By Nathan V.
Troop 5 went on a hiking trip in the middle of April at the Worthington State Forest in Columbia, New Jersey.
The drive took around an hour, and we passed by many towns throughout New Jersey. Arriving around 8 p.m., we had to set up our tents in the dark — before the rain hit. We had to rest up for the next day, which was a big hiking day.
Once we woke up, we had breakfast and ate enough to get us ready for the hike.
We started our hike at the bottom of Rockcore hiking trail. As we continued along the path, the elevation increased greatly with every step. We saw a wide variety of nature and wildlife throughout the hike.
We found ourselves on the Appalachian Trail as we progressed.
Then we arrived at Sunfish Pond, a great body of water on the top of a mountain. We then rested out there to have our lunch.
Once we were going to head down the mountain, the Troop split into two groups. One group consisted of participants of Philmont for 2025 and other hikers. The other group had younger Scouts and some adult leaders. The Philmont group went for a 10 mile hike and gained around 1000 feet in elevation. The smaller group went for 5 to 6 mile hike though still got a great experience.
The troop then met up back at our campsite. Some of us were not out of energy from our long hike so they decided to play ultimate frisbee near a beautiful spot along the Delaware River.
We ate dinner — some of us had delicious cooked meals while some of us ate premade meals. Then we had our campfire which consisted of skits and songs. Eventually, we did go to bed.
Sunday morning was scheduled as we woke up, had breakfast, and packed. Once the cars arrived we all loaded up the cars. Then each car was filled with Scouts and we returned home.
