Angel Island 2023

Once he finished talking about the background history behind the immigration station, we walked into the bunk rooms where we saw the cramped conditions immigrants were held in. The center of the room was crammed with bunks stacked 3 high and which were covered in laundry and luggage. On the walls, the old wood held carvings of poetry from immigrants that went to the Angel Island Immigration Station. The poems speak about the difficulty of immigrating to the US and how they have been disappointed by how hard it was to get into the US. In the last room of the immigration station, we saw a cool Lego replica of the Angel Island Immigration Station which showed what the station looked like in the past.

We had lunch in front of the immigration center before we hiked to our campsite. When we arrived at camp, we set up rain shelters in case of more rain. The rain shelters were made with a tarp, rope, stakes, and 2 poles on either end. We taught each other useful knots such as the two half-hitches to tie the tarp and the stakes together. It was difficult because of the muddy terrain, small tarp, unstable poles, and a shortage of rope but we managed to set it up. Afterward, we quickly set up our tents before preparing for a hike. 

We decided to hike all the way to the summit of Mount Livermore, the highest point on Angel Island. The hike up was steep and tiring but everyone felt a sense of accomplishment at the top after hiking up 788 feet. There, we admired the beautiful view of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge and ate a tasty snack of freeze-dried strawberries which everybody loved. From there, we went back down the mountain to one of the old army sites to play hide and seek. Everyone has lots of fun hiding among the creepy buildings. 

When it got dark, we walked back to our campsite and started cooking our backpacking meals for dinner. We had a learning experience using the backpacking stoves but we figured it out in the end. As we finished boiling the water and adding it to the food, it started raining very hard. As we ate, it even started hailing! We were thankful that we set up the rain shelters. After dinner, we tried to get some rank advancement done before we went to bed. While in our tents, we heard the rain, hail, and thunder and even saw the flash of lightning. 

In the morning, everyone hurriedly packed up and ate breakfast. We hiked back to the dock early to ensure we didn’t miss our ferry back to SF. 

Overall I think everyone had fun and while the rain was annoying, it was an interesting experience and now everyone has gone on a rainy backpacking trip!

Thank you to all the scoutmasters for organizing such a wonderful trip to Angel Island!

Written by Jonas L.

Final Thoughts from Acting Asst. Sr. Patrol Leader (Tyler T.)

Despite the rain and hail, I believe that we all had a great time on Angel Island. Arrival to the island seemed really smooth. We all knew where to arrive and to have a clipper card. I think the younger scouts especially had a fun time riding the boat and being on the bay. I certainly did. Once we got onto the island, I remember being shocked by how fast the rain appeared. Thanks to proper rain gear, I don't think that anyone ruined any belongings. Once we got to the immigration center, I don't think anyone was really sure what was going on or where to go. It was only until the ranger started to talk with us that we knew what to do. I felt that the tour was really interesting and of high historical importance, especially to the Asian American community. When the tour ended, I don't think Kyle or I had any plans on what to do afterwards, besides setting up camp and possibly going on a hike. From there on out, I felt that it was important to fall everyone in before every activity so that we could directly explain the details needed to continue. Lunch went fine, and the hike to camp was fairly quick. I do think that arrival at camp though is a learning moment. It would have been better if Kyle and I discussed beforehand what we were planning on doing until bed time hour by hour, and having backup plans in case of rain since we still didn't have an agenda. Setting up the tarp fly also took too long. I'd never seen the tarp fly before and I thought I understood the concept when Mr. Lim explained it to me, but it turned out to be entirely different. I think that I could have done a better job organizing everyone and explaining the concept. I don't think that everyone crowding around one person works very well. Next time we should make sure that all of Eagle understands the concept, and then have one Eagle member teach 2-3 scouts.

Another problem we faced was setting up the second tarp. I was supposed to tie the two hiking poles together and then use that as a separate stick. But since the pole handles were shaped to hold hands, and were not smooth cylinders, the shear lashing didn’t really work. It ended up using a lot of rope, and while I was trying to wrap the rope around the pole, the rookies got bored and went off. After about an hour of trying different knot and stake combinations, we finally got the second tarp off. During this time, the rookies didn’t really have anything to do, so I had them gather sticks for a lean to.

I thought that we would have more time, and it would be fun for the rookies to build a wilderness survival shelter, and see if they could waterproof it enough to have it dry the next morning. I think that everyone enjoyed the hike to the summit. The views were really nice. The hike was a really good social activity. I also think playing hide and seek in the abandoned building was fun for everyone too. Dinner went somewhat smoothly. Many of the scouts didn’t know how to set up the smaller camping stove, and it was the first time many of us had actually used it. Without our normal cooking gear, I think that dinner could have been more organized. I think that we could have found better ways of heating water, because everyone ended up getting water from the adult leaders before our water even started to boil. I think everyone had fun eating under the rain tarp while the hail came down though. Once again, I think that a more solid afternoon plan would have helped better with letting everyone know their responsibilities before bed, and when to fall asleep. In the morning, Kyle and I should have fallen everyone in at 7 and explained breakfast and when to take down the tents by. The mud was a large issue as it got all the tents dirty. Walking back to the docks, waiting at the docks, and going back home all went to plan. Overall, I think that everyone enjoyed this camping trip and had a lot of fun. While the rain did bring a bit of a challenge, I think that everyone who went on this trip came back with many fond memories.

Written by: Tyler T.

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