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Ribbons for the troopers

First Posted: 5/7/2014 Troop 160 participated in quite a few exciting events in April .
The troop went backpacking on the southern part of the Pinchot Trail. The Pinchot Trail is a historic trail named after the two-time governor of Pennsylvania, Gifford Pinchot. The trip took place April 26 - April 27. There were two separate hikes taking place simultaneously, the first with the older scouts hiking 10 miles to their campsite and another five miles to the end of the trail, and the second with younger scouts who tackled the first five miles of the trail to get to their camp site, and completed the last five miles to get back to the trailhead. The hike was lead by Robert Gercken who helped organize the trip. Each scout carried his own food, clothing and other essentials needed, along with some cooking equipment for the weekend.
Troop 160 also held their annual shooting trip at Stann&#8217;s Grove in Ransom Twp. on April 19. Before the trip, there was a meeting dedicated to gun safety and proper use of guns. If a scout didn&#8217;t attend the safety briefing meeting, then they would not be able to attend the trip.
The most important thing the scouts learned was gun safety. The muzzle must always be down range, the gun unloaded, and your finger should be off the trigger. On the day of the trip, there were multiple Range Safety Officers, who are certified by the NRA. The scouts shot at clay birds at the shotgun range and competition targets at the rifle range. Everyone had a good time. 
 David Boeth and Bryan Melliand attended the first half of their Great Medicine experience April 25-27. Great Medicine is a National Youth Leadership Training Course or NYLT for short and is held at Goose Pond Scout Reservation.
Throughout the course, leadership skills are taught through presentations and practicing those new skills with different activities. Mother Nature wasn&#8217;t very nice at all. It was cold, windy and rainy. If we were not properly prepared, it could have been a long, cold and damp weekend. Each day the scouts along with their patrol cooked their meals at their campsite and were able to have some delicious, warm food.
The scouts cooked on collapsible backpacking stoves. Troop 160 also had three scouts on the Great Medicine staff: Joe Fulton, Wyatt Sebring and Sean Rigau. These members worked hard to help prepare the activities for the weekend. The troop would like to thank them for their hard work. May 2- 4 is their second weekend of training. Both the staffing members and scouts who participated in previous years were there to support them.
Three Troop 160 scouts advanced in rank this month. Will Carey earned the rank of First Class, Chris Peet earned Star Scout and Charles Wright earned Second Class. All these scouts are very hard working and are to be congratulated on their achievement.
Did you know: The first Scouting camp was held in 1907 on Brownsea Island off the southern coast of England?

Local Scouting Life Scouts backpack Pinchot Trail, learn gun safety