Pioneering is the ability to create camp gadgets and structures using poles and rope. It’s one of the oldest Scouting skills in the Handbook, and remains a significant Trail to First Class requirement. Tying knots and lashings is more than historical "bushcraft", as scouts practice physics, geometry, math and engineering when building construction projects. Pioneering …
Tyler’s Eagle Project
Hello! I am a Life Scout of Boy Scout Troop 115. Troop 115 is sponsored by St. Joseph Marello Catholic Church. I am the first Eagle Scout Candidate from the Troop. I wanted my Eagle Project to help our sponsored organization, so I will be creating a prayer garden on the back side of the church. …
Learning About Leadership
"Learning About Leadership" is adapted from Patrol and Troop Leadership, the handbook on leadership development written for Patrol Leaders and published by the Boy Scouts of America in 1972. Why Leadership? In most football teams the quarterback is the team leader. Why is that? Is there something magic about the position? Does he automatically become the leader …
Scoutmaster’s Minute: On Climbing Mountains
I’ve been climbing mountains since my first trip up Rabbit Peak in the Anza Borrego Desert as a young Boy Scout, where I learned that a summit view is worth miles of discomfort and sweat. There have been many peaks since including Mt. Whitney several times, which at 14,494 feet is the tallest summit in …
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What It Means to Be an Eagle Scout
Ray, Mark (2007, Jan-Feb). What It Means to Be an Eagle Scout. Scouting Magazine As a prisoner of war in Vietnam, Eagle Scout George Coker refused to write a statement denouncing America. And so he was forced to stand against a wall, arms over his head, for 13-hour stretches, day after day after day. Coker …
Beginning Backpack Info
Backpacking is one of those great Scouting activities that takes you places few people are willing to go. With all of your personal gear on your back, you have the freedom to explore the world's wild places. Traveling safely, in comfort, requires training and experience however! Working on the Backpacking Merit Badge is a good start. …
2017 American River Raft Trip
The scouts of Troop 115 experienced the larger-than-normal flows in the American River, following a record-breaking snow year. Everyone had a fantastic time in the South Fork Gorge, thanks to the experienced guides with American Whitewater Expeditions. The only complaints were that, with the faster water, the trip was over too soon! Everyone agreed however, …
Merit Badges
From "Merit Badges", in the Scouting.org Advancement and Awards pages: You can learn about sports, crafts, science, trades, business, and future careers as you earn merit badges. There are more than 135 merit badges, and any Boy Scout or Varsity Scout, or any qualified Venturer or Sea Scout may earn any of these at any …
Wilderness First Aid – What and Why?
From the Scouting.org Safety pages: What is it? Wilderness First Aid (WFA) is the assessment of and treatment given to an ill or injured person in a remote environment where definitive care by a physician and/or rapid transport is not readily available. A BSA-led task force has developed WFA doctrine and curriculum. You must be certified through …
Advancement Defined
From the 2015 Guide to Advancement (2.0.0.0 Section 2): Everything done to advance—to earn ranks and other awards and recognition—is designed to educate or to otherwise expand horizons. Members learn and develop according to a standard. This is the case from the time a member joins, and then moves through, the programs of Cub Scouting, …