Teaneck—At the end of July, Boy Scout Troop 226, chartered to the Jewish Center of Teaneck, went to Floodwood Mountain Scout Reservation in the Adirondacks for a week of canoeing. Troop 226 has attended Floodwood, owned and operated by the Northern New Jersey Council, Boy Scouts of America, nearly every year for the past 30 years. This year, 13 Scouts and Scouters from three countries (U.S., Canada and Israel) and three states (New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts) joined Troop 226. Floodwood is unique among all the Scout camps in the Adirondacks in that it has direct access to a network of beautiful ponds, rivers and lakes in the heart of the Adirondacks. Although the camp is not kosher, we brought along our own kosher food, including Meal Mart and My Own Meals shelf-stable dinners.

Because of the size of the group, we had to split into two treks, each of which covered a route of about 40 miles. The first trek, led by Scoutmaster Daniel Chazin, was dropped off at Long Lake and paddled back to Floodwood. The second trek, led by James Sanders (who has served as Scoutmaster of Troop 18 of the Lower East Side of Manhattan), started at the Rollins Pond Canoe Base of Floodwood and paddled to Tupper Lake, where they were picked up. Except for 45 minutes of rain at the very end of the trek, we had fantastic weather. The two trek groups agreed to meet on Wednesday morning at the Indian Carry between Upper Saranac Lake and Second Pond, thus permitting us to exchange canoes and avoid carrying the canoes for this mile-long portage (although the trek group that started at Long Lake did have to do a portage around Raquette Falls). Everyone had a great time, and we’re looking forward to going back to Floodwood next year!

Troop 226 meets each Monday evening (except holidays) from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. at the Jewish Center of Teaneck. The first meeting for the 2013-2014 season will be on Monday, September 9th. All boys ages 11-17 are welcome to join. 

For more information, please contact Daniel Chazin, Scoutmaster, 201.835.5338, DChazin_aol.com.