Backpacking checklists were distributed at tonight’s meeting. You can find a few different checklists as well as a diagram of how to properly pack a backcountry hiking pack on our troop website: https://www.troop5norfolk.com/2024/03/29/backpacking-checklists/. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know. Scouts should plan to carry at least 3 liters of water each and in a container or bladder that will not slosh around. (You don’t want that weight to suddenly shift on you while hiking.) Next week the scouts will cover nutrition and water needs and begin preparing their food plan with their assigned buddy. Any practice you can do going up and down stairs or any incline will be helpful – the Appalachian Trail is almost infinitely more mountainous that Norfolk.

Another reminder that all participants (scouts and adults) going on this backcountry hiking trip must (1) have a current medical form parts A & B and (2) meet Scouting America’s height/weight restrictions in order to attend. This is also a good time to remind everyone going to summer camp that you will need part C completed by a physician. The physician must specifically complete the scout medical form; another other medical form will not suffice.

SCUBA outing information for July 8th has been sent out. Stay tuned for more details coming soon on upcoming swim test (tentatively April 29th) and services projects, including Clean the Bay Day on June 7th.

Thanks everyone,
Scott

Our troop has booked a Try SCUBA experience at Lynnhaven Dive Center (2204 Poplar Point Rd, Virginia Beach, VA 23454) for Tuesday, July 8th. https://ldcscuba.com/dive-course/try-scuba/

The session starts promptly at 6pm and will last a couple hours. Due to limited pool space, only scouts and dive center instructors will be in the water (no adult leaders). This session will cover parts of scouting’s SCUBA award, but there will not be enough time to complete the award. For safety reasons, scouts must be classified as a Swimmer by Scouting America to participate in this outing.

Scouts must register and pay the dive center directly for this outing. The cost is $75. To register, follow these steps:
1. Create a MySSI account for the scout at https://my.divessi.com/. Select Lynnhaven Dive Center as your training center.
2. Call the dive center at (757) 481-7949 and reserve a space in the scout group at 6pm on July 8th. The dive center will use the scout’s MySSI account to make the reservation. You will need to make payment over the phone at this time.
3. The email address for the scout is the one that will receive the login information (not the guardian email). Use that login to complete the medical forms and waivers ahead of time.
4. Scouts who wish to be prepared may optionally watch the training videos in their account.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Looking forward to seeing our scouts try this new experience!

Scott

On April 25-27, we will be hiking the Three Ridges Wilderness portion of the Appalachian Trail. A trail map can be accessed here: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/virginia/appalachian-trail-reeds-gap-to-tye-river

All participants (scouts and adults) must have a current medical form parts A & B in order to attend. Because we will be traveling more than 30 minutes off an accessible roadway, all participants must also meet Scouting America’s height/weight restrictions. This information can be found published in the medical form for any of Scouting America’s high adventure camps, e.g. Summit Bechtel Reserve: https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/HealthSafety/pdf/680-001_summit.pdf (see very last page). More information can be found on Scouting America’s website at https://www.scouting.org/health-and-safety/ahmr/medical-formfaqs/.

In preparation for this backcountry hike, we will be holding specific instruction at our troop meetings between now and the trip date. All scouts should bring their empty backpack (the one the plan to hike the AT with) to this Tuesday’s meeting. They should also wear their hiking boots. We will be covering how to properly pack and carry a backcountry pack and doing some short walking practice to get the feel for it. We will also be distributing pack lists and other information to help you ensure that you have all of the necessary gear to successfully and enjoyably complete this hike.

Be Prepared,
Scoutmaster Scott

National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT) is an exciting, action-packed program designed for councils to provide youth members with leadership skills and experience they can use in their home troops and in other situations demanding leadership of self and others. NYLT is open to all scouts first class and above. This training will take place over two weekends in November (in lieu of a weeklong summer course), November 7-9 + November 14-16. Scouts must attend both weekends. Registration opens this Friday, March 28th online at https://scoutingevent.com/596-NYLT2025

For our SCUBA experience at 6pm on July 8th at Lynnhaven Dive Center in Virginia Beach, look for a separate communication later this week on how to register your scout for this special troop.

Those scouts attending our Appalachian Trail Hike on April 25-27 through the Three Ridges Wilderness should RSVP at https://forms.gle/5ZuzUYPSZrSHVAPr6 and then double check that they have sufficiently sturdy hiking boots that still fit and are properly broken in. If not, now is the time to get new boots and break them in, well before the hike. Start getting some walks in where you can; any sort of stairs or incline will help too, although we realize that is hard to find in the Tidewater flatlands. We will be doing more backpacking training and preparation in our upcoming meetings. Our PLC is meeting this Sunday at 3pm to plan out April.

Thanks everyone,
Scott

Thank you to all parents that joined our important committee meeting tonight and for your candid discussion. I know our scouts appreciate all of your support.

Please RSVP for upcoming camping trips!

April AT Hike & Camping at Reids Gap (4/25 – 4/27)
https://forms.gle/5ZuzUYPSZrSHVAPr6

May Camping at Twins Lake (5/17 – 5/18)
Cycling & Camping, plus Adventure Park at Sandy River ($60 adults / $50 under 14)
https://forms.gle/fDdCBeFoxaeqKT2Y9

I have confirmed our SCUBA experience for 6pm on July 8th at Lynnhaven Dive Center in Virginia Beach. Look for more details coming soon on how to register your scout for this special troop.

National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT) is an exciting, action-packed program designed for councils to provide youth members with leadership skills and experience they can use in their home troops and in other situations demanding leadership of self and others. NYLT is open to all scouts first class and above. This training will take place over two weekends in November (in lieu of a weeklong summer course), November 7-9 + November 14-16. Scouts must attend both weekends. Registration opens March 28th online at https://scoutingevent.com/596-NYLT2025

Those scouts interested in going to the National Jamboree July 22-31, 2026 should pay their $100 deposit on the council website at https://scoutingevent.com/596-83306-199979 as soon as possible to get on the longest and lowest payment plan. Registration runs through October 31st, so there is still plenty of time to decide; you just might pay a little bit more or a little more at one time. Jamboree registration is $2,100 total and includes the full National Jamboree fee (program materials, food, insurance, as well as the use of dining shelters, cot, stoves, fuel, and cooking utensils), a “participant recognition kit,” which includes two participant patches, a neckerchief, and a custom 2026 National Jamboree daypack, transportation to and from Jamboree in a tour bus, Tidewater Council Jamboree patch, and two contingent shakedown weekends with food & activities. Full information on the Tidewater Council contingents to the Jamboree is here: https://tidewaterbsa.com/jamboree/

Yours in Scouting,
Scott

All scouts attending the lock-in this weekend should arrive at the church between 6:30pm and 7:00pm on Friday. Please eat dinner before you arrive. Parent pickup is at 7:30am on Sunday. Scouts should bring their Class A uniform on a hanger on Friday night so we can check everything is there (and clean). Scouts also need to have footwear they can walk several miles in along the parade route. I would also advise to pack water, sunscreen, and hat and/or sunglasses for the parade walk. Plus a portable game or two, e.g. cards, to play while we wait for the parade to start.

We will be marching in about the middle of the parade. Keep an eye out for our scout "float" and flags!

Scouts will also be doing a beach cleanup and completing Introduction to Leadership Skills for Troops training on Saturday afternoon after the parade. It will be a full fun weekend!

At the council level, those interested in going to the National Jamboree in 2026 should pay their deposit on the council website by next Tuesday, March 18th to secure the lowest rate. Also, the council has announced that they will be running another session of National Youth Leadership Training in November. Stay tuned for details on dates and registration. NYLT is open to all scouts first class and above.

Finally, this is the season when Cub Scouts are crossing over from their packs to troops. If you know of any 5th graders that may be interested in potentially joining our troop, please share our website with them and feel free to pass along my contact information for any questions that they may have.

Thanks everyone!
Scott

All scouts attending the lock-in this weekend March 14-16 at the church need to bring $20 cash to the meeting tonight for groceries.

We will also conduct a regular uniform inspection at tonight’s meeting. For those scouts marching in the parade on March 15th, it is imperative that the full Class A uniform be worn (shirt, pants/shorts, belt, and boots). If you are missing or have outgrown any elements of the uniform, the troop has some gently used items that may help you to complete it.

Thank you to all of the scouts that attended and voted in our troop elections tonight. Gavin is our new Senior Patrol Leader, and Michael was elected Patrol Leader of our newly merged patrol (to be named soon). Gavin has assigned other troop leadership positions as well.

We will be marching in the Oceanview parade on March 15th as part of our lock-in weekend. The PLC will plan the full weekend at their meeting this coming Sunday. Evan is leading the coordination of the parade float. Please plan to come cheer us on along the parade route!

I look forward to seeing some of our scouts at Tidewater Council’s Scouting University this weekend at ODU. Be sure to wear your uniform and represent Troop 5 well!

Thanks everyone,
Scott Guirlinger

This coming Tuesday, March 4th we will hold our semi-annual elections for Senior Patrol Leader and Patrol Leader(s). The scoutmasters have discussed reorganizing the current patrols; we will announce those changes prior to the elections. We encourage all scouts in the troop to attend so that we can have the most representative vote possible.

This Tuesday is also a pancake supper hosted by the Church of the Advent (with eggs, bacon, sausage, and ham too). All scouts in uniform eat free. Dinner starts as early as 5pm and runs up through our meeting time. Friends, family, and the community are welcome to eat dinner as well. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for youth, and free for children 10 and under. We will be relocating our meeting for this evening to another room as the social hall will be occupied with this church event.

We will be marching in the Oceanview parade on March 15th as part of our lock-in weekend. Our scouts have planned a parade float and will be finalizing logistics this coming Tuesday, March 4th. Please plan to be on the parade route on the 15th to cheer us on!

A final reminder for scouts looking to earn merit badges and adult leaders looking to advance their training of Tidewater Council’s Scouting University at ODU on March 8th. Event and class registration and more details are available at https://scoutingevent.com/596-UOS2025# Scouts should register individually for this event; we will not be registering as a troop.

Thanks everyone,
Scott Guirlinger

Congratulations to Chase who completed his Star rank board of review tonight. We look forward to seeing him continue on his journey to Eagle.

Thank you to everyone who attended and helped make our Scout Sunday celebration an enjoyable occasion. It was great to share a meal and see all that our scouts have accomplished over the last few months (which is a lot!).

On February 21st-22nd, we are skiing at Wintergreen. Please contact Kristina Malleck for more information and to arrange for hotel payment if you have not already done so. Scouts and adults will be responsible for their own lift tickets, rentals, and meal money (hotel provides breakfast).

For scouts looking to earn merit badges and adult leaders looking to advance their training, Tidewater Council’s Scouting University at ODU on March 8th is the place to be. Event and class registration is open now. Go to this link for more details and to sign up: https://scoutingevent.com/596-UOS2025# Scouts should register individually for this event; we will not be registering as a troop.

Finally, we will be marching in the Oceanview parade on March 15th as part of our lock-in weekend. Our scouts started planning for our parade float at the meeting tonight. Please plan to be on the parade route that day to cheer us on!

Scott