Carson City teen earns Eagle Scout rank following Washoe Lake State Park tower refurbishment service project
Becoming an Eagle Scout is no small feat, as only approximately 6 percent of Boy Scouts will move up to the highest rank within the scouting hierarchy.
However, Carson City native and Bishop Manogue Catholic High School Senior Owen Hickenbottom will now be awarded the rank of Eagle Scout thanks to his service project achieved by the troop at Washoe Lake State Park.
The observation tower known as the Stair Viewing Tower is located on the south end of Washoe State Park within the Wetlands Loop trail, and the scouts worked tirelessly to refurbish the tower.
Hickenbottom, who is 17 and a member of Boy Scout Troop 16 in Carson City, chose the Stair Viewing Tower as his project because of the deck’s importance to wildlife enthusiasts who come to photograph and view the Virginia Range wild horses and migratory birds, as well as those who wish to simply taken int he scenic lake and valley views.
“While we were working on the project, we noticed all the visitors that stop at the park and use the observation tower,” said Eileen O’Grady, Hickenbottom’s mother.
Hickenbottom worked alongside Jennifer Dawson, the Washoe Lake State Park supervisor.
As part of the project, Hickenbottom planned the project and supervised its execution, as well as performing the work on the project with the volunteers that he organized.
“The observation tower, which was built in the late 1990s, was in desperate need of maintenance — the decking was old and falling apart, the sagging stairs needed to be reset, and there were lots of splinters on the handrails,” O’Grady said.
The project involved removing the decking from the upper and lower decks and replacing it with new, upgraded decking material, sanding down the deck rails and replacing the handrails, resetting the stairs and placing new decking material on them, before the entire structure was stained anew.
The project only took two days in its entirety, which began on Oct. 22.
Volunteers from Troop 16 were a tremendous help in completing the project, including members Hank Cook, Nik Dzyak and Ryder Kiel and their parents (Scoutmaster John and Sheri Cook, J.P. and Brenda Kiel, Karen Dzyak), Todd Mathieson and Owen’s parents Bart Hickenbottom and Eileen O’Grady.
For more information on the location of the Wetlands Loop, and the Washoe Lake State Park in general, click here.
Photo Caption: Bottom row: Hank Cook, Owen Hickenbottom and Ryder Kiel; middle row: John Cook and Bart Hickenbottom; top row: J.P. Kiel, Todd Mathieson (troop member Nik Dzyak wasn’t available for the photo.)
If you are interested in seeing the new and improved tower, you can access the Wetlands Loop trail off of East Lake Boulevard on the south end of the lake.