Los Angeles Area Council

Founded in 1914, [http://www.boyscoutsla.org/website/about_us.htm Boy Scouts of America, Los Angeles Area Council ] ] the Los Angeles Area Council (LAAC) (#33) serves most of the City of Los Angeles as well as several other cities in the greater Los Angeles area. It is one of five Boy Scouts of America councils in Los Angeles County, California. in 2006, it served 51,000 youth. [http://www.boyscoutsla.org/website/about_us.htm Boy Scouts of America, Los Angeles Area Council ] ] ,

History

The LAAC was one of the first councils organized in the United States and is one of the largest councils still in existence.

Districts

The following are the districts and the communities they serve: [ [http://www.boyscoutsla.org Boy Scouts of America, Los Angeles Area Council ] ]
*"Frontier District" - serving the communities of Artesia, Bellflower, Cerritos, Compton, Downey, Hawaiian Gardens, La Mirada, Lynwood and Paramount
*"North Star District" - serving the communities of downtown Los Angeles, Atwater Village, Chavez Ravine, Chinatown, Echo Park, Griffith Park, Highland Park, Hollywood, Koreatown, Little Tokyo, Los Feliz, Mount Washington, Silver Lake, South Park, Thai Town, Toy District and South Pasadena.
*"Pacifica District" - serving the communities of Carson, El Segundo, Gardena, Harbor City, Hermosa Beach, Lomita, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Rolling Hills Estates, San Pedro, Torrance and Wilmington
*"Rio Hondo District" - serving the communities of Montebello, Pico Rivera, Santa Fe Springs and Whittier
*"San Antonio District" - serving South Gate
*"Thunderbird District" - serving the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Firestone Park, Baldwin Hills, Central and King, Boyle Heights and Wagner; the South Los Angeles neighborhoods of (Watts, Leimert Park (Koreatown), August F. Haw, Westchester, Exposition Park, Crenshaw District, Windsor Hills) and the communities of Lawndale, Hawthorne and Inglewood

Council Camps

*Cabrillo Beach Youth Waterfront Sports Center coord|33.7150|-118.2841:In 1946, the LAAC leased the Cabrillo Camp property. It is located at the base of the cliffs directly below Fort MacArthur. The camp was open to both Scouts and other youth groups. The camp utilized the old military Quonset huts and portable trailers.

:In the late 70s, the Port of Los Angeles granted the scouts a long-term lease.

:With money donated by Steven Spielberg in 1987, the "Spielberg Center" opened a swimming pool, campgrounds, dining area, craft center, Scout Shop, staff quarters, boat house and amphitheater. The facility is convert|12.3|acre|sqmi km2|3|abbr=on and the building is convert|25000|sqft|m2|-2 of Spanish and Mediterranean architecture. [http://www.cabrilloyouthcamp.org Cabrillo Youth Camp Home Page] ]
*Firestone Scout Reservation [http://www.firestonecamp.org/ Firestone Scout Reservation] (elev. 500 ft) coord|33.9423|-117.8474 is a semi-primitive camp located just east of State Route 57 in Tonner Canyon between Diamond Bar and Brea, California. The facilities are available to most non-profit youth groups in addition to Scouting organizations.
*Forest Lawn Scout Reservation [http://www.flsr.org/ Forest Lawn Scout Reservation] (elev. 5,300 ft) coord|34.2511|-117.1270 was formerly known as the "Lake Arrowhead Scout Camps". FLSR is a group of Boy Scout and Cub Scout Resident Summer Camps located convert|3|mi|km|0 east of Lake Arrowhead, California on more than convert|2000|acre|km2|0 in the San Bernardino National Forest.
**Circle X Ranch at Big Horn is a Boy Scout Resident Summer Camp, opened in 1952 as Camp Big Horn.
**Camp Pepperdine became a Cub Scout Resident Summer Camp in 2007; it was formerly a primitive camping facility that opened in 1960.
**Camp Pitchess, ("Now Closed") formerly Camp Cedar, opened in 1953 as a Cub Scout Resident Summer Camp; it burned in the Waterman Canyon Wildfire, October 2003. [ [http://www.americanforests.org/productsandpubs/magazine/archives/2005spring/feature1_1.php American Forests: Afterburn ] ]
**Camp Pollock - adjacent to what was once Camp Pitchess is a year-round training center with an indoor climbing wall and cabins.
**John Wayne Outpost is a wilderness camping area that opened in 1979. [ [http://usscouts.org/boyscouts/jwlaw.html USSSP ] ]
**Northrop Family Camp opened in 1955 is now a staff housing area.
*Log Cabin Wilderness Camp (elev. 9,640 ft) coord|37.9767|-119.174 is a high adventure base camp located in the Inyo National Forest. The camp is near the Tioga Pass Road on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada bordering the Hoover Wilderness and Yosemite National Park.
*Camp Circle X - coord|34.1090|-118.9364 "Closed" located in the Triunfo Pass (now part of the Santa Monica Mountains NRA, (operated by the NPS)) [ [http://www.nps.gov/archive/samo/maps/cx.htm Circle X Ranch ] ]

Log Cabin Wilderness Camp

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prev =The Log Cabin Wilderness Camp is a Boy Scout camp operated by the Los Angeles Area Council and is located in the Inyo National Forest.

The "Log Cabin" is a high adventure camp. The camp is near the Tioga Pass Road on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada bordering the Hoover Wilderness and Yosemite National Park. It is the highest Boy Scout camp in the country, at approximately 9,800 feet (3,000 m) above sea level.

History

Gold was discovered in California in 1849. By the thousands, miners came from all over the world to make their fortunes. From the seaports of San Francisco and Eureka, they spread out in all directions following the rivers to the high country where gold was just waiting to be picked up. In the north they followed the Trinity and Klamath Rivers high into the Klamath Mountains and Trinity Alps. From San Francisco, they worked their way through the Sierra Nevada’s following the Tuolumne and Merced Rivers.

Thirty miles (50 km) from Mono Lake, the population of the sleepy town of Bodie exploded. Search for the elusive mother lode drove the miners higher into the mountains until in 1910, at an elevation of 9600 ft. (2,950 m) above sea level, the Log Cabin Gold Mine hit paydirt. Over the next thirty years, the mine became famous for the gold it produced and for the harsh winters the miners endured. The mine was closed at the onset of World War II by order of President Roosevelt.

By 1950, new mining techniques and the high price of gold presented an attractive proposition to reopen the mine. Unfortunately, efforts to upgrade the equipment and buildings were not a part of nature’s plan for the mountain. The parts of the mine that were not buried under twenty feet of snow were whipped by winds in excess of 80 mph. Nature’s one-two punch was too much for the modern day miners and the Log Cabin Gold Mine was closed permanently in 1956.

In 1971, the Hathaway and Garbutt families who owned the mine, donated the property to the Los Angeles Area Council. The gift included the land, the mill operation, all buildings and equipment. This unique piece of property sits just north of road through the Tioga Pass on the rugged and picturesque eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada overlooking Mono Lake.

In 1981, the Clem C. Glass Eagle’s Nest was built to serve as headquarters for the Log Cabin Wilderness Camp. Today, the Eagle’s Nest has been expanded to include a program center, trading post, health lodge, showers, whirlpool spa, kitchen and dining room.

Over the years, Log Cabin was transformed from a traditional summer camp to a high adventure base camp. In 1973, the camp hosted the first “Quest Beyond Eagle” a two-week challenge open only to Eagle Scouts. The program was expanded to include the High Country Gateway program, offering one-week backpacking trips through the Yosemite Wilderness. In 1998, the program was expanded again to include the Sierra Nevada Mountain Man Adventure.

Programs

;High Country Gateway :The High Country Gateway Program features a Project COPE course, Leave No Trace training and a one-week backpack trip in the Yosemite Wilderness, Hoover Wilderness or surrounding area. Eighteen preplanned itineraries allow a choice of treks based on the age, experience, and capabilities of the crew. A trek can include peak climbing, day hikes and lots of fishing.

;Sierra Nevada Mountain Man :The Sierra Nevada Mountain Man Program is geared more toward crews with less high adventure experience. It also includes a COPE course and Leave No Trace training but also includes additional practice in map and compass use, trail cooking, and technical climbing. Short overnight trips for rock climbing and peak bagging are the highlights of the Mountain Man Program.

;Peak Bagging :The Log Cabin Peak Bagging Program is incorporated into both Gateway and Mountain Man programs. The program is separate from and not related to the Peak Bagger Award program sponsored by the LAAC High Adventure Team. Participants earn a patch for bagging one ormore peaks on the approved list. Mono Dome, Lee Vining Peak, and Mt. Warren are all within a short distance of base camp and are excellent destinations for day hikes. Returning crews often choose this option rather than repeating the COPE course. Other peaks require that your crew choose a specific trek to within close proximity of the selected peak.

;COPE :First year groups go through the Project COPE course as a part of their team building process. The high elements consist of a giants ladder, two-line traverse, caving ladder, and zip line. The low elements are selected from the wild woosey, slack wire, noose traverse, nitro crossing, the wall and the trust fall. We also offer initiative games and team building exercises as a warm-up to get the group working together.

;Ranger training :Ranger Training for Venture Crews was added to the Log Cabin program in 2002. Venturers can tailor a program to the specific desires of their crew. Trained leaders will guide your group through selected elements of Ranger advancement including backpacking, land navigation, wilderness survival, rock climbing, conservation, and first aid.

National Youth Leader Training

The council offers National Youth Leadership Training. [ [http://www.flsr.org/nylt-program.php National Youth Leadership Training] ] Formerly known as Brownsea 22 Junior Leader Training, NYLT is an intense six-day outdoor experience for Boy Scout Troop youth leaders ages 13-17.. The Los Angeles Area Council holds an NYLT encampment each August on the Forest Lawn Scout Reservation. [ [http://www.flsr.org/ Forest Lawn Scout Reservation] ]

Order of the Arrow

The Siwinis #252 is the local lodge of the Order of the Arrow. [ [http://www.siwinis.org/ Siwinis Lodge #252 (O/A)] ]

Pinewood Derby

*Cubmaster Don Murphy organized the first pinewood derby, which was raced on May 15, 1953 in Manhattan Beach, California, [ [http://www.bsamuseum.org/exhibits/derby/index.html National Scouting Museum: Exhibits: History of Pinewood Derby ] ] by Pack 280C.

ee also

*Scouting in California
*Other Los Angelese County councils
**Long Beach Area Council
**San Gabriel Valley Council
**Verdugo Hills Council
**Western Los Angeles County Council

External links

* [http://www.boyscoutsla.org/ Los Angeles Area Council]
* [http://lahomenetmen.org/scouting.php Scouting division, Homenetmen Los Angeles chapter]

References