Official Invite: Nayatt Pack 1 Prudence Island Trip

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Nayatt Pack I

Prudence Island Day Trip

When: 9:30 AM ferry departure from Bristol

Where: Prudence Island Ferry landing, Thames Street Bristol RI

Please join us for the most intrepid day trip, Nayatt, Pack I, ever has ever planned!

9:00 AM – Meet at Barrington Shaw’s at access to East Bay Bike Path on bicycles to bike down to Bristol ferry landing. (Carpooling with packed bicycles on board to Bristol is discouraged as parking is limited)

9:30 AM- Take the Prudence Island Ferry over to Prudence Island

10:00 AM- Land at Prudence - scouts and parents bike down to the South End, State Park.

Base Camp will be set up as command center. Scouts and leaders will be free to bike and explore the South End, State Park, or play ball, Frisbee, etc.

12:00 noon - Lunch of hot dogs and water (bring other beverage preferences on your own) at base camp

2:30 PM- Scouts will assemble at Base Camp, pack up and head back to the Prudence Island Ferry Landing for a 3:00 ferry back to Bristol

3:30 PM Scouts arrive back in Bristol.

What to Bring:

Mountain bike or suitable touring bike

Back-pack

Foul weather jacket

Extra sweatshirt

(Hint, if it doesn’t fit in your back pack, don’t bring it)

• Pack leaders recommend wearing long sleeve shirt and pants on this trip to limit exposure to insects or poison ivy/sumac/oak.

Pack will bring:

(2) Vehicles to carry gear, tent, first aid kit, bicycle repair equipment with air pump

(1) Big tent as basic shelter (if we get a passing shower).

Hot dogs, water

Important Notes:

Family members are invited, though siblings younger than Tiger age are discouraged from attending as the trip length may be more difficult than they can handle.

Parents and scouts will need to travel light and quickly at certain points of the trip. Getting 80-100 scouts, parents and bikes on and off the Prudence Island Ferry will take quite a bit of focus and concentration to assure safety and comfort.

The Captain of the Ferry has been very accommodating to our group but we will need to follow his instructions very carefully.

We look forward to introducing everyone to the rich history and wilderness that lies, right in our back yard that few have explored!

Prudence Island TRIP: April 26th (Sunday) AM

Nayatt Pack One is Going to Prudence Island on April 26!


This should be a fun, new event that we haven't done before. This is a whole day trip that will involve biking, exploring and having a great time!

We’ll be leaving from the Prudence Island Ferry at 9:30 am on April 26th. Many of us are planning on riding there on the bike path from Shaw’s in Barrington. You’re welcome to start in other places as well (i.e. Colt State Park), or go ahead and Park in Bristol. A Sunday morning might be okay for parking in Bristol – but they are tough and love to ticket!

Greg Voight and Andy Soutter will announce the cost, but it shouldn’t be more than $10.00 without a car on the ferry. We’re going just for the day. Out on the morning ferry and back on the evening ferry (at this time of year there are only two). We will be back by 3 or so in Bristol. Some of us may even stop in at Grey’s Ice Cream just down on the water!

We'll set up a base camp at the Park, have some food. Remember, many of us will just be on bikes (although we will have a truck for the gear), so bring what you want to carry in a backpack!

Lets hope we see some seals as well. They should still be out

Prudence Island is located in the geographic center of Narragansett Bay. The island is approximately 7 miles long and 1 mile across at its widest point.

Prudence Island also supports one of the most dense white-tailed deer herds in New England.
Raccoons, squirrels, Eastern red fox, Eastern cottontail rabbits, mink, and white-footed mice are plentiful. The large, salt marshes at the north end of Prudence are used as feeding areas by a number of large wading birds such as great and little blue herons, snowy and great egrets, black-crowned night herons, green-backed herons and glossy ibis. Between September and May, Prudence Island is also used as a haul-out site for harbor seals.

Prudence was acquired from the Indians by Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island and until the 1800’s it was not used for a great deal besides farming. The cool stuff did not start until the Second World War (WWII). That’s when the US Army based a camp there and the Navy based a Mgazine there. It was abandoned in 1947 and given to the State of Rhode Island as a reserve. People still live there today, but 70% of it is a reserve.

The Park we’re going to is going to be a blast for biking and exploring for the scouts. There are deer there and as a result, ticks. The DEM team has given us some of what they use and if we all practice safe biking, dressing (long pants, long sleeves) it should be a blast.

Mr Soutter will tell us all about it at our next meeting. We look forward to seeing you there! Find out more about it at this link:
http://www.nbnerr.org/reserve.htm