By Connor Nielsen, Troop Scribe

The Troop 8 PLC met Monday, October 12.   The first thing we talked about was the October Backpacking trip at South Mountain State Park.  Only 15 scouts went so we divided it up into two treks.  The older scout patrol went on a 12-mile loop and the new scout patrol and troop guides went on a 7-mile loop, stopping at South Mountain’s beautiful waterfalls.   What made this trip different from other backpackers is that the two patrols camped at different campsites five miles from each other.   Overall, it was a fun trip.

In start, stop, and continue the SPL for the trip, Brian Mulholland, emphasized that communication of this kind of trips is vital.   He brought along walkie talkies and said that they would have been good to have.   It was also mentioned that the leaders of the troop needed to have more control of their group.   We needed to stay together more and work on hiking skills, but we did have good backpacking skills!

We talked about the November trip, too.   Some of the older scouts said that they remembered the Guilford Courthouse trip a couple years ago, and it was agreed that we should do another battlefield trip.   The two options that were brought up were Kings Mountain Battlefield or Cowpens Battlefield.   If that doesn’t work out, then we will go to Camp Grimes for basic camping and backpacking.

One of the major things we talked about at the PLC was the meeting plans and instruction. We have five meetings before the next campout so there were lots of ideas for instruction.   On October 19^th we will practice tent setup with buddies.   We might throw in some surprises like blindfolding, too, so be prepared.   We will also do cleaning water purifiers because that was an issue on the trip and cold weather first-aid because it’s getting chilly!   On October 26^th, the instruction will be cold-weather clothes and supplies for cold-weather camping. The next meeting (November 2^nd) will be bear bags and stuffing envelopes for Christmas tree sales.   Hopefully, we will have a fun game involving bear bags. For the 9^th and 16^th, we will have instruction on the history of the battlefield and Leave No Trace.   Additionally at the PLC, Mr. Spisak talked about the importance of leadership in the troop and how they should know their jobs well.