Often, Boy Scouts work toward earning a bevy of merit badges, but a group of about 20 Scouts from Troop 384 in Temecula recently set their sights higher.
They earned the Historic Trails Award, considered a rare feat among Boy Scout ranks, by cleaning and hiking parts of the Santa Margarita River Watershed over a weekend in May.
It's estimated that only about 5 percent of Scouts earn the award, said Michele Smith, the troop's conservation and service projects coordinator.
"They had to camp out there for two nights and work out there for eight hours," she said. "They had to provide their own cooking, create their own little porta-potties. There was no bathrooms, no running water."
Troop 384 is working to adopt and improve several square miles of the watershed just southwest of Temecula, and the mid-May effort launched that larger undertaking, she said.
"It's really about creating a legacy for our community," Smith said. "We are not looking at this as a one-time, little community service project. We want our boys to learn to love this piece of land. It's a little piece of wild frontier that our boys can get their hands on."
To earn the award, Scouts must locate and study a historic trail, hike or camp along the trail for two days, and work to mark off or restore the trail.
On May 22, the Boy Scouts worked to re-create a pathway toward an old, barely-there brick house that belonged to conservationist Murray Schloss, who died in 1927 and bequeathed about 2,140 acres of the watershed to San Diego State University. The Boy Scouts pulled weeds, removed large sticks and debris, filled sandbags and laid stone steps and markers to complete the project, Smith said.
The following day, the boys hiked the area for miles.
Smith said she hopes the troop undertakes more projects in the area, including helping to preserve what's left of the Schloss home and restore a defunct portable classroom nearby.
She also spoke of lengthy hikes down the river and archeological digs at the site, which is currently closed to the public.
"San Diego State University would like to see it as a place people can access," Smith said. "I think eventually they'd like it to have the same function as the Santa Rosa Plateau, with an ecological center and learning opportunities for kids."
Troop 384 is sort of adopting the area to help meet that goal, Smith said. It not only helps the community, but it gives the Scouts a sense of accomplishment, and helps them truly understand conservationism, she said.
"We are talking about creating a living classroom up there," she said. "It's about conserving land, but also finding a better reuse of the land."
