2026-01-11 This Week: PLC, Troop Meeting, BOR, High Adventure Meetings, Pack 614, Life to Eagle Seminar, Winter Backpacking, Sea Base 2027, Wilderness First Aid, Merit Badge Jamboree, University of Scouting – One month Look Ahead

Troop 131,

I hope you had a great first week of school!  We are going to have very busy meeting on Monday, so please read below.

First, thank you to all the scouts who came out and participated in David Lloyd’s Eagle Court of Honor!  It was great seeing the scouts there and a very big congratulation to David!

Don’t forget to sign up for the first camping trip of the year, see below!

We are going to have a smaller PLC, this Monday, only the SPL, ASPL’s and Quartermaster are required to attend.  The PLC starts before the normal meeting at 6:45.

TROOP MEETING, BoR – 7:30 PM

We will have a Troop meeting at 7:30PM this Monday at Immanuel Church on the Hill!  Since there is no meeting next Monday (MLK- Federal Holiday) this meeting will focus on winter backpacking and meal planning for the camping trip.

Mrs. Farmer has a big group of scouts up for Rank Advancement; therefore, the Board of Reviews will likely run most of the meeting.  In parallel we are going to have two sets of Philmont planning meetings.  We will meet with the Parents first (see below) and right after flags followed by the scouts.

Since I will be in the Philmont meetings, I will ask one of the Assistant Scoutmaster to cover any Scoutmaster Conference or requested Blue Cards!

HIGH ADVENTURE MEETINGS (Philmont 2026 and Sea Base 2027)

We still have up to two spots available for Philmont 2026 and it is not too late to sign up.  There were a few scouts who came on some of the recent training hikes that certainly are ready to attend if they want.  I would add that with the troop going to Sea Base in 2027, the earliest next visit to Philmont is Summer of 2028. The link to express interest in Sea Base 2027 is still active, see below.

During the troop meeting on January 12^th, Mr. Grocki and I will host a Parents Planning and Logistics discussion on High Adventure for the next two summers. We ask that the parents of the scouts who are signed up for Philmont, Parents of scouts interested in Sea Base, or parents who are just interested in High Adventure opportunities, to please come to the meeting so that we can have an open discussion.

·        Philmont 2026: We would like to have a conversation on travel logistics and get feedback on options for this summer. Given the high altitude, acclimation is an important part of our preparation, and we should plan on arriving at least a few days early.

·        Sea Base 2027: There has been a lot of interest in Sea Base for the following summer, and we want to determine how many crew/boats to register for. Some programs (such as Scuba) fill up very quickly and we don’t want to reserve too few or too many boats. Crew sizes vary depending on the program, but in general it is 6 scouts and 2 adults. Currently with the initial interest level, we could have up to three crews/boats. Registration opens January 15^th so there is some urgency with this discussion.

For the Philmont scouts, please review the information Mr. Farmer sent and that we discussed at the meeting last week.  We would like you to come with your six (6) preferred activities and your preferred Trek if you have one!

We are looking for 4 scouts (2 from each crew) to volunteer to take the Wilderness First Aid and CPR training.

PACK 614

I want to announce that Cub Scout Pack 614 will soon join us at Immanuel Church on the Hill, and the church has agreed to be their Chartering Organization!   We are fortunate to have such a great supporter of Scouting.

Linda Hill, whose son was part of our troop years ago, is the Cub Master of the Pack 614 so this is a homecoming of sorts!

The paperwork is still in progress, but we look forward to partnering with them in the near future!

LIFE TO EAGLE SEMINAR – 4 MILE RUN DISTRICT

Scouts and Families!

I hope everyone has had a great winter break so far and that you’re enjoying some well deserved down time.

For those scouts ruminating/working on their Eagle Project plans, the Four Mile Run District is holding it’s annual Life to Eagle Seminar on January 17th from 1:00-3:30pm at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Arlington: https://scoutingevent.com/082-108435

I recommend attending, they have breakout sessions for both scouts and parents. Information and registration is in the link. I went last year and plan to attend again. Happy to answer any questions! 

YiS,

Kathryn Farmer

Advancement Chair, Troop 131

WINTER BACKPACKING

See email below from Mr. Grocki for our January outing!  Please sign up if you are interested in attending.

All,

Our first trip of the new year will be backpacking again.  If we’re lucky again like last year there’ll be snow on the ground!!  Please use the link below to sign up early so we have plenty of time to plan and make sure everyone is properly prepared.  This is the Philmont training event for January, so participation is highly encouraged for that group.

Who: Everyone in Troop 131 is invited!
What: Winter Camping

When: SATURDAY 24 Jan – Sun 25 Jan 2026
Where: Appalachian Trail
Why: There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad gear!

This is a Saturday to Sunday activity- so for Meal planning just three meals are required and dehydrated/backpacking meals are acceptable.

Remember there is no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing and gear- so be prepared as winter camping is no joke!  

Cost: $20/ person

https://forms.gle/bRJt9M1kYs7ETLeG6

Chris Grocki

Outings Coordinator

Boy Scout Troop 131

SEABASE 2027

See note from Mr. Grocki concerning the planning for high adventure in summer of 2027.  Unfortunately, it must start 18 months out.  If you are interested in attending, please fill out the interest form below.

For more information, see link below:

https://seabaseha.org/

All,

It’s hard to believe that we’re not even halfway through Philmont prep and we already need to start planning high adventure for 2027.  We’re considering going back to Sea Base again after a successful trip this summer.  If you are interested, please fill out the form at the link below by the end of December.  Registration opens on January 15th and we’ll need to act early to have all the options available to us.  At this point I’m looking to determine:

1. If we have enough interest for 1 or 2 crews.
2. What program(s) we should choose based on interest – sailing, scuba, or both.
3. How many interested adults we have to support multiple crews.

I’m assuming that we’ll focus on the FL locations rather than USVI or Bermuda to make logistics easier.

Please reach out directly with any questions.

https://forms.gle/86CaXvk343knaiWR9

Thanks,

Chris Grocki

Outings Coordinator

Boy Scout Troop 131

WILDERNESS FIRST AID

To attend high adventure camps 2-3 people on each crew are required to have CPR and Wilderness First Aid training. Either Adults or Scouts can full this minimum requirement, however, we would like the adults to take this training if they can.  The training is good for a two-year span, and I included the link below for anyone interested in taking it.

The training takes place at Camp Snyder and is a full weekend (12-14 hours on Saturday and 8-10 on Sunday).  You do NOT camp overnight and you can sleep in your own bed on Saturday night!

https://www.gotosnyder.org/year-round-events/outdoor-preparedness-initiative/

ACCOTINK BAY DISTRICT – Merit Badge Jamboree – January 31^st

For those that are interested, see link below.

https://scoutingevent.com/082-mbj2026

UNIVERSITY OF SCOUTING – February 21^st

Adults, for those that are interested, see link below.

https://scoutingevent.com/082-2026UofS

SCHEDULE: One Month(ish) Look Ahead

2026

Monday, January 12^th – Troop Meeting – 7:30 PM (PLC- 6:45) (BoR) (High Adventure Planning Meeting) – Immanuel Church on the Hill

Saturday, January 17^th – Life to Eagle Seminar- Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Arlington

Monday, January 19^th – No Troop Meeting – Federal Holiday – MLK Birthday

Friday, January 24^th – 25^th – Winter Camping – Backpacking – Linden/Whisky Hollow

Monday, January 26^th – Troop Meeting – 7:30 PM (ACPS – No School)- Immanuel Church on the Hill

Saturday, January 30^th – Accotink Bay District Merit Badge Jamboree – Aldersgate United Methodist Church

Monday, February 2^nd – Troop Meeting – 7:30 PM – Immanuel Church on the Hill

Sunday, February 8^th – Scout Sunday – Immanuel Chapel (At the Seminary)

Monday, February 9^th – Troop Meeting – 7:30 PM (PLC- 6:45) (BoR)- Immanuel Church on the Hill

Monday, February 16^th – No Troop Meeting – Federal Holiday – Presidents Day

Friday, Feb. 20^th – 22^nd – Winter Camping – Orienteering and Hiking – Prince William Forest

Saturday, February 21^st – University of Scouting – Hayfield Secondary School

Monday, February 23^rd – Troop Meeting – 7:30 PM – Immanuel Church on the Hill