Sarath’s eagle project was spread across 4 separate days. It was meant to digitize DVHS’s music library and organize it accordingly. The first few days of the eagle project were pretty similar. Mainly having scouts pair up to get specific parts of the job done. These tasks would range from checking if the music was copyrighted, adding it to the google sheet, scanning the music, and checking the scan for any mistakes. All of these jobs were vital to make sure that the music could be properly and legally digitized to organize it better. However, on the 4th day he got together a group of scouts to go to DVHS to organize the physical library so that all of DVHS’s music was neatly organized and easy to reach.

Aiden’s eagle project was at Walt Disney Elementary School. The goal was to build a sensory wall with all sorts of music creating toys along with refurbishing a sand and water table. It consisted of 3 days with each day focusing on a different task. On the first day he along with 6 scouts had worked on the sand and water table. On the 2nd day they build the sensory wall and also sanded and painted the sand and water table. Lastly on the 3rd day they attached objects suck as bells and boom sticks to the sensory wall and used wood blocks to cover the nails so that the children wouldn’t get hurt touching them. In the end Aiden along with his fellow scouts were able to make a major improvement to Walt Disney Elementary School with the addition of the sensory wall and sand and water table.

Camp Wolfeboro was from June 22nd till June 28th. It is a week-long summer camp where you can have fun doing activities such as merit badges, camp games, hikes, and more. It is the only summer camp which we go to every year since it is extremely popular and everyone loves it. Wolfeboro has tons of fun activities for everyone. These activities can range from free-shoot to Sourdough. They can also go to places such as Lower or Upper falls where they can have a lot of fun. Many scouts also enjoyed some of the competitions such as the Cooking Competition in which we were able to send in 3 teams from 888. We were also able to gather a total of 17 scouts to come to Sourdough which was about half of all of the scouts coming on Tuesday. There also tons of merit badges available. Wolfeboro offers many eagle and non-eagle required merit badges along with trailheads for the newer scouts. Along with merit badges you can challenge yourself to get rockers. Rockers are little patches which you get from completing a specific set of challenges throughout the week. These rockers range from Marksman, Bard, and of course Sourdough. Finally, for the scouts that want to go above and beyond there are the Wolfeboro Pioneers. The minimum requirements to become a Wolfeboro Pioneer are to have went to Wolfeboro for at least 2 years and must have served at least 1 term of leadership. Everyone had an amazing time at Wolfeboro, whether it was for merit badges, rockers, to become a pioneer, or all of the above. All of the fun activities and opportunities you are given at Wolfeboro make sure that all of the scouts attending have an amazing time.

On Friday, June 20th Aditya hosted a conservation outing at Fertile Groundworks. It lasted from 3:00 PM till 6:00 giving 3 conservation hours to many other scouts who needed them to achieve life rank. In the outing they harvested, cleaned, weighed, and packaged 130 pounds of garlic. Without this project the garlic couldn’t be stored or distributed rendering majority of it useless. The scouts started of by working as a group to pull all the garlic out of the ground. Next they prepared the soil for the next round of crops so that more garlic could be planted. After that, they weighed the garlic and sorted them into bins for donation and storage accordingly. They were also given some gifts to take home for their hard work and effort.

Akshith hosted a conservation outing at Fertile Groundworks on May 23rd. The outing was meant to help improve the garden space overall. Akshith and the participating scouts accomplished this by pulling out large amounts of weeds and planting new seeds. The event took course over an hour from 5 PM till 6PM. The scouts participating were also able to learn about environmental stewardship. After they finished working they were thanked by Fertile Groundworks with some freshly harvested onions which they were able to take home.

What is Northern Tier? If you don’t know what Northern Tier is, it is 1 of the 4 High Adventure Camps the BSA offers, which includes Philmont Scout Ranch, NM, Northern Tier, MN/Canada, Florida Sea Base, FL, and Summit Bechtel, WV. Although all 4 of these camps are the best of the best the BSA provides, Northern Tier is arguably the most unique and challenging. In itself, Northern Tier is a weeklong canoeing trip, where crews canoe and camp on the beautiful big lakes, while carrying all the gear needed for the entire week. Although each crew is provided with a trained guide who stays with the crew throughout the trek, the trek itself is incredibly difficult as you must navigate through the complicated waterways of the Canadian Crownlands with only a compass and map, paddle through heavy winds and choppy waters, rely on only the natural resources around you, and portage across land to get from one body of water to another. Portaging is where you and your canoeing group hikes with the canoe on top of your head and carrying 100-pound backpacks full of gear.   Thanks: Before I jump into our crew’s specific journey and trek, I would like to thank a few important figures. Firstly, I would like to thank Mr. Anand Ranganathan, our crew’s Lead Advisor, for organizing our trek and creating a template that other crews can use for years to come. I would also like to thank our other adult advisors, Mr. Karthik Mokashi, Mr. Arun Muthuraman and Mr. Sidharth Anand for ensuring that our trek went safely and smoothly, and letting us scouts make decisions on our own. Planning: Our adventure first started off a year ago, a month after this same crew came back from Philmont Scout Ranch. Mr. Ranganathan booked our Northern Tier trek, and immediately started researching all the logistics to plan for the trip, as this is the first time a crew from our troop has gone. As time went on, we finalized our crew and started preparing for the trip. Because we knew this adventure would be very physically demanding, we started working out and exercising as a crew and individually. We also had a couple of swimming practices to make sure everyone was prepared for anything that could happen out on the water. During the summer we went on 2 canoeing practice trips where we got used to paddling and steering, which played a huge part of the trek itself.  Delta Flight Delay: Using the immense research and planning Mr. Ranganthan did over the last year, we felt very prepared. But as we we’re getting ready to leave for the airport, our Delta flight got canceled due to the Microsoft CrowdStrike issue. Right away Mr. Ranganthan and Mr. Muthuraman got to work searching for other flights that could take us to Minneapolis, MN. After 3 hours of searching, they finally found and booked a flight. Luckily our trek didn’t get impacted by the delay. Once we reached the Minneapolis airport, we were picked up by a Blue-Sky Adventure Bus, which drove us 7 hours through the night, across the US/Canadian border to Atikokan Ontario, which is where one of the 3 Northern Tier bases is located. We arrived at 4 AM in the morning, but luckily our guide packed a lot of the crew gear for us the day before, which is why we were able to hit the water by 2PM that day like nothing even happened. Our Trek Details: Our trek was an 8-day trek in the Crownlands of Canada, where we covered a total of 75 miles by canoe. We faced MANY challenges along the way, including strong winds, choppy waters, heavy rain, capsizing, spider bites, leeches, and mosquito bites like nothing you have ever seen before. The most challenging part of the trek was definitely portaging. Carrying and hiking with a big 45-pound canoe over your head, and 100-pound backpacks, through rugged terrain such as rocks, hills, swamps, rivers, rapids, thick forests, and even chest deep mud! However the hardest part of our trek was specifically the 1.5 ml Anne Bay Portage. This portage specifically, we as a crew agree, was the most physically and mentally toughest thing we’ve ever done in our entire lives. But the end result was so rewarding. The beautiful scenery everywhere you look, the clearest water you’ll ever see, and the most untouched land that makes it seem like you’re on a different planet. After we completed our trek and returned to base camp, we cleaned up all of our gear, jumped into the first shower we had in a week, and drank regular water for the first time after a week of having to purify lake water on trail. As a crew we earned the 75 Miler award, and the Duty to God award while on trail.  Conclusion: As a crew we highly recommend that all of you go to Northern Tier and get to experience what we all got to experience this summer. Luckily Mr. Ranganathan has put together a slideshow of everything we’ve gathered from our trip, including things to buy, how to plan, things to bring, and reusable common crew gear, in hopes of multiple crews from our troop attending each year in the future. Overall, this was the most challenging, incredible, and breathtaking experience we’ve ever had. We learned and got to experience things that wouldn’t be possible anywhere else in the world. Although our crew is already very close, this trip allowed us to disconnect from the outside world and become even greater friends. I will never forget this once in a lifetime experience throughout the rest of my life. And like Northern Tier says, “3 Seasons, 2 Countries and 1 adventure of a lifetime.”

Hi! I’m Neel Manekar, and last summer, I attended Philmont Scout Ranch, and served as the crew leader for my crew consisting of 7 scouts and 4 adults. Philmont is one of the four High Adventure camps that Boy Scouts can attend. It is located in Cimarron, New Mexico. Philmont is said to be the most fun and challenging High Adventure camp of the four. Before arriving at Philmont, your crew has to choose an itinerary, which is a very important decision. Depending on the itinerary your crew chooses, you will hike between 40 and 120 miles! Also, you can choose if you want to do a 7-day, 9-day, or 12-day itinerary. Last summer, when my crew and I went, we did a 9-day trek, consisting of 40-50 miles of hiking. Not only do you get to hike many miles with your friends, but you also get to tons of fun activities! My crew and I did railroading, blacksmithing, muzzle-loading rifle shooting, atlatl darts, and more. One of the highlights of our trek was summiting Baldy Mountain, which is 12,441 feet tall! Climbing to that peak was extremely difficult, but it was all worth it in the end. I remember that when some of my crew members and I were one step from summiting, I told them to wait for the others, so we could all summit the mountain together. Standing on Baldy’s peak, made you feel like you were on top of the world. You would feel the strong rush of the winds while seeing a gorgeous view. In the end, I would absolutely recommend attending Philmont to anyone. It’s an incredible opportunity to gain leadership skills, and you get to experience once-in-a-lifetime views and take in memories that will last a lifetime.

Royaneh was a fantastic experience. I earned four Eagle-required merit badges and participated in the ATV program, which was an exciting new opportunity. The staff were incredibly nice, making the camp both educational and enjoyable. The cabins were better than tents, and out of all the camps I’ve attended, the food at Royaneh was the best. The camp offered a variety of programs, including competitions, horseback riding, basketball, campfires, and more. As one of the older scouts, I had the chance to learn how to lead a large group for the first time, which was a valuable experience in developing my leadership skills.  Overall, the camp was a relaxing and fun experience, and I gained lots of knowledge about leadership and earned merit badges. I highly recommend this camp to others; it’s a great option for future camps.