20Summer%20Camps/~/media/D49F3D126C7342079F43261FB3F45D75.ashx

(Updated to reflect new website)

Skills Patrol

The Skills Patrol area is part of Scoutpost and is an area for the first-year Scout. Experienced staff form participants into patrols and work with them on their essential Scouting skills such as knots, lashings, cooking, first aid, and citizenship. The staff is here to not only help Scouts with advancement but also to make sure that the Scouts don't just "pass off" requirments and know how Scouting is done. Each session is run like a troop meeting with an opening, skills instruction, and activities.

This photo is of a flagpole built by members of the 2007 Scoutpost staff so that new Scouts can practice flag ceremonies and learn about citizenship.

This first year program, which is now a mandatory standard for the accredidation of a Scout camp, began in the 1980s here at Pico Blanco.

Where is Pico Blanco Scout Reservation?

Our Lord's Candle Above the Pacific

A Sunny Afternoon on the Waterfront Trail

Support for Leaders: The Commissioner Area

Last summer, Pico Blanco reorganized its commissioner program so that it could better deliver programing to units. A major change was the creation of a centralized "Commissioner Area", located in the middle of camp between the waterfront and the volleyball courts.

Not only is the area home to two commissioners but also it is a meeting place for unit leaders to recieve training, learn new outdoor skills such as outdoor cooking, morse code, and knots, and also to socialize and share camping tricks, talk about new places to explore, and sometimes just shoot the breeze.

In addition to the central commissioner area, there are several "satelite" tents around the camp where other commissioners stay so that they can assist units.

The commissioners' primary jobs are to ensure that troops are receiving the support they need to deliver a quality Scouting experience for their boys.

Dad N Lad

It's time for another great weekend of camping at Pico Blanco. As part of the CubVenture Camping Series, the Monterey Bay Area Council will be running Dad 'n Lad September 24-26. You can still sign up for $30/person. This year's theme is Return of the Pirates of the Little Sur. Activities will include archery, slingshots, hiking, woodwork, scurvy reduction, leathercraft, BB guns, and more!

Here's a link to they flyer: http://boyscoutsmontereybayarea.org/ADDITIONS%20TO%20WEBSITE/Dad%20and%20Lad%20Flyer.pdf

UPDATE 9/21/10: Dad 'n Lad is SOLD OUT. Have Fun!

The 2010 Pico Blanco Staff

A reminder from the Basin Complex Fire of 2008

Two years ago, Pico was threatened by the Basin Complex Fire. Here are some videos from KSBW to remind us of the successful effort to save the camp.

Summer 2010 #4: Adventure Day

Adventure Day, or A-Day, takes place on Wednesday each week. The camp takes a break from merit badge classes to enjoy Scouting to the fullest. Patrols travel around camp, participating in fun activities such as slacklining, canoeing, shooting competitions, fire building, nature hikes, and bugling. At the end of the day, patrols cook dinner in their troop campsites and invite staff members over for a lively campfire. Patrols who participate in a set number of activites earn the Adventure Day Participation Award, a core requirment for the Honor Patrol Award.

Photo of the 2009 Pico Blanco Staff

About a year late, but here is the 2009 Pico Blanco staff. I will post the 2010 photo as soon as I can get my hands on a digital version. For now, just look at the display on the outside of the Admin building at Pico.

Summer 2010 #3: Pathfinders Rise Again!

This week, 2 Scouts participated in the Pico Pathfinders program, a high adventure program for older boys. On Thursday, they set out for the South Fork of the Little Sur for a day of epic proportions. Following instructions on the back of a napkin, they successfully discovered Al Clark's Lost Silver King Mine, which was mined by a hermit in the early 20th Century and since then has been visited by few. For a version of the legend behind the mine, visit http://www.angelfire.com/theforce/douggie/pages/ventana.htm#AlClark. That evening, the Pathfinders ascended Mt. Pico Blanco and watched fog from the Pacific Coast completely encircle the mountain.

Summer 2010 #2: Staff Week

The 2010 Pico Blanco Staff has just completed a week of Staff Training and will be welcoming the first Scouts to camp Sunday afternoon. Here are some things to be excited about this summer:
-An emphasis on the patrol method. Brush up on your yell and bring your patrol flag. There will be a special Honor Patrol award for patrols that complete certain tasks.
-A revamped Adventure Day. We have improved the A-Day schedule to offer more fun activities and opportunities to learn.
-In-camp cooking Wednesday night. At the end of Adventure Day, cook your dinner over an open fire with your friends.
-The 100th Anniversary of Scouting. We are celebrating 100 years of the BSA in various ways. Look for staff in vinatage uniforms (New look, same great staff).

It's going to be a great summer.

Summer 2010 #1: The Camping Season is About to Begin

In two weeks, Scouts will be crossing over Bottchers Gap, prepared for a week of fun, learning, and growth, Scouting at its best. The 2010 Pico Blanco Staff has worked hard to prepare for this year's camping season. All year we have been collaborating, meeting, training, envisioning, and preparing, often late into the night, so that they can provide a quality, life changing experience. The 2010 Pico Staff includes many experienced staff members along with some brand new ones. Starting next Saturday, the staff will spend a week in camp getting it ready for your arrival.

We are prepared to serve you beneath the redwoods this summer.

Please check this blog regularly for updates throughout the summer. We will post photos, stories, and news about what is taking place at Pico Blanco Scout Reservation. Feel free to comment with any questions or requests.

Aquatics Area, 6AM on a Foggy Morning

The Polar Bear Song

Super polar bear, super polar bear

See him swim, see him swim

In the freezing water, in the freezing water

But who cares? But who cares?

What people say about Camp Pico Blanco

From actual Troop and Pack Camp Evaluation Forms from Summer 2009

"It is impressive on how the camp has been brought back up to speed after so much devastation caused by the (Basin Complex) fire."

"Staff members set an extraordinarily good example to scouts."

"If you earn a merit badge at Pico, you have truly earned it."

"The Polar Bear was an awesome event. What a great way to wake up!"

"Food was excellent. It was probably the best camp food I have ever had."

The ocean view for happy wanderers

Often, when following the trail which meanders over the hills, I pull myself up in an effort to encompass the glory and the grandeur which envelops the whole horizon. Often, when the clouds pile up in the north and the sea is churned with white caps, I say to myself: "This is the California that men dreamed of years ago, this is the Pacific that Balboa looked out on from the Peak of Darien, this is the face of the earth as the Creator intended it to look."

-Henry Miller

2010 Merit Badge Schedule

This is the predicted 2010 Merit Badge Schedule. Advancement is just part of the program at Pico Blanco. Advancement gives Scouts and Patrols something to work on when they go outdoors. Advancement challenges each Scout in a unique way to grow personally and to set and achieve goals.

Younger Scouts are wncouraged to take Skills Patrol at Scoutpost to work their way to First Class while older Scouts can work on a variety of merit badges offered in all program areas. Older Scouts also have the opportunity to participate in Pico Pathfinders where they will work on reqirments for Camping, Hiking, and Backpacking Merit Badges while participating in a week-long high adventure experience. Through Pico Pathfinders, Scouts can also work towards the Venturing Outdoor Bronze Award which is an integral part of the Ranger Award.

Also available for 2010 only are Centenial Merit Badges including Signaling, Tracking, and Carpentry.

At Pico, we believe in innovative teaching methods and making sure Scouts truly earn their Merit Badges. We strive to teach Scouts how to apply the skills they learn instead of simply passing off requirments.

Return

by Robinson Jeffers

A little too abstract, a little too wise,
It is time for us to kiss the earth again,
It is time to let the leaves rain from the skies,
Let the rich life run to the roots again.
I will go to the lovely Sur Rivers
And dip my arms in them up to the shoulders.
I will find my accounting where the alder leaf quivers
In the ocean wind over the river boulders.
I will touch things and things and no more thoughts,
That breed like mouthless May-flies darkening the sky,
The insect clouds that blind our passionate hawks
So that they cannot strike, hardly can fly.
Things are the hawk's food and noble is the mountain, Oh noble
Pico Blanco, steep sea-wave of marble.

The Drive to Pico

The drive in to camp is one of the most scenic drives you will ever take. It begins with a 10 mile drive down northern Big Sur coast on Highway 1 with sweeping vistas of the Pacific Ocean. Poet Robinson Jeffers called this "The Greatest Meeting of Land and Sea" and the road is rated the most scenic in America. Then, you enter the redwood-filled Palo Colorado Canyon and work your way up the historic road into the Los Padres National Forest at 2250' Bottcher's Gap. Then, you begin your descent to the Little Sur River via the dirt camp road with views of Mt. Pico Blanco and Ventana Double Cone before re-entering the old-growth Redwood Forest. The camp road is passable to 2WD vehicles, so pretty much anyone can make it into camp (for years, our program director made the trip in a Toyota Corolla). Please drive safely and use low gear. It's about an hour and a half from Monterey to camp.

Dusty Road (Tune: Country Roads)
Almost heaven, Pico Blanco
Launtz Ridge Mountain, Little Sur River
Life is old there, older than the redwoods
Younger than Mount Pico, blowin' like a breeze

CHORUS:
Dusty road, take me home, to the place where I belong
Pico Blanco Scout Reservation, take me home
Palo Colorado Canyon Road

All the Whammies gather 'round her
Doctor's daughter, stranger to green water
Dark and dusty, spin-art on the sky
Miss the taste of bug juice, moon-pie in my eye

I hear her voice in the morning when she calls me (LARS!)
The generator reminds me of my tent far away
And driving down that dusty road I get the feeling
I should have used the kybo yesterday. Yesterday!

The Captain Chipmunk Theme Song

Ding ding ding ding ding

Here comes my wagon, my wagon

I hear the keeper calling me-eeeeeeeee

Ding ding ding ding ding

Here comes my wagon, my wagon

To take me to the funny factory

Just like all the nuts that fall

I'm a little cracked, that's all

Ding ding ding ding ding

Here comes my wagon

My kiddie car, my bus

WHOOOOOPEEEEEEEEEE

Scoutpost

Want to be a master outdoorsman who can tackle high peaks and venture into the unknown? Even if you simply aspire to go on a weekend campout, Scoutpost can teach you valuable outdoor skills. Our Skills Patrol program helps first-year Scouts learn their basic camping skills and work on their trail to First Class while our merit badge offerings teach more specific skills such as wilderness survival, orienteering, and pioneering.

Throughout the week, Scoutpost offers a variety of activities such as the Scottish Games, Adventure Day hikes, ultimate frisbee, and the Scoutmaster Dutch Oven Cookoff. Scoutpost's highly qualified staff is here to create a dynamic learning environment; in 2009, 100% of Scoutpost staff were Eagle Scouts.

Scoutpost is located just downstream from the waterfront between Campsite 1 (Awanee) and Campsite 2 (Blackfoot).

A Pico Campfire

This is the traditional Pico campfire. It is built to last the entire campfire program, providing ample light for skits and songs and then glowing embers for the Pico Hymn, sung by the Pico Staff. The art of making a proper Pico fire is passed down from staffer to staffer.

Pico Blanco Hymn
Here among the trees majestic
Pleasures you wil find
On the trails of Pico Blanco
With your friends and mine

Trail the eagle, ever onward
This shall be our cry
Be Prepared, this our motto
Serving all mankind

High Adventure at Pico Blanco

A Reservation For Boys

"Adventure is all around the Pico Blanco section of California. It is a land of spectacular scenery. The Little Sur River, wending its way through a primitive forest of giant redwoods, a waterfall gushing from the mountainside into the river, its spaciousness, its wild tempestuous backdrop, and its latent opportunities for wilderness treks and exploration are symbolic of the area’s rugged beauty.

Today, Pico Blanco Scout Reservation stands on this land, set aside to the sole end that it is preserved as a primitive area where the American boy can have the inestimable experience of untouched wilderness and unspoiled natural beauty. It is a reservation for boys, away from civilization, intended to offset the softening influence of our modern social life, and to help in the development of America’s future men to be self-reliant, of strong character, and physically fit." -Men In The Making by Alfred Young