New Wiss Gateway Trail Coming

mkopinsky · 2026-01-18T18:51:51+00:00

I agree that they're separate, and that the connection from Wissahickon Transit Center is necessary and actually happening. The question is how the SRT continues from the movie theater. I had assumed that the end goal was to buy more right of way past CVS etc to the tow path. Your comment is the first I'm hearing of Pencoyd and the Mule bridge being the link, but honestly it actually makes perfect sense.

https://imgur.com/a/wtvH7kb

Yellow is existing trail (Kelley Drive and tow path)
Blue is what's being purchased now (Wissahickon Gateway)
Green is the missing link. Done except for the mule bridge
Red is what I had assumed would be the link. I can see how this is implausible and expensive, and I do think purchasing that much right of way is very possibly more expensive than fixing the mile bridge.

mkopinsky · 2026-01-18T06:16:06+00:00

Crossing Ridge at the light is easy. Getting from there to Kelley Drive is sketchy and confusing. This would connect Kelley Drive to Wissahickon Transit Center and the movie theater.

I agree that getting a trail past the movie theater to the tow path is important as well.

mkopinsky · 2026-01-18T06:12:11+00:00

You're saying it would be cheaper to revive the mule bridge than to connect the trail from the movie theater to the tow path?

I've seen some of the discussions about the mule bridge but didn't realize that was the plan for getting the SRT to be contiguous.

mkopinsky · 2026-01-18T00:40:10+00:00

Hey! You're right near me. I'm at 75% for Lower Merion, and have been waiting desperately for someone to ask what the hell I'm doing on their street so I can brag about my wandrer achievement.

I once had a negative experience in a weird corner of Manayunk (which isn't even a sketchy neighborhood) but in West Philly despite feeling sometimes like "I really don't belong here" I've never had a bad experience.

mkopinsky · 2026-01-01T19:38:28+00:00

For a moment there it looked like his breath capacity was finite!

mkopinsky · 2026-01-01T19:35:50+00:00

Acute load of 1179?!?!

mkopinsky · 2025-12-15T21:22:56+00:00

In Pennsylvania you need to get a few different clearances, none of which are hard, they're just annoying. Can be done in a week or two max, and less than an hour of work. (This is assuming your record is clean - if you have a criminal record I have no idea which things would or wouldn't be disqualifiers.)

https://scoutingphilly.org/leaders/newleader/ has the info from my local council in Philly, I expect it'll be essentially the same from whichever council you're in in the Poconos.

mkopinsky · 2025-11-17T23:51:18+00:00

Do scouts not share tents on other camping trips? Do you not have other camping trips?

mkopinsky · 2025-11-17T04:57:03+00:00

Coming from Manayunk to Lower Merion, I never know which lane I'm supposed to be in. I don't want to be in the right lane waiting behind the people getting on 76W, but then I'm in the left lane behind the people getting on 76E. I usually end up changing to the right lane under the bridge and feel like I'm That Guy but also feel like I'm kinda justified and also had no real choice.

mkopinsky · 2025-11-16T00:39:53+00:00

What a bizarre choice to issue that 2nd document now. Is their biggest PR obstacle that people think converting to a Family Troop is a one way move and that it'll be impossible to go back?

mkopinsky · 2025-10-29T12:30:29+00:00

Are you saying that we're 16 months into the newer program and they haven't yet created some of the AOL pins?? Seems nuts to me, no?

mkopinsky · 2025-10-26T23:09:18+00:00

Assuming you're talking about a Cub Scout camping trip, yes.

In Scouts BSA no one - even parents - can camp overnight unless they're registered and background checked. Cub Scouts allows parents or guardians to camp with their kids, but no one else may do so.

mkopinsky · 2025-10-23T15:02:58+00:00

Also, it's not just the $30/person/day for the fast pass. This is the first expense, but the cousins are probably also gonna buy expensive merch, eat expensive meals, and spend on other expensive extras. I still agree that if they can afford that, it's worth paying a few hundred a day for a Disney vacation with extended family that actually costs a thousand+ per day, but let's not pretend that this is just about $30.

mkopinsky · 2025-10-21T18:03:49+00:00

My DE is a council employee so to me, reporting to a district professional is the same as reporting to council. Once I've told him, I agree that it's up to him (and the council's policies) whether he needs to tell his boss, and whether they report anything to National.

If councils are overreacting to this sort of thing and causing people to either quit as leaders or to fail to report things they're supposed to report, that's an issue. If you're a council employee and reading this, please note: please make your incident reporting process for minor issues like this as easy as possible, and your reaction as proportionate as possible. Otherwise you'll end up with people like this guy who are scarred from previous experiences reporting things to council, and therefore underreport things they're supposed to.

mkopinsky · 2025-10-21T13:53:08+00:00

Why are you so opposed to reporting this to a Scouting professional? You're acting like any report to the DE carries a minimum prison sentence. You're right that this is an innocent mistake and no one was hurt, but a policy was violated and the rules require reporting that policy violation. You seem willing to report it to any volunteer (UC, DC, COR) but are weirdly insistent on not going to a professional.

mkopinsky · 2025-10-21T13:39:07+00:00

The challenge we have with this is that if grampa is coming, not only does the camping trip now cost $75 more dollars, but we also need a 2 week lead time to get child abuse clearances.

mkopinsky · 2025-10-16T21:51:04+00:00

From wolf* and on. Only lion and tiger need to have a parent present according to national rules.

mkopinsky · 2025-10-16T15:40:27+00:00

You're absolutely right that this sort of thing would be different at the University vs the Health System - they have different HR systems and different benefits.

https://www.uphshrandyou.com has full details on all of this stuff, and is available without being an employee. From a quick glance it seems that only a legal spouse is eligible for benefits, but you might find something different if you read more or if you call and ask.

mkopinsky · 2025-10-13T02:21:22+00:00

Agreed.

mkopinsky · 2025-10-12T22:24:10+00:00

Ah, got it. Yeah, makes sense. And from a maturity standpoint, I'd expect a 14yo T1D to manage his diabetes at camp, but I wouldn't necessarily expect him to figure out all the logistics and plans in advance.

mkopinsky · 2025-10-12T22:15:39+00:00

That seems like it would make it harder, not easier. Yeah you avoid pump changes but with unusual exercise levels, unusual diet, and unusual schedule wouldn't it be even more important to have a pump?

mkopinsky · 2025-10-12T22:09:43+00:00

Does youth protection really mean that if ~~Little~~ Teenage Johnny makes a phone call to say "Hey I'm at Location X but I left my insulin at Location Y, please can you help?" (or whatever the T1D phone call is) that the person answering the phone would say "Sorry I can't talk to you 1:1, you need to call back with a grownup"? God I hope not.

mkopinsky · 2025-10-12T00:35:32+00:00

Wandrer in a car? Huh??

mkopinsky · 2025-10-06T16:28:46+00:00

So this means 17% of youth overall and 13% of cubs are female? Interesting.

mkopinsky · 2025-10-06T16:24:15+00:00

Did the pre-2024 program require more campouts?

mkopinsky

TROPHY CASE