Introductions and Intentions

Well, here it is, our first hike log.

My sons Jakob, Joshua and I have been hiking the back trails of Southern California since my boys were old enough to walk. Now that they are a little older and active in Scouting (as well as suddenly interested in cinematography), I have helped them to start their own YouTube Channel to document our hikes and other outdoor activities, as well as to show what we know of Scoutcraft and the like to anyone who is interested and wants to learn. Sounded like a fun hobby to me, so I put everything together for them.

Along with the YouTube Channel, the boys wanted to start an Adventure Log (That's what this is), so they could further remember our times together in greater detail and so that if there is anybody out there who wants to go some of the places we go, they now have more detailed recon. This log will (generally) include pictures and (if possible) Google Earth GMZ files of the route we took, hopefully with more information on the trail than you'll ever want to know.

Here's the way its going to work.

We go on hikes and camping trips almost every weekend of the year. Because of this, we are going to have no shortage of material for the channel. We are planning Hikes, Treks, Expeditions, Summits, and good old fashioned Campouts. The difference between these in our minds is pretty simple.

A Hike is done in a single day and is less than ten miles long.

If the Hike is longer than ten miles, we call it a Trek.

Multiday Treks we call Expeditions.

If the Hike, Trek, or Expedition takes us up a mountain (with the primary goal being to get to the top, rather than the mountain simply being an obstacle in a journey), then we call it a Summit.

It seems kind of strange to categorize these so strictly, but I think it will make the Channel more organized. After all, if we do one episode on every trip we do during the year, that's between 50 and 75 episodes per year. That's a lot to keep organized and sift through. I'm sure it will all make sense sometime in the future =)

Anyway...

As for this Hike bLog, I was given this assignment, along with occasional Facebook and Twitter posts and updates. Jake and Josh intend on doing write ups of their version of certain outings sometime in the future as well, but right now they are focusing all their attention on learning video editing (They already know more than I do about that, so...) Everytime we complete an outing, they will immediately go into video mode and try to cut an episode for YouTube within a week or two. I am supposed to announce that we are going on the outing on Facebook beforehand, post pictures on Facebook and Panoramio afterward, Tweet and Facebook the release date of the YouTube video, and write a detailed research paper on every detail I can remember from the outing here on our Hike bLog. I still think I got the easy job. The Hike bLogs will be organized by date, so I guess I didn't even have to tell you the whole Hike, Trek, Exped, Summit thing, its sure going to help on YouTube, though.

So, tomorrow, President's Day, February 19, 2012, we are going to complete our first outing and I will post a write up within a week or so.

My name is Richard Leneau. I am a San Diego, California, USA, Earth native who has loved activities in the outdoors as long as I can remember. I am an electrician by trade. My sons Jakob and Joshua are both fourth generation Scouts. My father was an Eagle Scout, but I only made it to the rank of Life. Many of the things I learned in Scouts were foundational for me and I have tried to pass them on to my sons as they get ready to go into their teenage years.

Together, the three of us (plus their mother, who is not fond of outdoor adventure but is extremely good at it) spend a lot of time choosing our own adventures in the great outdoors. We tend to stick to our region, the American Southwest, and more often our own county; San Diego, California. But there is so much to do here within fifty miles of home that we have our hands full just doing everything there is to do around here. In this we are fortunate. The three of us make up the core of this project, “Scoutcraft Academy” but others occasionally join us and I'm sure that while there are only three permanent members of Scoutcraft Academy, Richard, Jakob, and Joshua; honorary members you'll be sure to hear about if you continue reading include my wife Jessica, my brothers Brian, Scott, Matt, and Phil, and our trusty GolRotten Husky Retriever, Isabela.

This is Scoutcraft Academy, thanks for reading.

I will try my hardest to be entertaining.

~Richard