Page two

A little history

A Just found!! 40 year old painting of Tom, Bucky and Pat as boyscouts deaming up the kegger Backpack trip.

Around 6 years later, we were a bunch of teenaged alcoholics, who's favorite past time was drinking kegged beer. In 1976,Bucky and Iwere heading out on a cross-country adventure in my '66 Camero. Pat Williams and Tom Caton were going to spend the next 10 weeks working on the staff at the scout camp. I was trying to figure what would be an appropriate going away party for the four of us and remembered this spot. The first stretcher was made out of 2X4's at my dad's shop. We had a party of about 15 people. I recall seeing Tom and Pat leaving the party going down river to camp as the rest of us were leaving going up river. The last stop on our cross country tour was the Boy Scout camp (7 weeks and 9,300 miles later), to visit Tom and Pat on their last week of camp.

The next year, I too was working at the scout camp, along with our friend Mike Kemper. We decided to have the party again at the same spot, and so it began. This was where I met Phil, who had walked from Sonora with John Baird, who had assured Phil there would be food and beer at the end of the trail.

Year three found Kemper and Mike Williams working at the camp, so we did it again. By then, I had the feeling that a tradition was brewing. It was a three barrel affair.

Around year 7, Phil was bringing along a pretty good team of beer drinkers of his own, and the party grew to around 60 people. Thinking a group this size every year would start taking its toll on the environment, Phil started having his party on a different weekend, so for about three years, there was two Kegger Backpacks.

Twice, we have had to hold the party at an alternate spot. Once we were snowed out and held it 25 miles down the road at true island on the same river. We went back with a small party in August to the original spot (one keg affair). A few years ago, the big New Years rains washed out the road into the valley, so we held it at the public camp near the Boy Scout camp.

Many of the people you will be partying with this year have been on 10 or more of these parties. Several, I have known all my life. I look forward to this reunion with old friends each year, as well as to the opportunity to make new ones.

We aren't quite as wild as we used to be, but still party pretty well.

I am sure you will agree that this campsite is special. It has held up well over the years, and we do our best to leave it as clean as possible each year. In an effort to assure the spot we love stays the way we like it,
please observe the following rules of etiquette:

No smoking on the trails.
No fire arms.
Use latrine, or go at least 100' from the water for stools and bury all waste and TP.
Pack it in ­ Pack it out
Non-aggressive dogs only
Fires in existing fire areas only

See you there for some new memories and to create more history.

TOM

ps. See my "What to bring" list for ideas and equipment suggestions.

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