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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Since You Asked: Dock will return to Lost Creek Lake ramp ... Governor Kate Brown reflects on 'unexpected' first year, future agenda ... Chetco ocean 'bubble' fisheries could be halved ... Since You Asked: Dock will return to Lost Creek Lake ramp ... Governor Kate Brown reflects on 'unexpected' first year, future agenda ... Chetco ocean 'bubble' fisheries could be halved ... MY ADVENTURE Scouting the Castle Crags Comment By Kelly L. Anderson for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Kelly L. Anderson for the Mail Tribune Posted Nov. 20, 2015 at 2:00 AM Updated Nov 20, 2015 at 9:58 AM By Kelly L. Anderson for the Mail Tribune Posted Nov. 20, 2015 at 2:00 AM Updated Nov 20, 2015 at 9:58 AM --> SHARE YOUR ADVENTURE The Mail Tribune wants to share your adventure. We’re looking for accounts of hikes, climbs, river runs, fishing trips, bike rides, ocean outings, cam... » Read more X SHARE YOUR ADVENTURE The Mail Tribune wants to share your adventure. We’re looking for accounts of hikes, climbs, river runs, fishing trips, bike rides, ocean outings, camping trips, wildlife encounters and anything else you’ve done outdoors. Email your story (and pictures if you have them) to Mail Tribune features editor David Smigelski at [email protected] . » Social News For many years I served as a Boy Scout leader. Almost every month, regardless of weather, I took my two oldest sons and other boys their age backpacking into remote mountain areas for overnight or multiday camping trips. We backpacked in rain, snow, sunshine and darkness in the Marble Mountain and Russian wilderness areas in Northern California, as well as in the Sky Lakes, Mountain Lakes, Kalmiopsis, Diamond Lake and Red Butte wilderness areas of Southern Oregon. By 2003, my two oldest sons had graduated high school, but I continued to serve as a scoutmaster because I enjoyed taking the scouts into remote areas. I now included my 9-year-old on these trips. In May 2003, I invited the scouts to hike into the Castle Crags of Northern California, having viewed these crags from Interstate 5 many times in my travels. Only one scout-aged boy was interested. Believing that it is best never to cancel a promised camping trip, I took that Scout, my 9-year-old son, and another adult and headed out on a Friday evening after school. We arrived at the trailhead at about 9 p.m., put on our backpacks and headlamps, and began hiking in total darkness, having never been in the area before. Using a map and a well-maintained trail, we finally found a flat spot large enough to pitch our tents at about 1 a.m. We rose the next morning to spectacular beauty. I took a picture after showing our group how to filter water that had gathered in pockets in the rocks not far from Castle Dome. When we got back home, I placed various photographs of this camping trip on poster boards where the other scouts could see them. When I announced a hike to the Castle Crags a few months later, we had 13 scouts eager to go. Eleven years later, in 2014, my then 20-year-old son, Jesse, and one of my daughters joined me in climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa. Jesse Andersen is now serving as a forward observer in the 10th Mountain Division of the United States Army. Kelly L. Anderson lives in Medford. By Kelly L. Anderson for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Kelly L. Anderson for the Mail Tribune Posted Nov. 20, 2015 at 2:00 AM Updated Nov 20, 2015 at 9:58 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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