2023-13 Rock Tumbling

The past couple of weeks my daughter and I have been tumbling rocks using her rock polishing tumbler she received as one of her Christmas presents this last year.  If you have never used a rock tumbler before, here is a quick run through of what is entailed using one.  The rocks that you are wanting to polish are place inside the cylinder chamber.  Typically, there are 4 different grades of grit you place inside the tumbler with the rocks along with enough water to cover. Starting with your stage 1 grit, the duration of tumbling time depends on the type of rocks you are tumbling and how much you would like to shape them.

We decided to tumble some Tiger’s Eye that we picked up at a rock shop just outside of Zion National Park from our last trip there a few weeks ago.  If you don’t know what Tiger’s Eye is, it’s a form of quartz that is usually brown in color and is found among other metamorphic rocks.  The pattern of this rock when held up to the light resembles that of a tiger’s eye.  The piece that we picked up from the rock shop was a single piece that was too large to fit within the opening of the rock tumbling cylinder.  So… we grabbed our trusty rock hammer and started smashing it into smaller pieces.  There must have been a little bit of flint within the rock as sparks would fly each time the hammer would hit. 

Success! One large piece of Tiger’s Eye had been broken into roughly eight smaller pieces. We placed all the pieces within the cylinder along with a heaping spoon of step one grit and water. Ensuring that the lid was on tight, we let the rock tumbler begin.  This first round was going to take about 4 days to smooth out the jagged pieces of Tiger’s Eye.  Each day we would check on the progress. It was amazing to see the transformation of sharp edges being smoothed out and rounded as we eventually put them through step 2 and 3.  The final process, step 4, is the final polishing tumble that will make each stone shine to its full potential.

We can compare our scouting experience to the processes of polishing rocks.  When we start on our Cub Scout or Scout BSA adventure, we are a little rough around the edges. It’s ok if we have rough edges when we first start out. Everything is new to us.  Over time we continue with earning the ranks of Bobcat, Wolf, Bear, Webelos.  Within Scouts BSA we earn the rank of Scout, Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class. Eventually our rough edges begin to smooth out as we learn valuable skills through each meeting, hike, campout, and adventures.  Before you know it, a great deal of time has passed and what used to be a rough-edged scout has now been through so much that you have been shaped into a bright and polished Arrow of Light or Eagle Scout.

Just like polishing rocks, your trail to Eagle will take many days.  Don’t be discouraged when things do not go as fast as you would like.  It’s been my experience that everything that is worthwhile takes a little bit of time to accomplish. Keep up the good work scouts, your hard work will pay off some day.

2023-08 Angels Landing

This weekend we are exploring Zion National Park which is 1 of the 5 National Parks located in Utah. For the past 4 years we have made it a tradition to visit Zion. This year was the first that we experienced the park with snow and frigid temperatures.  Naturally our major hiking day, Friday, was the coldest day of the trip.  But we were not about to let that ruin the day.  Day one we hiked 10 miles which included an attempt to reach the top of Angels Landing.

Now, let's be very clear about the Angels Landing hike.  This hike has never been on my bucket list as I have no desire at all to dangle my body over a 1,500 foot drop off while holding onto some chains. With that in mind, we started to ascend the Angels Landing trail.

A little history about Angels Landing: A century ago a Methodist minister named Frederick Vining Fisher was so in awe of this massive sandstone cliff that he made the comment that only angels might land on it.  So the name stuck and what used to be known as the Temple of Aeolus was renamed Angels Landing.  The trail was built in the 1920’s and is 5 miles round trip. As you get closer to the top, you reach a section of the trail that is called Walter’s Wiggles. The wiggles are named after Walter Ruesch who was the park’s first acting superintendent. This section is made up of 21 extremely tight switchbacks that eventually put you at Scout Lookout. Angels Landing is one of the most dangerous hikes in the United States as there have been 17 confirmed deaths from individuals falling. 12 of those deaths happened between 1908 to 2016. With all this information to scare me to death alone… we kept on hiking.

As we reached Walter’s Wiggles we ran into an obstacle we had not planned for.  Ice and snow on the trail. We were in need of traction devices to continue on the trail safely.  So, half of the group turned around and started back down the trail as the other half of the group continued on using extra caution on the switchbacks.  Guess who was in the group to continue up… that’s right… me.  The switchbacks were a challenge with the slick conditions but manageable going up. Then the thought popped into my head… this is going to be a whole lot harder coming back down. Which it was. A couple of times we had to slide down the mountain on our backsides.

Finally we reached the end of Walter’s Wiggles and there is a section right before you start on the chain section of Angels Landing that is called Scout Lookout.  At this point, you have an amazing view of the valley as you stand at 5,790’ of elevation with the remaining .5 mile hike up to the end of Angels Landing ahead of you.  As we did not have traction devices for our shoes, the decision was made to have this be our stopping point and we took it all in.

Standing at Scout Lookout, your breath is not only taken away by the 1,500’ elevation gain that you just hiked, but also by the view of the canyon all around you with the Virgin River down below. As I was standing there taking it all in, reflections of my own personal growth and accomplishments came to mind. Reflections also of family members who have come and also left this Earth and all of their accomplishments. Along the trail there are multiple waypoints starting with the Trailhead and then Refrigerator Canyon, Walter’s Wiggles, Scout Lookout, The Spine, and eventually the Summit of Angels Landing.  The same can be compared with our trails within Cub Scouts and Scouts BSA as we work from Bobcat to Lion, Wolf, Bear, Webelos, and eventually Arrow of light. From Scout to Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star, Life, and finishing with Eagle.  

Each one of us are at different stages along the trail.  Some of us have to be pushed along the trail sometimes. Some of us reach a stopping point before we reach the summit. This is the case with my Father.  As a youth, my father reached the rank of Star. During those years as a youth he was a staff member at Camp Mitigwa in Iowa and loved every minute of being a scout. He was an amazing scout and later Scoutmaster, Cubmaster, District Leader, and many other hats that he wore. It’s with this example that I would argue that the rank does not make the scout, rather the experiences and growth in character along the trail. The rank is only a reflection of what we personally have accomplished through our physical, mental, and moral challenges along the hike.

Let us all continue practicing the Cub Scout Motto, To Do Our Best, no matter where we are on the trail of scouting.