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High Adventure – Summit – Lessons Learned

 

Packing

  • Bring your mug for branding
  • Bring easy dry clothes because of the damp weather. It’s hard to dry out clothes.
  • Think about shoes most runners will get wet simply because of the dew in the grass. You need runners for mountain biking. You may want to bring water resistant hiking boots.
  • Clothes get damp if they are not stored in a hard sided case. I used a fabric carry-on bag and next time I will put it in a plastic bag over night
  • If you plan to buy a tshirt as a souvenir then pack one less. Go to the scout shop when you arrive and buy one to wear.

Bring

  • Paracord for a Clothes line.
  • Bring a large-size T-shirt for the SBR Rover. Take it to Camp fire on the last evening. It may be the last time you see your Rover
  • Patches if you want to trade
  • Everyone bring a pen

Checking in at SBR

  • Get a handful of staff appreciation cards at initial registration so you can fill them out at the end of each day. It’s hard to remember everyone’s name. Do them each night after the days events
  • It is much faster if you mail your medical forms to SBR before you arrive.

Tents

  • Set up 2 cots in your tent (even if in there by yourself)
  • The tents leak. So, store your gear in the middle of a cot when you leave incase a storm blows in while you are out on the trail
  • Batten down the tent and the fly. Storms blow in unexpectedly.
  • Leave your tent organized as if a big wind storm and rain will come through.
  • Move the tent to a new site midweek one afternoon when you have time and the tent is dry. It means you won’t be trying to move it when it’s wet with dew on the last morning
  • Take a tarp to keep the tents dry. Hang it over the door. The tents leak
  • Take a small brush to brush out the tents.

Misc

  • If you puncture a tire at SBR call the mechanic directly. He knows what to do.

Trading Posts

  • The main trading post is the best one, go early in the week. Do your shopping before the last day. A lot of people are there on the last day
  • If there is something you like but it’s not in your size then they can get it in for you before the end of the week.
  • Bring cash because the payment machine goes down in the store a lot

Weather related – Plan B

  • The New River Gorge Bridge Walk https://bridgewalk.com/bridge-walk-tour/
  • Coal Mine Tour https://beckley.org/coal-mine/
  • If you do the coal mine they say there is not a tour at 10am but if there are enough people milling around they will do one. If you book in advance you can get a group discount (15+ people) and maybe even book an earlier tour. Bonus: a senior gets a discount and you qualify once you turn 55. Scouts under 18 qualify as children
  • If you do the coal mining tour, line up early so you can try and sit on the side of the train that faces the safety message board it’s yellow. You’ll have a better view of the stops in the mine and try and get on the first carriage in the middle of it.
  • The railway village is pretty cool. You can spend an hour wandering around and looking at everything. The upstairs museum is also very good. That could be another 20 minutes 30 minutes. Your ticket also gets you to the Youth museum.

Transportation

  • Play John Denver all the way from the airport to The Summit. Know the lyrics to Country Road. You will have a chance to sing it at the last Camp Fire.
  • Get a bigger car than you think you need. We had 5 people and with gear the Santa Fe 3 row was the right size. We had the third row down for luggage.
  • Get to the airport to drop off the rental car 2.5 hours before your flight if leaving from CLT. Lines at the airport can be long especially if you need to check a bag.
  • Pre-pay for your checked bag.
  • We stopped at Mooresville on the way back to the airport. There is a Costco there that you can fill up at (and The Cook Out fast food store). In most cases a full tank at Costco will still register as full when you pull in to return the car.
  • We flew into CLT and did the Coal Mining Tour before we drove back to the airport to catch our 5pm flight.

Classic Place to eat when in transit

  • A North Carolina chain The Cook Out. https://cookout.com/ Founded in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1989 the chain has since expanded and now has restaurants in over 100 cities. It is known for its milk shakes. We stopped just outside of the CLT airport when we arrived and at Mooresville on the way back to the airport. (It gives you enough time to finish your shake before the CLT airport)
  • A West Virginia chain Tudor’s Biscuit world https://tudorsbiscuitworld.com/ Tudor’s Biscuit World is a restaurant chain and franchise based in Nitro, West Virginia, most commonly found in West Virginia. We went here for breakfast before we left for CLT airport. It is near the Coal Mine Tour location.