Troop 131,
I hope everyone had a great spring weekend!
For those going on the Climboree, see below for some important information.
FISHING TRIP- Recap
Wow, what a camping trip! Thank you to all the Scouts and Scouters who came out for the camping trip.
Let me start with a few reminders:
- Please do a Tick Check, they were certainly out there, and we had to remove a few in the field. They can latch anywhere, but in particular; under arms, groin and hairline.
- Clean and dry all your gear, especially your tents and sleeping bags.
- If you have troop gear (especially the patrol boxes) please pull everything out, clean it thoroughly, dry it and put it back in the bin. Just ask the Mustachio patrol what happened on this trip and when you don’t do this – mold is not your friend! Please also wipe down or clean the bottom of the bin. These bins are YOUR responsibility, please make sure they are in good shape for the next trip!
Let me thank Mr. Nguyen and Mr. Wells for a great afternoon of fishing. While we did not catch any big fish, we certainly caught plenty of little fish! Not only did the Scouts catch fish while we were at Lake Thompson, they also had a great time learning and refreshing their fishing skills – enough so (unlike last year) we did not end up with a single case of hooked fingers! At the completion of the camping trip and during our normal start, stop, repeat session- there were plenty of requests to repeat the fishing trip!
This was a “three-season” camping trip, with just about everything with respect to weather; rain, mist, sun (with sunburns), wind and finally cold. These are tough trips to pack for, but as a reminder, please look at the weather and be prepared. There were certainly some cold scouts last night and this morning because they did not pack the right gear!
A special, call out to the hike in crew, who (with full packs) hiked over 2K in elevation and in a 5-hour period! Thank you to Mr. Grocki for guiding us through this hike. It was a great way to knock the rust off and hopefully our sore legs are a good reminder that we need more of these kinds of hikes if we want to be ready for Philmont in 2026!
Like all camping trips there were highs and lows. Unfortunately, one low was the dinner cooking on Saturday night. Hopefully you all learned a good lesson on the need to start cooking early and with urgency! Clean-up (boiling water and the three bucket method) is just as important as cooking. Start both early, because cleaning up in the dark (as you learned) is not fun. I would say that breakfast this morning was much better (although there is room for improvement) and I am proud of how you recovered.
For those that don’t know, the troop has a Facebook page. Mr. Nguyen posted a bunch of photos of the fishing portions- see link below.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/315489231900796
If you would like to join this page, let me know and I will add you.
And finally, I will end by thanking Aspen and Lady (aka the dogs) who were great mascots for the troop and fulfilled the critical and dual role being both tick magnets and bear repellent all at the same time!
TROOP MEETING
We will have a Troop meeting at 7:30PM this Monday at Immanuel Church on the Hill! As always, the leadership group will have a good meeting plan, however, this is a great time to bring back your gear to the shed and work on advancement.
If you would like to work on your fishing merit badge, come and ask me for a blue card then ask either Mr. Wells Mr. Nguyen if they would be your counselor.
GABE MULDOON – EAGLE PROJECT
See the link and note below from Gabe. This is the same weekend as the Sea Base Car wash, so hopefully you can help with the car wash in the morning and then shift to the afternoon for Gabe’s Eagle Project!
Hello Troop 131,
For my Eagle Project, we will be doing trail maintenance on the Woodlot Trail at Oxen Hill Farm. We will pick up trash and clear debris from the trail, repaint and add more tree blazes, and repair and paint a wooden bridge that crosses the trail. Please bring water, closed-toed shoes, clothes to work in, and sunscreen if necessary. Donuts, coffee, and water will all be provided. Thank you all for your support.
Thank you for your time.
Gabe
BIKING TRIP-Shakedown ride- next week.
In preparation for the biking trip, Mr. Grocki is organizing a shake-down ride this coming Saturday. All can attend (even if you are not going on the upcoming camping trip) and this is a good way to make sure both your biking legs and bike are in good working order. The ride will be in the morning and there will be more information to come on the meeting point, length and destination!
BIKING TRIP- MAY
We have 14 scouts who signed up for this trip and rain or shine we are going to make this happen!
See the message below from Mr. Mulvaney, please sign up! There will be a shake-down ride the weekend before for those that are interested!
Who: Everyone with a sense of adventure who loves the outdoors (i.e. SCOUTS!!!!)
What: Riding into the sunset (or at least along the canal)
When: SAT 10 May – Sun 11 May 2025 (Just Sat & Sun this month!)
Where: C&O Canal
Why: Let’s Ride!
Cost: $20 Each
And there is a Biking Merit Badge (https://www.scouting.org/merit-badges/cycling/)
Sign up at: https://forms.gle/d7FtXj7gR87E9S4HA
Easiest way to make payment for this or other Scout events is Zelle:
Name: TreasurerT131
Email: Treasurer@T131.Org
When making payment via Zelle, please be sure to add a note telling us what the payment is for; alternately, you can send a separate email.
-Brendan Mulvaney
CLIMBOREE – OCTOBER
It looks like we have about 20 scouts signed up, which is a good number and should be fun. Can we ask that you please make your payment to the troop ($45) as possible as this is a pre-pay event and the troop covers the cost (over $1,000 in total), until we receive payments- it adds up quickly!
Parents, right now I think we have 4 (maybe 5) adults who are staying, so we will certainly need to exercise the option for parents to drive. The event is in Morgantown WV (about 4 hours away) so if you are driving, this would be a great event to stay and camp. Camp Mountaineer is large and beautiful, plus there are fun activities for adults. With so many new scouts going, having a few other adults on hand to help manage/shepherd the boys would be advisable!
SERVICE- ALIVE
Some of you may recall, but last year some of the older scouts (14 and older) and parents were able to help our Sponsor (Immanuel Church-on-the-Hill) with furniture delivery for Alive. The church has been asked to do this again on Saturday, May 10. This is the same weekend as the Biking trip, so I am hoping that a few of you strong folks (who are not going on the biking trip) can help. Please email Service@t131.org if you can as we certainly want to support the Church!
CAR WASH- SEA BASE- Saturday May 17th from 9:30 to 1:00
The car wash returns and Mr. Mills will reprise his role as our Car Wash Leader. Outside of having lots of fun this is a great fundraiser for the troop and this year the proceeds will be used to pay for travel and T-shirt costs for the trip. Hopefully we can outdo our haul from last year of over $1600! All Seabase scouts are expected to be there, however, I know they would appreciate help from their troop mates, so please come and support them!
SWIM TEST- Goshen and Sea Base – Monday May 19th
Like we did in previous year, Mr. Dalton has organized a trip to Chinquapin Park Req. Center instead of our normal meeting. We will conduct BSA swimming tests and in preparation for Summer Camp. Unlike previous years (where this was just practice), we now have registered BSA lifeguards who will be able to sign off on any scouts prior to Goshen so that (in theory) you don’t have to take the swim test again there. I say in theory, because each Aqua director has their own standards and may for any reason require all the scouts to re-do their test. Swimming in a lake is very different (aka harder) than your local pool, so the evaluation will be to a strict standard. Even if you are not a good swimmer, please come out and get some practice in, the goal is for you to get better.
For the Sea Base crew, you will stay longer, and we are going to ask you to swim some laps and practice different strokes. We are trying to build up your strength and skill before the trip. We are also going to see if they will let us bring your masks and snorkels, so you can practice with them a bit as well. More to come on this.
SCHEDULE: One Month(ish) Look Ahead
Monday, April 28th – Troop Meeting – 7:30 PM – Immanuel Church on the Hill
Saturday, May 3rd – Biking Trip Shakedown Ride – Alexandria VA
Monday, May 5th – Troop Meeting (PLC) – 7:30 PM – Immanuel Church on the Hill
Saturday May 10th – Alive Service Project
Saturday May 10th – 11th -Biking Trip – C&O Canal
Monday, May 12th – Troop Meeting (BoR) (PLC) – 7:30 PM – Immanuel Church on the Hill
Saturday May 17th – Sea Base Car Wash – Fundraiser – 9:30-1:00 – Immanuel Church on the Hill
Saturday May 17th – Gabe Muldoon Eagle Project
Monday, May 19th – Swim Test – 7:30 PM – Chinquapin Park Req. Center
Monday, May 26th – No Troop Meeting- Federal Holiday
Sunday, June 1st – Scout Skill Sunday – 1:00-4:00 – Immanuel Church on the Hill
Wednesday, June 4th – Eagle Workshop – 7:30 PM – TBD
Friday June 6th – 8th – Caving Trip – Mount Solon, VA
Monday, June 9th – Troop Meeting (BoR) (PLC) – 7:30 PM – Immanuel Church on the Hill
