As a troop in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, we have many options for outdoor adventure within an hour or so of home, and the Crooked Lakes Trail to Penner Lake is a good 
first-time backpack for new scouts. It’s an easy 3 miles from the Carr-Feeley trailhead to Penner, with a quick 250 feet of elevation gain the last half mile. The reward for the scouts is a gorgeous Sierra lake full of trout.
Patrol Renovatio decided this would be a good hike on which to fulfill some of the Backpacking Merit Badge requirements, learn what it’s like to carry a campsite on your back, and see if they could catch any fish.
Everyone had a great time, including Scout Mark who proclaimed “this was our best trip yet!!”
BSA Troop 115 