Boy Scouts from Ramona Head to Anza-Borrego for Historical Hike

Boys from Scout Troop 635 and their leaders were due to depart for Anza-Borrego Desert State Park late Friday afternoon for a 15-mile commemorative hike.

Their overnight hiking and camping trip will take them along a trail that parallels the Great Southern Overland Stage Route of 1849.

The hike commemorates the march into San Diego of the Mormon Battalion on Jan. 29, 1847. The battalion was a volunteer religious unit of more than 500 men, which served in the Mexican-American War. They were commanded by US Army officers. During their service, they made a strenuous hike from Iowa to San Diego, and it is this march that is commemorated.

The boys will follow a trail through Box Canyon and Blair Valley, near Scissors Crossing.

Jan. 29 was the official commemoration of Mormon Battalion Day, however Doug Ford, one of the troop leaders, said that there was a threat of lightning when they last tried to do the hike.

As they loaded their backpacks into the back of the truck, the boys said they were taking plenty of water for the desert hike. They plan to return Saturday night.