This was a hike I wanted to do for a long time. Being a mother of sons who are in Scouting(one Eagle-so far😉), a daughter who is in both programs: Girl Scouting and an Eagle in BSA, and a wife to an Eagle Scout; I have been eager to summit this peak!

In 1910, Lord Baden-Powell retired from the army to begin the Scout Association in the UK. He brought scouting education and “fun, adventure and skills for life and give young people the opportunity to enjoy new adventures, experience outdoors and take part in a range of creative, community and international activities, interact with others, make new friends, gain confidence and have the opportunity to reach their full potential”.

Lord Baden-Powell and his wife Olive started the Girl Scout and Girl Guide movement in England, and in May of 1911 Juliette Gordon Low, widow from Savannah GA, was traveling and met Lord Baden-Powell and was inspired. She sold her pearls and started the Girl Scouting Movement here in the United States, she started with 18 girls in March of 1912!

This hike, and all the switchbacks, made me think of the building blocks of scouting. The repetitive nature of individual tasks build upon the lesson that came before. These tasks will challenge and grow your abilities to slowly but surely help you reach the summit.

The Scouting Motto for both Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts is to “Be Prepared.” We laughed when we made it to the false summit, we looked around and found another hill with switchbacks. Without hesitation my daughter and I looked at each other and she said “We got this. We are prepared” she was right, we can do a few more switchbacks and we celebrated when we reached the summit!

Thank you Lord Baden-Powell and Juliette Gordon Low for the building blocks of your programs to help inspire the youth of today to be strong, capable and willing!

This was a beautiful and very humbling hike. 😊