In 2026 Troop 166 will celebrate its 70th year as a Scout Troop.
We are a scout group focused on inclusivity and opportunity. Being Scout-led is fundamental. Scouts choose monthly overnight outings and organize the group to explore and enjoy the outdoors, from 50 mile backpacking trips, to horseback riding, to making and sleeping in snow caves. We love the outdoors and teaching and learning the skills to safely enjoy it together.
In this Troop, we don’t just talk about monthly outings and long term hikes – we really go. Our scouts really do run things (like this website) – and sometimes that can be a problem – but we scouts really do run almost everything.
Troop 066 was founded when BSA allowed girls to be Scouts in 2019. While technically separate, all meetings and Troop events and activities are run with 166 and 066 Scouts as equal members. So far, every graduate of 066 has reached Eagle.
- Scouts do, adults coach. Leadership cannot be lectured about successfully – it needs to be learned through experience. It is often easier for adults to do things themselves, but if they do, the Scouts don’t learn. We believe in mentoring.
- The troop is run by an elected Senior Patrol Leader and their assistants. The rest of the scouts are divided into patrols, and each has a leader and an assistant. Together with a Scribe, Historian, Quartermaster, Bugler, Librarian, Webmaster (that’s me!) and the other ‘officers’, this group makes up the Patrol Leader’s Council (PLC). The PLC meets monthly to plan the troop’s activities. Elections are held three times each year in October, February, and June.
- We maintain positive traditions like going on Long Term Outings, monthly Outings, being competitive at Camporees, etc.
- We turn out a good many Eagles, and the younger scouts look to them for guidance on how to behave, and what to aspire to.
Weekly Meetings & Courts of Honor
- During the school year, we meet every Monday night at Wedgwood Elementary School, except on school holidays – in which case we meet at Wedgwood Presbyterian Church. On the Monday after an outing, there is no regular troop meeting, but there is a Patrol Leader Council meeting where the Scout Leadership meets to plan the next month’s activities.
- Three times a year we have Courts of Honor – where we meet at the Church and present awards, install new leaders, show slides, and eat things (way too much dessert).
- Please look at our Outings Page and calendar
- We really do go somewhere overnight every month. The Scouts’ Patrol Leader Council (PLC) plans an array of destinations so that we mix in backpacking trips, with car camps, and biking trips. Some outings are tougher than others. Sometimes we stay in cabins or shelters, and sometimes we camp out in tents or under the stars. The troop policy generally is to not repeat monthly outing locations over a 7 year span. Thus a scout will go to a different place every month during their time with the troop. Of course, the PLC can vote to override this if there is an outing they wish to repeat before 7 years has elapsed. It’s their vote that decides.
- The PLC outlines priorities, the adult outdoor committee comes up with suggested destinations, and the PLC then reviews them and tweaks it to their liking. Then the scout leader and a parent volunteer (“sponsor”) produce a trip bulletin, and arrange the logistics to go.
- Over the course of several years, we mix in a diverse range of geographic destinations from Oregon to Canada with a lot in Washington.
- We develop the skills necessary to have fun safely and really stretch the scouts – backpacking, hiking, camping, canoeing, survival skills, winter camping, ETC.
- We have at least one – and on occasion two – long term outings each year. We alternate a long term hike with a canoe trip, and throw in a long bike trip every couple of years too. After Camp these long term outings are probably the single most memorable activity we engage in, and the fact that we go on these every year differentiates our troop from many others. There is nothing like seeing a young scout on the last few days of a 60-mile hike through North Cascades Wilderness where they have struggled and risen above their self-imposed limitations.
- As we describe in Costs and Fund Raising, it does cost money to fund the activities of a scout. To reduce (some of) these costs, develop speaking and selling skills, and to increase appreciation of responsibility we conduct several fund raisers each year, and we expect all the Scouts – and parents – to participate to the greatest extent possible.
- While few parents relish this kind of activity – the learning is there for the Scouts, and the Troop spends the money on subsidizing summer Camp and monthly Outings. So the Scouts’ fund raising is really for themselves. We currently sell Brown Bear car wash tickets in the fall and Cedar Grove compost in the spring.
- We need our parents (or guardians, or other adult members of scouts families) to be involved. Adults are needed to drive for Outings, and some are needed to attend outings. Adults ‘sponsor’ Outings – which only means that they do the tasks that Scouts can’t do like obtaining permits or reservations. There are also a number of other jobs which you can ask the Troop Committee Chair about.
- Any interaction with Scouts requires two deep communication (no Scout alone with a non-family member) and all adults attending Outings much be registered with the troop and complete a short, online, Scouting America Youth Protection Training course and be approved by Scouting America.
- All of our leaders are trained by the Scouting America, and we encourage as many parents as can spare the time to get trained as well. Training the leaders and the parents means that the leadership remains dynamic and in-touch, the programs work better, and continuity is maintained.
- Scout leaders go to clinics and training sessions when they lack knowledge on a particular subject.
- Service is integral to Scouting and to advance there are service hour requirements for each level. Scouts in our troop do not struggle to find opportunities for meeting those requirements.
- Each year the Troop participates in several service projects as a group. They usually take place on weekends, but can happen after school. We rake leaves for the church that is our sponsoring organization, for example. To earn a “50 Miler Award” the Scouts must not only hike or canoe over 50 miles, they must also perform 10 hours of service – like clearing brush from wilderness trails. The Troop traditionally makes one Outing to Camp Parsons for a weekend of service during the school year.
- Every Eagle Scout must create, organize, and execute a material service project. One of their tasks is to recruit members of their troop to assist them to get the project done. The Scouts are expected to support the projects of their fellow Scouts – and in return they can expect support when it is their turn.