Boy Scouts Troop 321

Troop 321 was founded November 10, 2018, as a High Adventure Troop. Within 8 months of forming this young troop consisting of several boys who were as young as 11-years old hiked the first 50 miles of the Appalachian Trail.

**Goals and objectives of the Troop**

Goal

The goal of Troop 321 is to maximize growth of its young men by exposing them to tough environments via high adventures.  The founder of scouting, Sir Baden-Powell, stated “a week of camp life is worth six months of theoretical teaching in the meeting room.” Troop 321 believes that a couple weeks of high adventure are worth years when compared to maturing and learning from a classroom. 

Through high adventure, Troop 321 scouts gain:

• Mental maturity achieved by being placed in situations where scouts must respond to tough challenges
• Physical strength gained through exposure to physically challenging environments
• Self-confidence gained from accomplishing significant challenges
• Self-awareness obtained from being placed in environments that challenge their own beliefs about what they can accomplish
• Responsibility needed to make sure that they have the right gear and food needed in order to survive when there is no access to resources
• The tremendous value of teamwork that is taught in the crucible of the wilderness, where each team member’s responsibility carries a heavy weight

In accomplishing this, the troop has another goal.  While swimming at the troop’s local campground, the scouts were discussing future outings.  One of the scouts suggested that the troop visit the “Seven Wonders of the World”.  The adult leaders felt like that may exceed their resources and recommended that they scale that down to an American Adventure.  That’s when the troop developed its long range plan:

• TO VISIT THE SEVEN WONDERS OF THE CONTIGUOUS UNITED STATES

Objectives

Troop 321 provides a wide range of opportunities for scouts to:

• enjoy the outdoors and respect nature, to challenge themselves mentally and physically and to develop self-confidence;
• foster camaraderie and help scouts understand the dynamics and value of teamwork
• develop scoutcraft skills including first aid, camping, tools like wilderness survival, knot-tying and fire-building, knife skills, water and home safety, fitness, outdoor cooking, citizenship, navigation, and leadership
• provide opportunities for Scouts to plan, organize and run their own activities, to test and develop their leadership skills, and to take responsibility for their individual and group efforts
• develop good morals and ethics

Troop 321 works to provide a variety of ways for the Scouts to reach these objectives through regular meetings, outdoor adventures, and by facilitating the scouts’ participation in district and council events as well as other Scouting activities. Parent volunteers help the troop thrive in many different ways: as adult leaders, by serving on the troop committee, and by offering their vocational and avocational knowledge as merit badge counselors.

High Adventure

Troop 321 approaches scouting with high adventure.  Not only is there a trek or specific activity with that, but significant training that allows scouts and adult leaders to both physically condition and learn or refresh necessary skills such as First Aid or Wilderness Survival.  Each adventure has its own set of goals and challenges.  Troop 321, in its first 4-1/2 years has travelled from the southernmost point in the contiguous states to the Canadian Border.  It has traveled and camped on the beach of the Pacific Ocean on the west coast in California and stayed at a rental house steps away from the beach in South Carolina on the east coast.  From the south to the north and from the west to the east, Troop 321 has hit all the borders of the country.

First 50 Miles of the Appalachian Trail – Upon forming in November of 2018, Troop 321 began conditioning and training for their first high adventure trek, hiking and backpacking the first 50 miles of the Appalachian Trail.  With several scouts in the new troop only 11 years old, the troop pushed and conquered the beginning of the mighty and historic trail.  The troop used base-camp and outpost-camp methods to accomplish this and hiked some additional trails around the beginning of the AT, such as the Amicalola Falls Trail, AT Approach Trail and the Len Foote Hike Inn Trail. 

Crossed the Continental Divide on the Colorado Trail – In June of 2020, the Troop developed the skills and coordination for conducting a multi-level troop trek.  Experienced scouts hiked Segment 6 of the Colorado Trail.  Younger scouts joined the older scouts for a few parts of the trek but did sight-seeing nearby and went to some museums and explored some caves during the toughest portions of the hike.  This adventure was featured by the Boy Scouts of America’s national magazine, Scout Life, by putting the new, little troop from Long Beach, Mississippi, on the cover. Check out the on-line version here: https://scoutlife.org/about-scouts/scouting-around/171842/at-10000-feet-above-sea-level-scouts-adjust-to-backpacking-in-the-mountains/

Grand Canyon –  For Spring Break in 2021, the troop drove their scout bus, Scoutship Integrity, to the Grand Canyon and hiked the Bright Angel Trail to Indian Garden Campground.  Several of the older scouts hiked a little farther to the next shelf overlooking the Colorado River as the rest of the troop began hiking back out of the canyon.

BSA Sea Base – A small crew of Troop 321 joined a small crew from Troop 97 to sail on the Coral Reef Adventure in the Florida Keys in the summer of 2021.  The scouts spent a week living aboard a sailboat, learning to sail, snorkeling and fishing.

Extreme California Adventure – In June of 2022, the troop boarded Amtrak and travelled the Mexico-US Border via train to California.  From there they travelled the state of California to visit and tour some of the most extreme things on the planet and our country.  They visited the country’s hottest and lowest National Park, Death Valley.  Saw the tallest mountain in the contiguous states, Mt. Whitney.  Toured the forest with the oldest living creatures on Earth, the Ancient Bristlecone Pines.  Hiked in the tallest living creatures on Earth, the Giant Redwoods.  Camped on the beach of the Pacific Ocean (the world’s largest ocean).

BSA Northern Tier – In July of 2022, a crew from Troop 321 travelled to the BSA outpost at the Canadian Border in Minnesota.  While there, the crew canoed and portaged a 52-mile trek in remote wilderness, canoeing, fishing and camping.  The crew trekked on the Canadian side of the border in places to explore waterfalls and develop an understanding of a glacier-scrubbed environment.

Troop 321 Training and Local Adventures

Although the troop places an emphasis on high adventure, that’s not all that the troop does.  In order to prepare for the big treks, the troop performs many local trips to test out gear, to test procedures, to try out new recipes, to learn about local history and sometimes, to just simply have fun!  Whether just taking a day trip to Pensacola Beach to just enjoy the surf, going to Camp Tiak for summer camp or a weekend campout, to spending the night on the USS Kidd in Baton Rouge, USS Alabama in Mobile or the USS Yorktown in Charleston, South Carolina, Troop 321 relishes the opportunities that are available to youth in scouting and takes advantage of them whenever they can!

BSA Goals

Mission Statement: The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law.

Scout Oath (or Promise): On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.

Scout Law: A Scout is: trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.

Scout Motto: Be prepared

Scout Slogan: Do a good turn daily