Activities

Troop Meetings

Troop 86 meets weekly on Monday evenings from 7-8 PM at East Brentwood Presbyterian Church. For most meetings, the dress is the activity uniform, or Class B.  This consists of a red Troop 86 t-shirt and Scout pants or shorts.

The troop uses the “patrol method” for teaching skills and for activities. During the troop meetings, Scouts often divide into their patrols to discuss troop topics and to perform assigned tasks.

These meetings are also a great time to meet with adult leaders to discuss work completed for rank advancement or merit badges.

Monthly Outings

The highlight for many of our Scouts is the monthly outing. At Troop 86, we want to offer a “high-adventure” oriented Scouting program, to keep things exciting and interesting, even for our older boys. Although we do plenty of camping and hiking, we also go backpacking, cycling, rafting, canoeing, kayaking, climbing, rappelling, and fishing. We also visit museums, civil war battlefields, and other historic sites.

Summer Camp

“A week of camp life is worth six months of theoretical teaching in the meeting room.”

Baden-Powell

Troop 86 Scouts are encouraged to attend BSA summer camp. The two camps our scouts go to most frequently are Boxwell Reservation in Lebanon, TN, and Skymont Scout Reservation near Altamont, TN. Typically 30-40 of our scouts attend summer camp together as it provides a  good combination of structured activities and fun. For many scouts, this will be their first significant time away from home and parents so it affords a great learning experience.

High Adventure Trips

Each year, Troop 86 sponsors a week-long high-adventure outing that is typically open to Scouts who will be rising 6th graders and above. In the past we have had trips to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone in Wyoming, the mountainous areas of West Virginia and North Carolina, and Boundary Waters (Canada). Activities on these high adventures vary but have included whitewater rafting, canoeing, climbing and rappelling, hiking, mountain biking, and backpacking.

Additionally, older Troop 86 Scouts (14 yrs and up) have opportunities to attend the BSA high-adventure bases. In recent years, scouts from Troop 86 have gone sailing and snorkeling at the Florida Seabase in the Florida Keys. and backpacking at the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico.

Sample Calendar

Please contact us to learn what activities we have planned for the current year.  Here are some of our troop's previous outings:

January – Gulf Shores, Alabama

February – Skiing, Paoli Peaks, Indiana

March – Climb Nashville

April – Latimer BSA Reservation

June – Boundary Waters (MN/Canada)

June – Great Smoky Mtns high adventure

June – Summer Camp – Boxwell, Skymont, Pfeffer Reservation

July – Philmont, New Mexico

July – hiking, camping, scout skills

August – Canoe Camping

September – Backpacking

October – Recruiting outing – Boxwell

November – Mtn Biking, Rappeling

December – Scout Skills YMCA Sleepover