October Hike: Las Trampas Regional Wilderness
- Date: Sunday, October 18, 2020
- Time: 2:00 p.m.
- Location: Las Trampas Regional Wilderness
- Meeting Point: Parking lot at the end of Bollinger Canyon Road, San Ramon, CA
- Attire: Class B
- Who can come: Everyone!
- RSVP: Evite
- FACE COVERINGS REQUIRED. HIKERS NEED TO STAY IN THEIR FAMILY POD WHEN HIKING.
- This is a TrailTrekker Patch Hike.
- Trail Map
Directions: From Highway 680: Take the Crow Canyon Road exit. Drive west on Crow Canyon for about 1 mile, then turn right (north) onto Bollinger Canyon Road. Continue about 4.5 miles to the trailhead at the end of the road. Alternatively, drive west on Bollinger until it ends at the park. It is about 10 miles from school on Bollinger Canyon Road. Meet at the parking lot at the end of the road inside the park.
Trail: Bollinger Creek Loop trail. It is a very nice nearly flat 1.5 Mile trail. It should take less than 1 hour to complete. Is is an easy hike for our younger scouts.
What to Bring:
- Facecovering
- Plenty of water and snacks
- Layers of clothing appropriate for the weather
- Binoculars, camera (optional)
Overview:
Las Trampas (Spanish for the traps) has two distinct areas, each with its own personality. Rocky Ridge, on the west side of the valley, is known for views in all directions, unusual rocks and green rolling hills lightly forested with California bays, oaks and maples. The wildflower display on the hills just off the ridgeline is an east bay favorite. The Las Trampas Ridge, to the east, is quite different, featuring a plant community dominated by chamise with other chaparral plants such as manzanitas and coyote brush.
2020 Popcorn Fundraiser is on!
Why do we do this?
This is a key fundraiser for our pack and council, the Golden Gate Area Council (GGAC).
73% of all popcorn funds will go to support scouting locally - proceeds are shared between GGAC, our local district – “Meridian District” and our Pack. GGAC and Meridian District use these funds to support activities such as Webeloree, Summer Day Camp, insurance, training and much more and keep participation costs low. Our fundraising effort helps to make Scouting a great experience for our scouts. Here is a sampling of the Pack 1776 activities supported by your fund-raising efforts and participation:
- Halloween Party
- Pinewood Derby Equipment, Awards and Facilities Rental
- Pack Camp Outs, craft and skill station supplies, food
- Blue & Gold Celebration entertainment and dessert
- End of the Year Graduation
Benefits to Your Scout:
- Teaches Scouts the value & process of setting and working toward goals
- Gives Scouts a strong sense of accomplishment through recognition
- Enhances communication, leadership skills and confidence in your Scout
- Scouts can earn a participation patch and rewards
- Scouts can earn their way to a Pack adventures.
Donations to the pack are preferred!
If friends and family are not interested in purchasing popcorn, perhaps they would be willing to make a donation to the pack. They can do so by submitting cash or check to you or donating directly using a credit card on our pack payment portal. Make sure you email us to let us know a donation is coming as we are unable to track donations.
What is our goal?
Our goal is for every scout to sell $200.
Each Scout should strive to achieve $200 in sales
- $100 from sales made to family & friends
- $100 from sales made to neighbors and parents co-workers
Prizes and Rewards:
- Each scout will earn a patch for making a sale or obtaining a donation.
- Based on their total sales, scouts will select the prize or prizes from Trails End they'd like and enter the codes on their order form before returning it on 10/20
- The top earner (sales of popcorn + donations) wins the Grand Prize - a Nintendo Switch Lite! For the purposes of pack awards (not through Trailsend) families with more than one scout can combine their sales & donations
How to Sell:
This year everyone needs to download the Trails End App or make a sales page on Trailsend.com as:
- All sales will be online
- Tracking Inventory will be online
- Credit Card sales willbe online.
- Door to Door / Sales to families can be made through the APP.
You may download the App on your on. If doing so, select "Meridian" for the district and "Pack 1776" for the unit. The Pack will send one family member an invitation to set up an account with the Trails End App that is linked to Pack 1776. You can also text APP to 62771 for a link to download the app.
Unfortunately, we can only send one invitation out per scout, so Mom and Dad, one of you will get the invitation and have to set up the account and give that log in information to the other parent.
Selling Online
Online Direct
- Scouts can ask family and friends far away to support them by purchasing popcorn through the Trails End site online. You will receive an email from the Pack via Trails End with the subject line “Welcome to the NEW Trails End. Sign-in & raise money now!”. Follow the steps with your scout to set up your scout’s account. The new Trails End site allows you and your scout to customize his or her ‘page’ and from there you can send invites to your family and friends.
- Scouts can record an Online Direct sale in the Trail’s End App while selling door-to-door or over the phone. This allows the scout to initiate the order and send a link to customers to enter credit card info to complete the transaction.
Marketing Your Scout
October 31st: Halloween Event
- Date and Time: Saturday, October 31, 2020 from 1 pm to 3 pm (Setup begins at 12:00.)
- Location: Outdoors @ Coyote Creek Elementary School Parking Lot and Blacktop. 8700 North Gale Ridge Road, San Ramon, CA
- Cost: Free admission! The entire scouting family is welcome!
- Attire: Costumes!! Facecoverings - in addition to any costume type masks must be worn.
- Signup: YOU MUST REGISTER IN ADVANCE on the SignUp Genius Link emailed to all members.
- VOLUNTEERS NEEDED. Sign up here.
Beware of ghosts and goblins! Come for an afternoon of games, fun, and mayhem! This is a socially distanced outdoor event where small groups of participants (14 persons or less) shall rotate through stations to ensure they are apart from one another. Candy/trinkets will only be distributed at certain spots, in a method where they are placed on a table / ground for individual pick up or run through a “candy chute” to minimize contact. Only pack provided candy will be distributed. Registered participants get a special Trunk or Treat 2020 patch and Halloween Candy tote preloaded with some candy! The key to this event is not to have groups intermingle or get bigger than their allotment. Registered participants will receive an email with their group number before the event. Participants need to stay in that group the entire time. While parents or a Lion or Tiger may accompany their scouts, we encourage them and all other adults to stand away from the groups and observe from a distance. We do not want the groups to get bigger by having parents enter an area when they are there.
- Parents arrive at 1 pm and park in the Kids Country side parking lot or street.
- Leave an empty parking space in between cars.
- Parents & kids stay in their cars until it is time to start the event.
- Children must stay with their parents until we are ready to begin.
- The Cubmaster will announce such with megaphone, calling for those in a particular group to assemble.
- That group will be sent to their first station.
- Successive groups will be sent to other stations in numerical order.
- No group will be sent to the same station at the same time.
Our event is called "Trunk or Treat," but that's in name only! Quite frankly, it's because the patch looks cool.
Parents can choose to decorate their car and park it in the Decorated Vehicle Section in the parking lot on the Kindergarten side of the school. Tell us in advance if you are bringing a decorated vehicle as we are limiting it to 30 vehicles to ensure an empty parking space exists between cars.
- Participants will walk down the middle of the parking lot to observe the decorated cars.
- Parents shall not pass out items to passers-by.
- Participants shall not go up to a decorated car.
- In intervals, there will be a candy/trinket slide or pick up area set up by the pack where kids can obtain a treat. Decorated cars are eligible to win one of many trophies, as judged by the scouts.
- Kids may cycle through the trunk or treat area twice if time permits. Everyone will walk in a one-way direction, spread out at least 6’ apart. Towards the last cycle, they will tell a staffer their choices for the trophies.
- A photo backdrop will be nearby so you can take a photo!
A carnival area will be set up in various locations of the school, including the blacktop. These stations will be well spread apart to ensure the groups remain apart. The events are designed so that they do not involve running, eating, drinking or removal of a face-covering. While some events will require the use of hand-held materials, these will be disinfected with soapy water before the next participant handles it. Participants must stay with their group and move from station to station as a group, when instructed. This will probably be every 10-15 minutes. Each station will have a candy/treat pick up area or slide.
Facecoverings - in addition to any costume type masks - must be worn. The small groups and cycling them through various activities will allow us to regulate attendance at any one location. Socially distanced games are:
- Spray Away - Children try to “spray away” golf balls from golf tee’s using a squirt gun. 4 stations of 6 tees/golf balls and spread them out so the kids aren’t near one another. Squirt guns will be washed and refilled in soapy water between kids.
- Photo Back Drop Station & Lollipop Tree / Pull: pull a lollipop out to see if the end is colored. If it is, you may select a prize. Either way, you keep the lollipop! A photo backdrop will be nearby by so you can take a photo!
- Balloon Darts: Balloons inflated ahead of time with a pump will be affixed to pegboard. 3 stations. Use darts to pop two balloons. Darts will be washed in soapy water between kids.
- Giant Soap Bubbles: 7 soapy water basins. Each participant handles their own wand. Wands are washed with soapy water between participants.
- The Grave Keeper: The Grave Keeper has to keep a watchful eye on the graves in this spooky Halloween game. Zombies are usually pretty active on Halloween night; the grave keeper better be on their toes! The grave keeper will have everyone collapse and fall to the ground. The grave keeper keeps an eye on the dead to see if any of them move. If the grave keeper sees someone move, they are out of the game. If the grave keeper has his back turned then the dead can move and try to stand all the way up without getting caught.
- Monster Freeze Dance: Put on some Halloween tunes and have the kids boogie until the music stops when they have to freeze. Children are eliminated for not freezing and the last monster standing is the winner.
- Pumpkin Walk: musical chairs type activity - minus the chairs and running - where kids march on numbered pumpkins. When the music stops, a number is pulled out of a hat. Children are eliminated for standing on a pumpkin that has that number called.
Face coverings are required for all attendees
Please bring your own face coverings and wear them at all times. While we will have hand sanitizer, please also bring your own.
All face coverings (whether disposable or reusable) must:
- Be made with at least two layers of breathable material
- Fully cover the nose and mouth and secure under the chin
- Fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face
- Be secured with ties or ear loops and allow the person to remain hands-free
- Shall not contain a valve which allows air to be exhaled from the mask.
- Open-chin triangle bandanas are not acceptable face coverings.
The use of face coverings is not a substitute for physical distancing.
Do NOT attend the event if you or a family member have experienced these symptoms in the 14 days leading up to the event:
- In contact with someone known or suspected to have COVID or the below symptoms.
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body aches
- Headache
- New loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat
- Congestion or runny nose
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
September 20th: Bike Hike
Date/Time: Sunday, September 20th, 1:00 - 3:00 pm
Location: Start at PG&E Parking lot (North) (3400 Crow Canyon Rd; San Ramon, CA 94583) and cycle down to the intersection of San Ramon Valley Boulevard. Turn around and come back. Full route here.
Distance: 3 miles one way - approx. 6 miles total
Time: Allow 60-70 mins
Attire: Class B uniform
Contact: Hiking Chair Deva Sundararajan
RSVP: via Evite
Trail: This will be a socially distanced ride where families will ride as their own unit/bubble down the Iron Horse Trail between Crow Canyon, San Ramon and San Ramon Valley Boulevard, Danville and back for a total of about 6 miles.
- Face coverings are required to be worn when within 6 feet of non-family members.
- Riders must do their best to keep away from persons who are not in their famliy bubble.
Each registered rider (scouts and siblings) will receive a biking patch.
What to bring:
- Bike - in good working condition.
- Helmets
- Mask/Facecovering
- Waterbottle
Informational Open House: August 19th
COVID hasn't slowed down Pack 1776! You are invited to a Zoom meeting to learn about Cub Scouting and our pack. We have many things planned for this year as we celebrate the 20th year of Pack 1776.
- Date: August 19, 2020
- Time: 7:00 PM
- Zoom. Register in advance for this meeting here.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
October Pack Meeting: Into the Woods
- DATE: October 7, 2020
- TIME: 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
- LOCATION: ZOOM Video Conference
- UNIFORM: Class A
Following our Opening Ceremony hosted by the Webelos I den, we will visit with Chelsea Yanez, an Interpretive Ranger from the Sequoia National Park.
Here we will learn about different types of trees, including the Giant Sequoias, living within their park.
Following the presentation, time permitting, we will plant our own trees from seed, using materials provided in a craft kit, delivered to you in advance.
Components of this presentation will meet requirements in several badges, including Webelos "Into the Woods," Wolf "Grow Something" and Bear "Fur, Feather and Ferns."
September Pack Meeting: Hometown Heroes
- DATE: September 9, 2020
- TIME: 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
- LOCATION: ZOOM Video Conference
- UNIFORM: Class A
Join us for our first pack meeting of the new Scouting year! Following our Opening Ceremony hosted by the Webelos IIs and Scout Law Lantern Ceremony conducted by our Bears, we will visit with firefighters. If time permits we will build our own superhero together! Craft kits will be passed out in advance of the meeting to all registered scouts. Instructions will be emailed out if we do not have time to complete the craft during our meeting.
Join Pack 1776!
Pack 1776 celebrates its 20th anniversary this year! Come be a part of the fun. Registration is open. Click here to learn more:
What Pack activities will we be doing in light of COVID-19?
Pack 1776 hasn’t slowed down due to COVID-19. While it did reduce our ability to meet in person, we quickly shifted to virtual pack and den meetings via Zoom where we played games, learned new things, performed songs & skits, and even did crafts using materials delivered by the pack. We’ve heard from our parents and scouts alike that they had fun. While our kids were able to see their friends during School Google Meets sessions with their teachers while school was in session, this opportunity was dramatically reduced for many during the summer. Even then, they did not have much of a chance to chat or do things other than school work. The pack’s virtual den and pack meetings gave the kids a chance to see and socialize with their friends.
While our pack will continue to hold virtual pack meetings until it is safer to meet in person, indoors, we also plan to conduct social distanced/time-slotted outdoor events. This includes Rocket Day, hikes in local parks, a Bike Hike down the Iron Horse Trail, Halloween Trunk or Treat, Hoot Owl program and perhaps a “raingutter regatta.” While we hope the rollout of a vaccine may allow us to conduct our famous Pinewood Derby inside the Coyote Creek MPR come January 2021, we are already making back up plans to hold it outdoors, with it being simulcasted on Zoom. Given dens are smaller, the leader and parents may elect to conduct socially distanced meetings in person.
Continuing on with Virtual Pack Meetings allows parents and their Scout to participate in Cub Scouting even if they are not comfortable attending these socially distanced outdoor events. Pack Meetings will host speakers, crafts, games, our NOVA Stem program, and other fun things. For instance, take a look at what we are planning for the first half of our scouting year:
- September Virtual Pack Meeting: Hometown Heroes. Talk to a Fire Fighter and build your own superhero craft.
- October Virtual Pack Meeting: Into the Woods. Hear from a ranger or naturalist about California's big trees and plant one of your own from seed.
- November Virtual Pack Meeting: Our Nation's Veterans. Set on Veteran's Day, learn about our Flag from Veterans including a retired Coast Guard Helicopter Pilot.
- December Virtual Pack Meeting: NOVA Out of this World. Cub Scout's STEM program where we will explore space related themes and experiments.
- January Virtual Pack Meeting: Game Night! Back by popular demand, its Pack 1776 Bingo Night.
Other things in the works: Pack 1776's Minecraft type server, Into the Wild virtual pack meeting, 3D printing (for older scouts) and more.
Does an hour off sound good to you?
Most our Virtual Pack Meetings this year will be held from 6:30 pm to 7:30 p.m. We may go a half hour longer if the program that night warrants it. While we’d love for you to be beside your child during the Pack Meeting, we won’t hold it against you if you decide to take that time to head to the other side of the house for some peace and quiet!
How to register.
Click here for more information on the registration process, fee and what's included. Our pack registration fee includes our commemorative 20th anniversary t-shirt and "buff" style mask!
Sunday, August 23rd: Rocket Day 2020!
Coyote Creek Elementary Blacktop
- LAUNCH DATE: AUGUST 23rd
- LAUNCH PAD: Coyote Creek School Blacktop (Kid's Country side)
- TIME: Noon to 4:00 pm TIME SLOT RESERVATION REQUIRED TO ENSURE SOCIAL DISTANCING. ONLY SHOW UP AT YOUR CONFIRMED TIME. Each timeslot is 25 minutes of rocket building and launch time. SEE BELOW FOR LINK AND DETAILS.
- UNIFORM: Class B or comfortable attire for those who are not scouts/new scouts
- VOLUNTEER: We need your help! Sign up here to volunteer.
- READ AND FOLLOW THESE IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS FOR ATTENDEES
- Learn more about the event.
Come build a compressed air rocket and learn about Scouting!
Join us on August 23rd for our annual Rocket Day. You don't have to be a Cub Scout to participate! Come build a rocket and see what Pack 1776 will be doing this year! Those who register as a Pack 1776 Scout and attend this event receive a commemorative Rocket Day patch.
Rocket Day will be different this year for sure. In order to reduce the risk of COVID transmission, rocket building and launching stations will be spread apart. A limited amount of persons will be permitted to enter the event area at one time to prevent grouping and to promote smaller cohorts.
COVID-19 is an extremely contagious disease that can lead to severe illness and death. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, senior citizens and guests with underlying medical conditions are especially vulnerable. By visiting Rocket Day, you voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19 and agree you and your group will wear masks and follow all of the rules for this event. This includes ensuring your children do not intermingle with other groups, run around the event, or cut in line. In the event these rules are not adhered to, guests not in compliance will be asked to leave the event.
Face coverings are required for all attendees
Please bring your own face coverings and wear them at all times. Please also bring your own hand sanitizer.
All face coverings (whether disposable or reusable) must:
- Be made with at least two layers of breathable material
- Fully cover the nose and mouth and secure under the chin
- Fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face
- Be secured with ties or ear loops and allow the person to remain hands-free
- Shall not contain a valve which allows air to be exhaled from the mask.
- Open-chin triangle bandanas are not acceptable face coverings.
The use of face coverings is not a substitute for physical distancing.
Do NOT attend the event if you or a family member have experienced these symptoms in the past 14 days:
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body aches
- Headache
- New loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat
- Congestion or runny nose
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
Time Slotted Entry
- Participants shall only be allowed into the event area if they have a reservation for a specific timeslot. Sign up on the SignUp Genius. The link is below. Only 3 people max per family can attend at one time.
- Time slots are 30 minutes in duration. This time includes 5 minutes towards the end of the shift to allow people to finish up, leave and the tables to be re-set for the next group.
- Do not arrive earlier that 5 minutes. Wait in your car if you arrive early and only walk to the entrance 5 minutes before your timeslot.
- Enter the event at the entrance. A greeter will check you in. Do not enter from the sides or the field.
- The SignUp Genius shall identify which rocket assembly table to go to. The greeter can remind you of your number.
- You are to only use the table you are assigned to.
Event Set Up
- The playground structures will be cordoned off with caution tape and signs saying they are closed. Please tell your children that they are not to play on or around them.
- A table with hand sanitizer will be located at the entrance to the event area. Prior to entry, everyone needs to wash their hands with it.
- Tables shall be set up under/near the solar panel overhang on the blacktop and away from the waiting queue. They will be spaced 10’-15’ apart. One family group shall be allowed per table. Each table will have two large numbers on them, one on the side facing the field and one facing the entry point so that people know what table to go to and to return to. Use the same table the entire time you are there.
Passing Out of Materials
- Paper body, nose cone and fins for rocket assembly will be placed on the table before each shift. A roll of tape and PVC pipe forms will be on each table. Adult volunteers shall monitor the assembly table area to ensure there is no intermingling and to pass out additional materials where needed.
- In between each time shift, we shall wipe down the tables, PVC forms and tape rolls in between timeslots using a spray bottle with Clorox cleaner and water and paper towels.
Rocket Launcher
- The pack has 3 rocket launchers. The rocket launchers shall be cordoned off into individual areas with caution tape.
- A greeter will regulate who goes into a given launch area.
- A queue line with marker lines spaced out every 10’ on the grass area so that persons can line up to approach the greeter and be told which launcher to go to.
- You must use the queue, staying in between the social distancing markers, as you advance to the entrance. Do not enter the rocket launcher area until directed to do so as we need to clean them between each family.
- The launch button and rocket tube shall be wiped down between family groups.
- Tell your children not to stay out in the field to catch other people’s rockets. They are to retrieve their rocket and come back to you. Then you can return to the launch queue to launch again or to your table to make any repairs/adjustments.
End of Shift
- At 25 minutes, the Cubmaster shall give a 5 minute warning. Scouts shall exit the area from the exit, located near the grass area and leave the site.
- Tables shall be wiped down.
- The next shift shall be invited in when all scouts from the prior shift have left.
Miscellaneous
There will be no food (i.e. sno cones) or drink served at the event this year.
Do not bring any food or drink to the event. We do not want to encourage people from lowering their masks or touching their face.
There will be no craft area this year.
There will be a box to drop off registration materials, but no registration table with laptops this year.
Hand sanitizer will be available, but bring your own.
Family Fun Fest
August 8, 2020
If you like funny pets, rockets and astronauts, Pinewood Derby cars, movie make-up artists and backyard camping then you’ll love Family Fun Fest! It’s outdoor adventure you can have online! This is sponsored by BSA National.
This very special online-only event is just for families like yours! There will be cool hands-on activities, interviews with amazing people, opportunities to make your community better with a service project.
And you can join in on the fun with activities you can do at home – like building your own pinewood derby car! BSA will post lists of items you’ll need on Facebook so you can build your own adventure!
On Aug. 8, you’ll hear from NASCAR driver Joey Logano, discover the secrets of spacewalks from a barrier-breaking NASA astronaut and score expert advice for crafting the fastest, best-looking Pinewood Derby car ever built.
Like pretty much everything in Scouting, this will not be a passive, watch-other-people-have-fun experience. Family Fun Fest puts Scouts in the driver’s seat as they enjoy an interactive experience filled with hands-on fun.
Grab a pencil and paper and watch as a Boys’ Life artist teaches you how to draw a dinosaur. Help build the perfect Pinewood Derby car where your vote determines how it’s made. Share photos of your cuddliest — or most adorably ferocious — pets for a chance to be featured in the broadcast and win a prize.
Oh yeah: the prizes! In case you needed another reason to join, they will give away prizes every 30 minutes. Grab the latest must-have gear, BSA-themed merch, shopping sprees on ScoutShop.org and more. Learn more about the prizes here.
When
- 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Pacific
Where: Live on the BSA’s Facebook Page
The lineup for Family Fun Fest
Family Fun Fest features something for everyone: hands-on activities you can try from home, interviews with amazing people and opportunities to help make your community better.
- Step inside the garage with 2018 NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano
- Hear about space from Dr. Bernard Harris, a former NASA astronaut who in 1995 became the first African American to perform a spacewalk
- Get secrets for building the speediest, sweetest-looking Pinewood Derby car ever
- Learn to draw from professional artists and vote on what you want to learn to create
- See some very good dog photos and discover how to make your own dog treats
- Win awesome prizes with drawings every 30 minutes (insider’s tip: the prizes get bigger as the show goes on)
- And enjoy plenty of exciting surprises
How to watch Facebook Live on your TV
While huddling around a laptop screen or tablet is a great way to get closer to your family, you might want to enjoy Family Fun Fest on the largest screen in your house.
Here’s how to watch Facebook Live videos on your TV.
