Troop 9 Outdoor Program

TROOP 9
OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

 

Troop 9 runs an ambitious Outdoor Program consisting of at least one weekend trip a month and several day trips throughout the course of the year. In July of each year, we hold an Idea Night where all scouts and adult leaders are welcome to toss out ideas for our trips and activities for the upcoming year. We make a list and vote to narrow the list of choices down. This list is then submitted to the PLC where a rough Calendar of Events is drawn up and submitted to the troop for review.

Over the years, Troop 9’s adventures have taken us to all six New England States as well as New York and Pennsylvania, and next year we will be traveling to Sea Base in the Florida Keys for a Sea Exploring Adventure. We have explored the battlefields of Gettysburg for a week. We have participated in camporees at the US Military Academy at West Point, New York and Norwich University in Vermont. Our whitewater rafting trips have included the Hudson River in New York, the Kennebec River in Maine and the Miller’s River in Massachusetts. Our overnight ski trips have been to mountains all over New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine, and our hiking trips have covered many of the peaks in New Hampshire’s White Mountains.

The scout camps that we have stayed at for weekend and high adventure trips is long and includes Camps Squanto, Sayre, Norse, Cachelot, Greenough, Horace A. Moses, Buxton, Nobscot and Massasoit in Massachusetts, Camps Aquapoag and Yawgoog in Rhode Island, Camp Wakpominee in New York and the Boy Scout High Adventure Bases in New Hampshire and Maine. Massachusetts state forest and White Mountain National Forest camping areas round out where Troop 9 can be seen camping on a regular basis.

Whether it is to historic sites in Boston, the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, the USS Nautilus in Connecticut, deep sea fishing in the Atlantic, hiking Blue Hills or just going somewhere close by, our day trips are chosen by the scouts. Usually anything and everything is considered.

Each year, Troop 9 spends a week at Boy Scout summer camp. For the last thirty years, we have attended summer camp at Camp Squanto in Myles Standish State Forest in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The scouts have a great time earning merit badges and participating in troop activities at the ranges, waterfront, sports, nature and handicraft areas. The highlights of the week include the campwide Apache Relay where Troop 9 is the two-time defending champ, and the annual waterpolo grudge match with Troop 41 Abington.

With the exception of our high adventure trips, all overnight and day trips are open to all Troop 9 scouts, leaders and parents. High adventure trips have age and rank restrictions. To participate in our ski and whitewater trips, scouts must complete a minimum number of troop service hours at our troop fundraisers.

Check out the Photo Album and Past Events buttons on the left for pictures and summaries of Troop 9’s travel and tribulations.