Subscribe
Home Past Events
Category:

Past Events

Past Events

March Trail Cleanup

by Webmaster
written by Webmaster

Date & Time: We have our quarterly trail cleanup on March 4th from 10 AM – 11:30 AM.
Address: We will be meeting at the W&OD Parking Lot

Necessary Items: You will need your work gloves. We have some grabbers and trash bags but supply is limited so if you have one please bring it. You should also be wearing your Class B Uniform.

Once we have finished the cleanup, donuts will be served as a reward. If you have any questions about the trail cleanup contact @Connor Windust via Slack.

Who's coming?

18 people are attending March Trail Cleanup

Sam Stange Sarath Palparthy

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
New Scout Orientation
Past Events

New Scout Orientation

by Webmaster
written by Webmaster

*** UPDATE ***
Venue update! We will be at Rosa Lee Carter Elementary school cafeteria.

On March 10, 2023, at Rosa Lee Carter elementary school cafeteria, we will be holding a new scout parent orientation meeting! We have a full and exciting agenda for you. 

  • Introductions
  • About the Troop / History
  • Scout Uniform
  • Equipment
  • Patrols
  • Advancement
  • Technology
  • Upcoming Events and how to get signed-up
  • Getting involved and training opportunities

Plus, get a taste of some of the desserts we might make on campouts! We hope you are just as excited as we are about next steps in your scout’s journey. Let us know you are coming and look forward to seeing you all there.

SM Stange

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Freezeoree 2023
Past Events

Freeze-O-Ree 2023

by Webmaster
written by Webmaster

The Freezeoree is an annual campout that we have in February in Troop 761. The weather will be very chilly, but if the scouts are prepared well, they will have a blast! We have many fun activities set up for patrols to participate in such as Recover the Antidote, Shark Tank and Defend the Campsite with the gadgets to fight off zombies!

Date: February 10-12 and the registration cutoff is January 24th.

Camp Fee: $38.50 for scout, $16 for adults

Location/Address: Camp Snyder

Map of Camp Snyder: Camp Snyder Map (Scouts MUST print out and have a map with them)

Scouts will learn and must be prepared for the Campout with cold weather camping gear to keep them warm. Leading up to the Freezeoree, we will have gear shakedowns, outside meetings, and more to make sure we are well prepared. The Freezeoree will fun collaborative and hands-on activities ranging from having to remember first aid skills to building fire and tying knots. Scouts will stay warm and have a great time at the Freezeoree.

Since this is a cold weather campout, you MUST have be a confident camper. At least 3 successful camping trips with a troop is required to attend this event.

Tickets

Who's coming?

The numbers below include tickets for this event already in your cart. Clicking "Get Tickets" will allow you to edit any existing attendee information as well as change ticket quantities.
Tickets are no longer available
0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Past Events

Video Game Lock-In

by Webmaster
written by Webmaster

GET READY TO GAME!

Scouts have been through a filled-up year of scouting. It’s now time to chill.

SIGN UP FOR THE VIDEO GAME LOCK-IN

We will be playing videogames all night with snacks and drinks

Games will have to be E for everyone but you can send a message to Mr. Gerling for any games you want to bring that are above the E rating

It will be on January 13 at 6 PM until January 14 at 8 AM at the Brambleton Community Pool Center!

REMINDERS:

THE SIGNUP DEADLINE IS 1/9/23.

YOU MUST SUBMIT YOUR CYBER CHIP CERTIFICATE BY 1/9/23 IF YOU WANT TO ATTEND.

0 comment
1 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Eagle ProjectPast Events

Rohan’s Eagle Project Volunteer Opportunity

by Webmaster
written by Webmaster

What: We will be installing labels on storm drains around the neighborhood to spread awareness about storm drain pollution and the impact on major water sources.

Background: We are installing adhesive labels on storm drains to spread awareness about storm drain pollution and the impact on major water sources, like the Potomac River. Most pollution is not caused by people dumping chemicals into storm drains on purpose, but comes from fertilizer runoff, washing your car, pet waste, not maintaining your car and having it leak fluids on the roads. We plan on labeling 304 storm drains and with teamwork, we can easily complete it in 2 days.

Dates: December 10 & December 11

Time: 10 AM – 1 PM (Both Days)

Location: Moorefield Green Neighborhood – 22590 Naugatuck Square, Ashburn, VA, 20148

Sign-Up Link: https://forms.gle/hzVuDcVRw8Yxb7C67

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Eagle ProjectPast Events

Aalap’s Eagle Project Volunteer Opportunity

by Webmaster
written by Webmaster

What: We are going to be building a boardwalk made out of wood for the trail. The boardwalk will extend 40 feet. This will help people go through the muddy trail.

Background: Boardwalk extension at Manassas Battlefield Park (Manassas, VA). Lots of people walk this historic boardwalk every year! Yet, due to environmental conditions the trail is muddy and hard to get across. In order to honor all the Soldiers who fought at this battlefield, Scouts should join Aalap’s project to help fix the trail so all visitors can easily walk through the area without disrespecting the soldiers.

Date: December 17th, 2022 (SUBJECT TO WEATHER)

Time: 9 AM – 2 PM

Location/Address: Groveton Monument Parking, Historic District, 6221 Featherbed Ln, Manassas, VA. 20109

Tools needed:
Power Screwdrivers (2)
Screw Guns (2)
Impact Drivers (2)
Circular Saw (1)
Battery packs for cordless drills and screw guns (10)
Measuring Tape (10)

Volunteer Request: 7 teams (30 Scouts, Adults, & Other Volunteers)

Sign Up Link: https://tinyurl.com/Aalaps-Eagle-Boardwal

0 comment
1 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Merit Badge Cabin Campout
Past EventsProgram

Merit Badge Cabin Campout

by Webmaster
written by Webmaster

On December 9-11, we will have a merit badge campout with scouts having an opportunity to earn the Scouting Heritage and ONE Eagle required merit badge. The event will be held at Camp Snyder in Haymarket, Virginia where we will be sleeping in a cabin and utilizing the training room facilities. Each scout should sign-up for ONE merit badge, you will not be able to earn more than one Eagle required merit badge for this campout. For Citizenship in Society, please note that you must be 13 or older and First Class rank to attend.

Each merit badge will have pre-requisites leading up to the campout, and each merit badge counselor will work with you during the troop meeting to get sign-off’s. This is very similar to how we prepare for summer camp.

For payments, scouts pay $37 and adult leaders pay $16. This cost includes grub fees. Sign up for this event closes on November 21st at midnight. There are limited spaces for the event to keep a quality program (8 scouts per merit badge), so sign-up for your ticket soonest!

Tickets

Who's coming?

The numbers below include tickets for this event already in your cart. Clicking "Get Tickets" will allow you to edit any existing attendee information as well as change ticket quantities.
Tickets are no longer available
0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Building out a scout trailer
Past EventsProgramQuartermaster

Building out a Scout Trailer

by Webmaster
written by Webmaster

It came to a point in time when our 20 year old trailer was impacting our ability to implement an effective program.  It was difficult to find gear, wood shelving couldn’t be moved so we had a lot of dead space, shelving was broken, and was really too heavy for most vehicles to pull. The troop on multiple occasions had to rent trucks on each campout.

Going into this project, I had zero experience in building out a trailer, so this article covers the thought process for planning something that you don’t know much about to creating an implementation plan and tracking progress. Whether this is an Eagle scout project, large home project, big trip, the principles are the same as the scout motto – “Be Prepared”.

Step 1 – Research

Getting smart on what you will need to buildout a trailer is step 1. Some questions we considered included:

  • What gear do we need at camping trips?
  • How will we organize the trailer?
  • How do I buildout a trailer? What tools are needed?
  • What are other scout troops doing to buildout trailers?
  • How to store propane?

We defined our constraints:

  • A standard SUV had to be able to haul the trailer with a 5000 pound GVWR.
  • Support up to 8, 8 person patrols.
  • Avoid wood shelving because it’s impossible to adjust and added unneeded weight. 
  • Total build cost had to be less than $10k.
We created a simple blueprint in a spreadsheet to define our gear layout and this is where things got tricky. Traditionally we had patrol bins and with supporting 8 patrols, we needed a very large trailer. During campouts, scouts didn’t always put everything back in the patrol bins and it was difficult to inspect for missing and damaged gear. This is where we adopted the patrol bin-less approach with this layout.
Gear Layout

Step 2 – Proposal

The next step was to incorporate the research and recommendations into a proposal. This plan included the costs and timeline. To gain traction, we shared out the proposal to get constructive feedback from youth, adult, committee, and scoutmaster teams with the approach that nobody’s voice is small. Feedback is valuable to help the project be successful. Our finalize proposal can be found here.

Step 3 – Approval

At the monthly committee meeting, a presentation and discussion finalized the decision. To get this to a vote, you must have the proposal out to all stakeholders and in-person discussions and concerns addressed. 

The conclusion was, that a trailer is a large purchase and needs to fit within the troop budget and fundraising needs to help cover costs to keep a healthy balance sheet. We found that some companies that the adult teams work for encourage volunteering and pay an hourly rate for volunteer hours and 1:1 donation matching. By logging volunteer hours, the troop was able to raise funds for not just this expense, but for other items such as high adventure camps, new tents, and other activities to enhance the program.  Scouts also raised funds thru bake sales at local community events where we not only sold baked goods, but helped where we could with the event staff.

Step 4 – Procurement

When you buy a trailer, you need to make sure that you know exactly who the title will be issued to, register trailer at DMV, security devices, obtain insurance for contents if stolen, taxes, and where it will be parked. The troop committee and COR were able to provide significant contributions here. 

Step 5 – Buildout

By this point, you have your plan and it’s all about implementation and preparing your buildout crew. As a leader, you need to know how to instruct and split the work up so that everybody contributes to the success. Your quartermaster and adult teams are needed in this step.

Step 6 – Move in.

Moving into the trailer is a lot of work, but the most important step. With abandoning the patrol bin approach,  everything had to be taken out and organized. In the initial plan, having a layout of where everything goes and helped prioritize the work by going one shelf at a time. Only items that are in the plan, were allowed on the trailer. With this approach, we actually had extra room!

Recap

To see the full trailer proposal, schedule, and all the details that went into this effort, check out this plan. We hope this helps you in your next trailer buildout!

0 comment
2 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Signal Knob Backpacking Trip
Past Events

Signal Knob Backpacking Trip – Oct 28-30

by Webmaster
written by Webmaster

Event Recap

On Friday the 28th of October, we went on our backpacking campout in Front Royal. We had 2 groups, one on the ~ 10-mile trail to Signal Knob and the other on the ~ 6-mile Mudhole Gap Trail. (Round trip: 16 miles for Signal Knob and 12 miles for Mudhole Gap)

How the troop prepared

During our weekly troop meetings, we talked about what was needed for a successful adventure on the trip. For example, we talked about how we would need bear bags and need portable meals that wouldn’t go bad. We also had demonstrations using dehydrated meals as a low-effort and low-weight way of preparing food.

In Chronological Order

On Friday night we stayed at a campsite around a mile along the trail. Then the next morning, Saturday, we split up. One group went to Signal Knob and one went to Mudhole Gap. Then the first crew met up with the Mudhole Gap crew on Saturday night at the campsite we were staying at for the night. On Sunday, we hiked back down to the parking lot on a trail th at was around 6 miles long and got into cars to ride home.

What we learned

On this campout, our scouts learned important skills such as learning to pack lightly and to only bring the gear necessary. They also learned how to find out where we were on the trail using tools such as a map and compass. They also learned how to appropriately meal-plan for eating on the go.

Why these skills are important

Learning to pack lightly can go a long way in helping you save money by not buying unnecessary things and to help you from spending too much time thinking about what to pack. (it will also save you some weight that you have to carry, lessening pain). Learning to use a map and compass is really useful because it can help you when you are on a hike by yourself and you need to find out what trail to take or if you are lost in the woods, it can help you find out where you are. Appropriate meal planning is very important because you don’t want to bring food that you can’t make to a campout. That would just be a waste of money. In the case of this campout, our adult leaders helped us with vetoing options and helping us brainstorm ideas about what food to bring.

Campfire under a sea of stars
Lunch and filtering water from stream
We crossed many streams with our packs.
It was a beautiful day for hiking.
Our campsite on Saturday

Event Planning

We will be going on an exciting backpacking trip where we will be going to the backcountry. We will have 2 options for this trip where one option is a easier trek for first time backpackers and for experienced a longer trip that will get you ready for high adventure trips such as Philmont. We will use the techniques we learned at troop meetings leading up to the event.

One of the 10 essentials is a map! Get your trail map for Signal Knob here. Get your trail map for Mudhole Gap here.

Here is the route for Signal Knob:

Signal Knob Trail Park Map

Here’s what you might see on the hike: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/virginia/signal-knob-loop-trail/photos.

For mudhole gap crew, here’s a map of where we will headed.

Mudhole Gap Trail

For getting prepared for the trip, HikerDirect is a great resource for beginner camping gear. Just remember that scout’s must be prepared to carry all of their gear.  Weight and size are key considerations. If you don’t have a backpack, stop by REI to get fitted.

To get Troop 761’s recommendations for gear so that you are prepared, go to our backpacking tips link under Resources. Need ideas for good meals, we’ve got you covered under Resource -> Recipes! 

Sign-up on Teamsnap to book your spot!

0 comment
1 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Eagle ProjectPast Events

Veds Eagle Project Volunteer Opportunity

by Webmaster
written by Webmaster

Boardwalk extension at dog walking trail for FOHA.org (Aldie, VA) providing a safe walk path usually riddled with puddles and slippery conditions during rains.

One of our scouts, Ved Pande, had his eagle scout project where he built a boardwalk for Friends of Homeless Animals. (FOHA). This event took place on the 29th of October, the 12th, and the 13th of November 2022. The place he built the project for needed a boardwalk so they could walk their dogs easier. FOHA is a charity/ adoption center that specializes in rehabilitating animals and getting them ready for domestic life. They take care of dogs and cats in their shelter. If you would like to support them, please go to FOHA.org.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Newer Posts
Older Posts