This past weekend, I participated in the final session of High Adventure Leadership Trek Training (HALTT). This training is for scouting adults who wish to lead high adventure activities for older boys. Â
 The HALTT training consists of two classroom sessions, one weekday night, one full day Saturday, and an overnight backpack at Mataguay. The council’s high adventure training has a long storied past. It has been in exisitence since the 1960’s, and the current director Val Leonard has been running it since 1984!  The high adventure team is a group of seasoned, extremely experienced (thousands of backpack miles), and knowledgeable old timers.Â
These guys are current on the latest ultra-light back packing philosophy and techniques.  This fully loaded pack weights less than 20 lbs with food and 100 ounces of water!  They have created a shopping list for a new scout to equip a fully loaded ultra-light pack to cost less than $100. Â
 We are super fortunate to have this resource. This training does come at a cost, and most of us can budget for over a couple years. The entire three day course, which is taught by no less than 8 different experienced instructors costs a whopping $6.00. Yes, you read that right six dollars!    I highly recommend this course to any ASM / adult scouter who wants to learn the basics of leading backpack trips and have a fun weekend outing!
Check out the council training website for upcoming HALTT sessions! Â No need to sign up, just show up for the class! Â
Here are pictures from the hike at Mataguay:
 Terry Thompson’s ultralight pack.  This fully loaded pack with food and water is less than 20 pounds!