Recent Outings
Troop 195 is committed to providing an exciting annual calendar of outdoor adventures for our boys. Each spring, the boys of the troop develop the annual plan with the assistance of the adult leaders. We go on an overnight trip every month except December, when we do a day trip. Below are some pictures from our most recent trips.
December 2023- Altitude Trampoline Park
This year the troop jumped into action as they arrived at Altitude Trampoline Park for our annual December day trip. While the cold weather hindered camping, the troop still had a blast and made lots of memories during the fun-filled day.
November 2023- Cold weather backpacking trip
This year the troop embarked on a 14 mile in the forests of New Hampshire, and stayed overnight at the Sawyer Pond shelter. Being the first backpacking trip for some, this long, cold trip was challenging but didn't stop the scouts from having a good time and learning new skills.
October 2023- MassJam
This year the troop participated in the 2023 MassJam camporee. The scouts enjoyed a packed weekend, and competed in fun activities such as volleyball, an army obstacle course, and even human foosball! The trip served as a great reminder of the importance of teamwork, communication, and the fun in scouting.
July 2023- Summer Camp at Treasure Valley
This year the troop went to Treasure Valley for their annual week at summer camp. The scouts had a ton of fun, and complete many merit badges during the week. Whether it was archery, swimming, first-aid, or just a free block, the troop had a great time and enjoyed every second of the trip.
June 2023- Herkimer Mines
This year the troop went to Herkimer Mines. The trip was very exciting as they dug through the rock to see who could find the Herkimer diamond. Many scouts were thrilled with their findings, and everybody had fun on the trip.
May 2023- Patrol Challenge Campout
The Patrol Challenge Campout was a blast. The activities led to lots of laughter and excitement throughout the day as the scouts progressed through various tasks that tested their outdoor skills, teamwork, and patience. In the end, everybody loved the trip and the exciting experience it gave them.
April 2023- New Scout Campout
The New Scout Campout is always one of the best trips the troop goes on every year. We went to Camp Resolute up in Bolton Ma, and stayed for 2 nights. The scouts had fun over the course of the trip as they learned to build fires, use an ax, navigate in the outdoors, and more. Although it got rainy near the end, everyone enjoyed the trip and had a memorable experience.
March 2023- Leadership Training
The Leadership Training outing is an important event for scouts to learn important leadership skills and how to effectively serve as a patrol leader / troop guide. The scouts learned a lot from this trip and appreciate all that they learned from it.
February 2023- Skiing at Attitash Mountain
The ski trip is an annual tradition and has always been one of the troop's favorite trips. This year we went to Attitash Mountain in New Hampshire, where the scouts had tons of fun as they were skiing and snowboarding down the mountain. The weather wasn't too bad, and everybody had a great time.
January 2023- 'Polar Bear' Weekend
This January the troop went on a weekend trip to Camp Wanocksett in Dublin, NH. The troop tested their winter skills and abilities as they built fires, stayed in tents, and went sledding in the snow. The troop enjoyed this trip very much and hope to come back another year!
December 2022- Rock Climbing Overnight
In December the troop went on an overnight trip to Vertical Dreams, a popular Rock Climbing place in Nashua. We climbed, ate snacks, and had fun for hours before going to bed and heading out the next morning. We loved this trip and hope to come next year!
November 2022- Backpacking at Mount Cardigan
In November we went to Orange, New Hamshire to embark on a backpacking trip through Mount Cardigan. The weather was cold and harsh, but it was worth the effort once we saw the amazing view from the top of the mountain. Everybody had a fun time on the trip and made lots of memories!
October 2022- Mountain Biking Trip
This October we went to Burke, Vermont to go mountain biking. We did have some falls while biking but in the end our Troop had a great time biking and it was a Trip our Troop really enjoyed.
September 2022- Whitewater Rafting Trip
This October we went to The Forks, Maine to go Whitewater Rafting. This trip our troop had lots of fun on the river. It was beautiful weather, perfect for rafting and we really enjoyed this trip.
July 2022- Yawgoog Summer Camp
This year we went to Camp Yawgoog for Summer Camp. We had a great time getting merit badges, swimming, kayaking, sailboating and much more! Our troop had a really good time at Yawgoog and loved it there.
April 2022- New Scout Campout at Camp Resolute
This year we went to Camp Resolute and it was the first campout for our new scouts. Scouts got lots of requirements done and had a good time! After we finished the requirements, we played basketball, gaga ball, and at the end of the day on Saturday we had a campfire program with skits.
March 2022- Backpacking Trip to Griswold Scout Reservation in Gilmanton, NH
It was a cold and drizzly day for a backpacking trip, but with the right gear and preparations, any weather is good weather for Scouting adventures! Our group split into two groups for the hike to the Logging Outpost in the Griswold backcountry. While the rain held off during the hike, the skies opened up shortly after lunch and didn't let up for a good part of the afternoon. Fortunately, the wood stove kept the cabin warm and dry and the Scouts had a great time making their own fun. All of the adults slept in hammocks in the nearby woods. Most Scouts slept in the cabin, but a handful of brave Scouts set up tents for the night. In the morning, we ate breakfast, packed up, and then hiked out. It wasn't exactly the weekend that we had planned, but we made the best of it and everybody came home tired and happy.
February 2022- Skiing at Cannon Mountain
The ski trip is a yearly tradition and usually a blast. This year was no different. Even though it was really cold the scouts had a ton of fun skiing down the mountain.
December 2021-Boda Borg Day Trip
November 2021-Berkshire Backpacking
Description
October 2o21- Great Eastern Camporee
September 2021- Killington Adventure Center
We had an AWESOME time at the Killington Adventure Center. We went there for the entire day, and the scouts favorite activity was the mountain coaster. They had a race to see who could get the fastest speed and times!
August 2021- Seabase
We had an awesome crew of older Scouts for this week of sailing. We went down to St. Thomas two days early and stayed at the Ritz-Carleton Resort. Then we boarded a 55-foot catamaran for the week. We sailed to a new anchorage every day. We snorkeled in beautiful waters and saw amazing fish, sea turtles, and a shipwreck! We hiked on St. Johns. We did have to spend one night back in the harbor because of a tropical storm in the area, but other than that the weather was great!
July 2021 - JNW scout reservation
We had a great group of Scouts and adults for our week at camp. It was a very wet and muddy week -- it had rained a lot the week before we arrived and then rained almost every day when we were there. Despite the wet weather, our Scouts had a great time and earned a lot of merit badges! We ended up leaving a day early because of severe thunderstorms and it was a good thing we did -- the camp was on the news the next day for being flooded!
June 2021 - White Water Rafting
This was a fun trip where everybody got a little bit wet!
May 2019 - Treetop Adventure Campout
For our May campout, we went to New England Base Camp (Camp Sayre). The highlight of the trip was three hours at TreeTop Adventures in Canton. After a short safety briefing, the Scouts and adults were set free in this high ropes course playground. While some preferred to stick to the easier courses (we see you, Mr. Parker!), many of the Scouts in both Troop 195 and Troop 919 challenged themselves with the Black Diamond courses! That afternoon, a group of new Scouts went on a five-mile hike in the Blue Hills Reservation. Then, on Saturday night, Gautham amazed us all by making the BEST Garlic Parmesan Monkey Bread! Yum! Great job, Scouts!
April 2019 - New Scout and Outdoor Skills Campout
Our annual "New Scout and Outdoor Skills Campout" had a different feel to it this year, as this was the first trip with our new sister troop, Troop 919! Even though we had a LOT of rain on Friday night as we were hauling gear into our site, we had an awesome weekend with so many new scouts earning Totin' Chip, Firem'n Chit, and learning other outdoor skills from older scouts and adult leaders.
January 2019 - Ice Fishing at Lone Tree Scout Reservation
This was supposed to be a "snowshoeing and ice fishing" weekend. Unfortunately, the snow didn't cooperate, so it ended up just being ice fishing. We had two cabins at Lone Tree Scout Reservation for the weekend. We spent part of the time ice fishing and the rest of the time playing games and finding ways to have fun in the woods!
November 2018 - Backpacking in the White Mountains
We postponed this trip a week to try avoid thunderstorms and high winds. Instead, we got snow and cold temperatures. We gathered early on Saturday morning and headed up to the Kancamagus Highway. Once there, the group split into two groups -- a high adventure group that hiked a challenging 11-mile course and a low-adventure group that hiked a three-mile course. The two groups camped together at the Franconia Brook campsites. Even though it was cold and wet, most of the boys were well-prepared for the conditions and everybody came back with stories of their adventures!
October 2018 - MassJam 2018 on Cape Cod
We have to admit, we were a little worried about this one after S.O.A.R., but MassJam 2018 turned out to be an awesome event! We took advantage of the opportunity to arrive on Friday evening and got set up. This meant that we were ready to hit the ground running on Saturday morning for two full days of fun! After a short opening ceremony, patrols were off to the Action Centers -- rock climbing, playing gaga ball, running the inflatable obstacle courses, and much more! The weather was perfect, the activities were a blast, and everybody had a great time. A little rain on Sunday night meant that we were packing up wet gear on Monday morning (what else is new?), but everybody ageed that it was a great weekend!
September 2018 - Mountain Biking at Kingdom Trails in Vermont
We kicked off the 2018-2019 Scouting year with an unbelievable trip to Kingdom Trails in East Burke, Vermont! Because of the distance, we met up on Friday after school and hit the road by 4:00. After a stop for dinner in Lincoln, NH, we arrived at our campground just after dark. Everybody was up early on Saturday eager to get to the trails! About half our group rented bikes, then we broke up into groups based on ability levels and off we went! Kingdom Trails is home to more than 100 miles of mountain biking trails for all ability levels. This place was awesome! After a couple hours of riding, our sweaty and smiling group. met up for lunch at the Market Cafe -- a trailside "shed" serving excellent sandwiches and other goodies. After lunch, it was more riding! By the time we got back to camp, we were all tired and exhausted, but laughing and smiling and exchanging stories about today's adventures. The stories continued around the campfire after dinner as the boys watched the various Go-Pro videos that several of them had taken throughout the day. What a great way to start the year!
July 2018 - Summer Camp at Wah-Tut-Ca Scout Reservation
We had a great week of summer camp at Wah-Tut-Ca Scout Reservation! We had 24 boys and six adults in camp for the week. The boys earned a lot of merit badges and had a lot of fun doing camp activities such as swimming, boating, archery, rifle shooting, climbing, and handicrafts. On Thursday, we took the 10-person canoes across the lake to get ice cream at Johnson's. We reserved the motorboat for two waterskiing sessions and reserved the Wibit for an extreme waterpark outing. Six of our boys did a flag-raising ceremony for the whole camp at breakfast one day. Mr. Hall took lots of great photos with is drone and Mr. Parker cooked awesome dutch oven desserts each night.
June 2018 - Boston Freedom Trail and Boston Harbor Islands
In June we went to Boston and walked the Freedom Trail. Later on we got on a ferry and went to George's Island to camp for the night. On the island, we explored the fort and played manhunt. This was an awesome trip!
May 2018 - Whitewater Rafting in Maine
After a couple years of rafting in Western Massachusetts, we were excited to return to The Forks in Maine for some serious whitewater rafting! We had a full day of rafting on Class II, Class III, and even a couple Class IV rapids on the Kennebec River. This was an awesome weekend!
April 2018 - West Point Scout Camporee at West Point, New York
We were very excited to get an invitation to participate in the 56th Annual West Point Scout Camporee! This trip required extra careful planning because of the distance and the overall number of people participating in this camporee. We met at St. Catherine's Church at 11:30am on Friday and hit the road by about 12:15. It was a long drive, made a little longer by a flat tire on one of the vehicles. We arrived a little later than we had hoped for and were unable to hike in to the camporee. Instead we had to take the shuttle bus. Two days of steady rain prior to our arrival and 6,000 pairs of feet had reduced most of the camping area into a mud pit! Once we just accepted the fact that we were going to be muddy, though, everybody had a lot of fun. Saturday was sunny and warm and the boys had a great time at the various program areas -- each of which was run by cadets from the U.S. Military Academy. Even more rain on Saturday night couldn't dampen our spirits! Sunday morning we packed up and the boys got to hike out while two adults drove the gear trailer out to the parking area. The boys all arrived home tired, muddy, and smiling!
April 2018 - New Scout/Outdoor Skills Campout at Base Camp
We had a beautiful weekend at New England Base Camp in Milton, Massachusetts. Because this trip focuses on teaching and practicing outdoor skills, we needed to haul a LOT of gear up to our site back in a remote corner of the camp. Luckily the camp has big orange carts that can be used to haul gear. Everybody got to work on outdoor skills this weekend! Our six new scouts earned their Totin' Chip and Firem'n Chit cards. We had ten boys who were able to complete the camp cooking requirement for Cooking merit badge. We also had several boys who are currently Tenderfoot or 2nd Class working on outdoor requirements for their next rank. That night, we had an awesome campfire, led by Aidan, who was working on Communication merit badge. This trip was a great combination of fun and accomplishment!
February 2018 - Ski Trip to Bretton Woods, New Hampshire
We drove up to the cabin in Franconia, New Hampshire on Friday night. After a quick and hearty breakfast on Saturday morning, the Troop loaded up the cars and drove the short distance to Bretton Woods for a full day on the snow. Despite some rain throughout the day, the boys all had a great time on the mountain. That night, the boys enjoyed a good meal and then went outside to build a "terrain park" with jumps and rails so they could ski and snowboard some more! In the morning, they played on their terrain park some more before packing up, cleaning up, and driving home.
January 2018 - Snowshoeing in the White Mountains
It was a beautiful winter weekend in the White Mountains! We loaded up on Friday night and headed north. After a quick dinner in Lincoln, NH and a stop at the outfitters to pick up snowshoes, we reached the cabin near the midway point along the Kancamagus Highway. Because of the deep snow, we had to load the gear and food onto sleds and snowshoe in to the cabin. Saturday featured a snowshoe trek through the woods, a trailside lunch, and a fire-building competition. When we returned to the cabin, the boys had time to make their own fun outside by building more fires, building a sledding route with a jump, and organizing a huge snowball fight! On Sunday, we packed up, cleaned up, and hiked back out to the cars. Everybody agreed that it was an awesome weekend!
November 2017 - Indoor Rock Climbing Trip
This was supposed to be an outdoor campout to Rumney, NH. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other ideas. Torrential downpours all weekend made climbing unsafe, so we made a last-minute decision to climb indoors at Vertical Dreams in Manchester, New Hampshire. The boys climbed until about 1 in the morning before rigging up their hammocks or putting down their sleeping pads for the night. Even though it wasn't what we had originally planned, everybody had a great time!
October 2017 - Kayaking on the Squannacook River
It was a beautiful fall weekend for a campout! We gathered on Friday evening for the short drive to West Groton. After hiking in to the campsite along the Squannacook River, we set up camp and enjoyed a campfire. On Saturday, we drove upstream to put in the kayaks and canoes. The Squannacook River is a beautiful, twisty and winding river and we had to pay attention to the maps to follow the main stream. We paddled under a warm Fall sun and along gorgeous foliage. That night, we enjoyed another campfire including songs, skits, and jokes. This was an awesome campout!
September 2017 - Martha's Vineyard Biking Trip
This was an awesome two-night campout on Martha's Vineyard. After loading the gear on Thursday night, the troop gathered after school on Friday, September 15 to head down to the Vineyard. After a short nighttime bike ride to Camp Duarte, the boys set up camp and enjoyed their crackerbarrel before going to bed. On Saturday, the boys biked all over the island, including a trip to Chappaquiddick.
July 2017 - Summer Camp at Yawgoog Scout Reservation
We decided to switch things up a little this summer and go to a new summer camp. We headed down to Rhode Island to Yawgoog Scout Reservation for a week of swimming, boating, rifle shooting, archery, crafts, and other Scouting fun! Hammocks were the thing to do this summer. Many scouts hung up hammocks and only used their tents for changing! While the songs in the dining hall were different from what we were used to, it was still a great week of summer camp!
