Troop 3 Easton’s go-to destination for introductory backpacking trips is Wharton State Forest, located in the Pine Barrens region of southern New Jersey. The park office can be found at 31 Batsto Road, Hammonton, NJ.
Wharton State Forest offers easy access, flat terrain, and an excellent backpacking campground.
Check out this year’s trek to Wharton State Forest:
What’s different about an introductory backpacking trip?
An introductory backpacking trip is meant for scouts and leaders with minimal (or no) backpack packing experience. The goal of the trip is to get folks familiar with the basics of backpacking. To do that we:
- Explain the essential backpacking gear
- Teach how to pack a backpack correctly and efficiently
- Learn basic trail way finding and map reading
- Learn how to wear a backpack with minimal strain
- Learn how to wear hiking boots properly
- Learn how to stay organized while backpacking
- Identify potential physical hazards (blisters, chaffing, ticks, sunburn, etc.) and how to prevent and treat them.
- Introduce basic trail cooking skills including how to use a backpacking stove
- Camp overnight in backpacking tents
Given these tasks, we avoid high-intensity trails in favor of easy hikes with lots of opportunities for breaks. We focus on making sure that backpacks fit correctly, and that everyone is comfortable on the trail. That helps build skills and confidence for longer, more difficult backpacking trips.
Why Wharton State Forest?
This trip marked our fourth trek to Wharton State forest, which is located in Hammonton, NJ, within the Pine Barrens region of southern New Jersey.
Why do we backpack in Wharton State Forest?
- It’s flat. The Pine Barrens feature lots of pine trees, lots of sand, and flat terrain. It makes for an easy hike without lots of hills or rocks (basically, it’s the opposite of the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania.
- It’s warmer. We typically do our introductory backpacking trip between mid-March and mid-April, which is either late winter or early spring. Southern New Jersey has a milder climate than the Lehigh Valley and snow is typically not a problem.
- We know the trail. Our preferred trail is the Mullica River Trail (yellow blaze), which runs 9.4 miles from Historic Batso Village to Atsion Recreation Area. It’s a beautiful, easy-to-hike trail that parallels the river.
- We know the campground. At the half-way point on the trail is the Mullica River campground, which has easy access to water (potable water when the well is available, river water filtered through backpacking pumps when it’s not) and pit toilets (aka outhouses).
For most of our trips, we do an out-and-back hike in which we start at Batso Village or Atsion, hike to the campground, camp overnight, and then return to our starting point. The hike ends up being about 5 miles each way. Because of the length, it’s also a prime hike for satisfying Second Class Requirement 5b: Using a compass and map together, take a 5-mile hike (or 10 miles by bike) approved by your adult leader and your parent or guardian.
Troop Gear
Troop 3 maintains a collection of backpacking gear specifically so that new scouts can learn how to go backpacking without having to buy a ton of equipment. Thanks in part to a grant from Cabela’s, the troop has the following gear available for scouts to borrow:
- 70 liter internal-frame backpacks
- Two-person backpacking tents
- Cold weather sleeping bags
- Sleeping pads
In addition, the troop provides “crew gear” used by everyone on the trek:
- A bear bag
- Backpacking stoves
- Water filtering backpacking pumps
- Water purification tablets
- Dining fly and stakes
The troop backpacks are the light blue ones being worn by the scout (center) and leader (right).
Boy Scout Scout Troop 3 Easton 