Activities:  schedule . meetings . monthly trips . annual camps

 

Schedule

Each year, in early fall, the PLC comes up with a calendar of outings for the year, based both on suggestions made by members of the various patrols and on activities that are traditional to the troop.

The calendar is handed out at the beginning of the year and is reiterated in the monthly newsletter. Occasionally the dates for activities change, or the activity may even be cancelled, so it is important to review the monthly calendar and newsletter.

For overnight activities in general, each patrol comes up with its own menu and buys its own food. For some overnight activities, such as our annual cross-country ski trip, the cooking is coordinated such that each patrol plans and cooks one or two meals for the whole troop and the troop, not the patrols, buys all the food.

Costs for outings include food, camping or permit fees, and when applicable, transportation costs.

 

Meetings

Our weekly meeting is held on Wednesday nights from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. at the Scout Hut in John Hinkle Park in Berkeley. Read about uniform requirements and dues.

    Meetings follow this basic plan:
  1. Flags (posting the colors)
  2. A general assembly, led by the senior patrol leader
  3. Advancement (one week of each month); patrol business (two weeks of each month); and merit badges (one week of each month). Scoutmaster conferences and Boards of Review will take place during the meetings and on outings, when necessary.
  4. A game
  5. Flags (retiring the colors)
  6. Clean up
  7. Closing circle
  8. Dismissal
 

Monthly trips

We have at least one outdoor activity per month.

Past troop activities include backpacking trips in the Trinity Alps, on Mt. Tamalpais, in Pt. Reyes, and in the Desolation Wilderness. We have camped in the Santa Cruz mountains and hiked to the top of several mountains around the Bay Area. We've climbed Mt. Shasta, using ice axes and crampons. We’ve spent nights on the submarine, the U.S.S. Pampanito, and on the ship, the Balclutha. We’ve gone clamming and white-water rafting, and have participated in orienteering events.

 

Annual camps

In the spring, our troop attends our district’s Camporee, which is a weekend campout in which troops compete with each other in games and skills. It is a popular event at which Scouts can earn recognition as a patrol and as a troop. Troop meetings prior to this and other outings often concentrate on skills related to the upcoming activities and on planning for the activity.

Camp Wolfeboro, our Council’s Boy Scout summer camp, usually takes place during the first week of July. We often reserve the first and second weeks. Boys can attend either one or both sessions of camp. Scholarships are available. Camp Wolfeboro is located off of Highway 4 in the Stanislaus National Forest.

Besides Camp Wolfeboro and Camporee, our troop traditionally goes cross-country skiing at Mt. Shasta each year, over President’s Day weekend. This is a very popular family trip, and parents and siblings are welcome to come along. We all "camp in" in one big hall in the Mt. Shasta City Park and spend two days cross-country skiing.

Another trip that has become traditional is a June weekend of camping, hiking and sea kayaking at Salt Point in Mendocino County.

Other activities

Other activities have included a week at Sea Base, the High Adventure camp for Boy Scouts located in the Florida Keys, where our Scouts kayaked out to a tropical island and camped and fished and snorkeled for a week. Scouts and parents aso have joined a Council contingent for a 50+ mile backpack trip at Philmont, the High Adventure camp in New Mexico; one of the biggest events is a trip to Sakai, Japan, as part of a Scout Exchange.