Holly Springs, NC
Last weekend from Friday June 10th to Sunday, June 12th troop 2019 went backpacking at Eno river state park! we crossed a wobbly bridge to get over the river and ended up hiking 6 miles! we also helped the environment by picking up trash along the river. While we picked up trash we identified plants as well as animals, had lunch, learned how to filter water and took five gallons back to the campsite! it was so heavy that to make it easier we built an A- frame. We had an amazing time!
After over a year and a half, Philmont is finally here! Philmont is one of BSA’s high adventure outings where scouts go backpacking in the backcountry of New Mexico’s Rocky Mountains for 12 days. We had 5 scouts and 4 scoutmasters go and they returned with many stories to tell about their adventures, the animals they saw, and some of the weather they encountered!
July 4th is coming! To help serve the communinty the scouts volunteered to help place American flags around town!
Saturday morning from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm scouts hosted a car wash station at Sunrise UMC. Scouts started off with washing the Scoutmaster’s car and the pace quickly picked up as passerby’s started to come. Scouts had a great time and a good laugh rotating through the stations and raised lots of money for the troop through donations! A big thank you to pizza for providing us with lunch!
On Sunday scouts were given the opportunity to experience some of what scuba diving is like! Scouts wore the gear into the pool and got to spend an hour breathing underwater and playing games in the shallow end of the pool! This event has inspired many scouts to want to become certified in scuba! A big Thank You to Gypsy Divers for hosting this event and teaching us how to use the gear!
From 9am-11am scouts were given the opportunity to come to the church and work on requirements and earn the totin chit! The newer scouts also learned how to set up a Hercules and as an added bonus got donuts and a chance to play Wave. Shoutout to the Phoenix Patrol Leader for doing a great job organizing and running this event!
Working on the Physical Fitness Merit Badge
It’s that time of year! Every year in order for scouts to participate in aquatic activities they must pass the BSA Swim Test. Don’t let the name scare you, the test is only a safety precaution to make sure everyone is safe and enjoys themselves in aquatic activities! Scouts also got the bonus of completing Second Class requirements 5b, 5c, and 5d, where they learn the various ways to perform rescues on someone in the water!
Post Test!
Every year Troop 2019 goes on a backpacking trip to give scouts the opportunity to see what it’s like. Our favorite location is Raven Rock, were scouts will hike into the campsite then go to explore the nearby river! Over the 3 day (2 night) backpacking trip the scouts hiked a total of 20 miles, some with and some without their backpacks. This was a first experience for many scouts and a great practice for those going to Philmont this summer!
In April we had a lot of new scouts join our troop, and decided to host a Trail to First Class campout! At this campout we teach the basic skills of scouting and complete most of the requirements through First Class. In the morning we did requirement stations, then in the afternoon we played games, went on a hike, and closed with a great campfire ceremony, led by one of the scouts for the Communications merit badge!
Scouts practicing!
In March our troop decided to offer scouts with a different experience, varying from our usual campouts. Managed by one of our Life Scouts, we did a horseback ridding experience at Horses for Hope! Scouts learned how to care for the horses, properly clean the tools, and how to saddle them up! They also got to go for a trail ride through the woods! A big thank you to Horses for Hope for making this possible!!
