We go somewhere every month!
Sometimes multiple somewheres! Recent Outings List
We plan at least one overnight Outing every month. Sometimes we have multi-day hikes, sometimes we ‘car-camp,’ sometimes we canoe, sometimes we bike, sometimes we have special Outings like staying overnight in the Submarine at OMSI. As a rule, the Troop does not repeat an event for seven years so the Scouts are always doing something new and different. The exceptions are Camporee, Camp Parsons, and the Parson’s Service Project. The calendar for the year is established at a meeting usually held in May to plan out the year from the next September
Every Outing and Event has an adult “Sponsor” to take the point on that Event for site-coordination/reservations, communication, distributing and collecting forms, etc. Being an Event Sponsor is a great way for an adult to contribute/volunteer that doesn’t take a lot of time or special experience, but is an important job!
Prior to an outing Scouts need to sign-up to participate in an Outing, by submitting a permission-slip (with healthcare information in case of emergency) and the Trip fee. Upcoming Outings are listed in the newsletter and the sponsor usually sends out an email and announces the next outing at the regular Monday night meetings. Depending on the event, announcements may only happen a few weeks prior, or sometimes months in advance (especially for events crossing the Canadian Border.) This is also the time for adults to sign up to join the outing and/or to drive the Scouts to and from the Outing. We like to have parents participate in the Outings even if it’s just ‘tag along’ to see what Outings are like. The hardest part for most adults is leaving the work to the Scouts!
At the meeting(s) just prior to an outing, Scouts often have activities to get ready for the outing, and at the very least get announcements about any special equipment required and expected. Remember with our “Scout-Led” philosophy and our Patrol-Method that a lot of this information is passed from the Senior Patrol Staff (Scouts) to the Patrol leaders, and then to the Patrol Members. Patrols are responsible for planning their food/cooking, and patrol equipment lists prior to the outing. Ideally there is a patrol meeting the week before the outing to plan meals and assign jobs and equipment for the outing.
Not including Summer Camp, there are four kinds of Outings:
* Camporee is a District-wide group camping weekend in May that lasts from Friday to Sunday. Usually the 3rd weekend in May
* Monthly outings are typically one night and can be backpacking hikes, bike trips, car camps, rafting, horeseback riding, or service projects. There is always one snow camping outing planned. These happen in every month except May, July, and August when we have Camporee, Camp Parsons, and the Long-Term Outing.
* Long-Term outings – usually canoe or backpacking, and less often biking. These happen each summer usually in August.
Long Term Outings are generally 50-mile events and take roughly a week to complete. The youngest scouts generally do not go because the physical demands are rigorous (but not impossible). Completing a 50-mile hike over the Olympic Mountains or paddling a canoe 50 miles is a life changing event, so these are strongly recommended once the scout is up to the challenge. Long-term outings cost more than a normal outing – mostly for food and permits.
* National or International Jamborees are not something this Troop has participated in with any degree of regularity. If a group were to form that wanted to go on one, they would be responsible for raising the funding for it separately from the Troop Budget, but the Troop would provide all the assistance it could.
