Alaska Trailmen 2. Alaskan Summer ☀️
Blueberries, Salmon, Green Moss, Clear Skies, and Sleeping on the Ground
UPCOMING MEETING - An Alaska Area meeting will be held next week, probably on Wednesday night. Keep an eye out for an email from Trail Life Connect with additional details.
AK-0226 Eagle River
We just had a regular meeting at a local park. One of our Able Trailmen taught the younger boys how to play ultimate frisbee and frisbee golf. We had an overnight in the last weekend of April down by our local river. This was the Survival overnighter for the Survival Skills Badge. We went out with just navigators and spent a night outdoors where it got down to the upper 20s. Boys had to make their own shelter and only had their basic clothes, raingear, and a “woobie” blanket. They could only take very minimal food, a candy bar and a very small amount of nuts, for the whole 24 hours. Most spent the whole night by the fire with little sleep. It was definitely good survival practice. We are hopefully doing some hikes with backpacks to get ready for our backpacking trip coming up at the beginning of June.
AK-1001 Kodiak
Our troop chartered right before COVID hit and we have not had the ability to do a proper Court of Honor with our AHG troop until May. It was great to all be celebrating together.
Watch our video - https://vimeo.com/549897375
AK-1412 North Pole
Troop AK-1412 completed the following activities. Woodlands Trails worked on their Life Skills branch and went on a day hike of Chena Lakes. The Navigator patrol worked on completing their Trail Skills and Ropework trailbadge. They also completed a 5 mile hike using map and compass of Harding lake. The Navigators also earned their Survival Skills elective trailbadge during the Nav/Adv survival weekend event. The Adventurers completed their Rifle and Survivalist elective trailbadges.
AK-2018 Palmer
We have just completed our first overnight campout with the Woodlands Trail boys. Boys ages 5-11 had a great time! We had a great First Aid class by one of our parents who is a firefighter in our local fire department. Another of our parents, who is a wilderness survival instructor showed the boys how to start a fire with a bow and rod. We did fire safety training, counted to guide them in edge safety, and went over some camping topics. The craft project was a huge hit. We made "Nerf" swords, daggers, clubs, etc. We used PVC pipe and pool noddles. Then for the rest of the campout, they used them when not doing training or having meals. This week we will be doing a community service project. We will be building a church fire pit area. We hope to have it useable by Sunday's Father's Day picnic. We will still need to build benches, but the fire pit should be functional.
AK-2819 Anchorage
Troop 2819 had a spring campout at Palmer Christian Church where we enjoyed the best camping weather we've ever had. We had presentations on ancient weapons and each boy made his own arrow and shield. On the way back to Anchorage we stopped to hike to the top of Bodenburg Butte.
Health and Safety Guide
https://www.traillifeconnect.com/health_and_safety_guide
The Health and Safety Guidelines for Trail Life have been updated and this new site created. There is a wealth of knowledge here. Bookmark this site on your phone. It's mobile friendly and can be accessed while in the field as long as you have a network connection.
This link can be accessed at any time through Trail Life Connect by expanding the "Documents" tab on the black left sidebar, then clicking Health and Safety Guide.
Tips from the Trail
(actually, it’s from the Trail Life Forum on Facebook)
Worth Reading & Listening
The 5 Stages of Growing Courageous Men - Trail Life’s purpose isn’t to provide outdoor activities for boys. Our purpose is to grow Christian Men. This article talks about the progression from boyhood all the way up to mentor and beyond.
Be a Real Life Hero - Today’s heroes in popular culture are not real. Do boys in your troop want to be Spiderman or Tony Stark? It didn’t used to be like this, and it doesn’t have to be like this now.
The Average Boy Podcast - A podcast from Focus on the Family that is available on all podcast apps. Just ask Siri to play “The Average Boy Podcast” and listen while on a drive.
“Trail Life USA is not just a program that meets at the Church. We are a ministry of the Church. We are not an outdoor program that incorporates a Christian experience. We are, at our core, a Christ-centered program that utilizes the outdoors to draw boys and their families into a closer relationship with their Creator.” - Mark Hancock, Trail Life USA CEO