HIGH ADVENTURE
Troop 66's High Adventure program focuses on hiking and backpacking skills.
What IS High ADVenture?
On the national level, High Adventure refers to a scout's participation in one of Scouting America's four premier High Adventure National Basecamps: Summit Bechtel Reserve, Northern Tier, Sea Base, and Philmont Scout Ranch.
At the local level, High Adventure refers to a Troop's advanced hiking and backpacking program. HA allows older scouts in the troop to gain additional skills and participate in hikes and treks that are not possible for some of the younger, less-experienced scouts in the troop.
Troop 66 has an active HA program design to challenge older scouts that are interested in these types of adventures and keep them active in the scouting program all the way through high school. HA helps broaden the scouting experience and provides additional opportunities to explore the great outdoors!
Overview
Overview of Troop 66's High Adventure group:
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Available to any scout who has reached the rank of First Class and has camped 20 nights with the troop (not counting summer camp). For active scouts who participate in most troop activities, these goals can be achieved within a year or two of crossing into the troop.
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Runs in conjunction with, but separate from normal troop activities.
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Focuses on advanced camping, hiking, and backpacking skills beyond those utilized on monthly troop campouts.
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Approximately 6 - 8 hikes or backpacking trips throughout the year.
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Ability to work on merit badges like hiking, backpacking, orienteering, and geocaching.
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Opportunity to work towards bigger trips like Philmont or other backpacking treks.
Meeting & Leadership
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The HA group meets every 2 -3 weeks. Meetings are prior to the regular troop meeting.
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The meetings focus on learning advanced skills and planning HA activities.
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Advanced skills include things like lightweight camping, orienteering, backpack layout, and seasonal considerations.
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HA activities include day hikes, backpacking trips, and earning some of the more advanced merit badges offered by Scouting America.
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The group has one or two scout leaders that help guide meetings and activities under the supervision of an adult leader.
Goals
High Adventure looks to build on the skills that younger scouts have learned through normal troop activities and take them to next level. When a new scout joins the HA program they start with the basics and work their way to more advanced hiking and backpacking skills with the guidance of older scouts in the program and adult leadership.
HA looks to foster an appreciation of the outdoors that not only keeps a scout engaged in the scouting program throughout their middle and high school years, but leads to a life-long love of adventure.
The skills that scouts learn in the scouting and high adventure programs (education, work ethic, determination, perseverance, teamwork, leadership, and effort) are the same ones that lead to success in life!
ACHIEVEMENT
The scouting program is all about setting goals, working to achieve them, and then receiving recognition for the accomplishment. In the HA program, scouts can measure achievement in multiple ways:
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Earning Merit Badges - Just like with regular troop activities scouts can earn merit badges. In the HA program we focus on earning badges that can't typically be earned through normal troop activities such as; Hiking, Backpacking, Orienteering, Geocaching, and Wilderness Survival
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Earning Medallions -
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Goal-oriented Achievement