The troop had a great time at our third annual lock-in at Birmingham Boulders. We were able to welcome 7 new Weblos, and also had another new scout join the troop, Kinnen. In addition to climbing, we had a pull up ladder contest, played with nerf guns and had a fun game of capture the flag. Lights out was at midnight, and after a few scattered card games, most everyone drifted off to sleep. Here’s to a great 2019!

The troop had a great trip to the Pinhoti trail this weekend. We had 2 crews of 8-9 scouts, and 3 adults with each crew as we divided by rank and experience. Our younger guys had a six mile trek on Saturday, and our older scouts had a more strenuous 8 mile hike. Both crews met at McDill point before sunset, and woke up on Sunday and hiked out 2 miles as a troop. This was the first time for several scouts to go backpacking. Weather was almost perfect and dipped to lower 40”s at night. Scouts stayed warm by the campfire and played cards in their tents after enjoying the scenic overlooks. Everyone ate well and replenished calories with cheese, crackers and pepperoni at lunch. Dinner included yummy freeze-dried meals and breakfast included hot oatmeal, bacon and pop tarts. It was a beautiful weekend to be outside in the woods!

The troop had a great trip to Living River, a camp in Montevallo, located on the Cahaba river. After leaving the church on Saturday morning, we arrived to camp and quickly changed into swim suits and hit the river to work on our canoeing skills. We practiced paddling strokes, changing spots in the boat, entering and exiting the water, submerging our canoe and emptying it, and finally paddling a submerged canoe. We then portaged our canoes from the river to the lake, where we swam, fished and set up camp. We had leisurely morning with a full breakfast, before packing up and heading home!

The troop attended the Homewood city council meeting to complete a requirement for Citizenship in the Community merit badge. The troop heard several interesting discussions of sign variances, excessive growth properties and Brookwood Live approval.

Congrats to Noah, Sid and Ben for being newly inducted into the Order of the Arrow last weekend.