Upcoming Trips


There will be sign-up sheets for most of our fall outings at tonight's meeting, so don't forget to stop by the Admin table!  Also, annual dues are now due -- the amount is $130 (list of payments is attached).  If you are paying for several things, feel free to write only one check.
Bike trip, October 17-18:  The bike trip is this weekend!  All participants need to bring their bikes to the meeting tonight for a bike check!  The troop will bicycle from White's Ferry to Harper's Ferry, where participants will camp at the Harpers Ferry KOA (and which will be having its Halloween Spooktacular that weekend).  The troop will bike back to White's Ferry the next day.  The bike trip is 25 miles each way.    Fourteen Scouts are currently signed up for this outing.  The cost is $30, and the sign-up sheet and permission form are attached and will be available at the meeting tonight.

Sandy Spring Adventure Park, October 31:  A half-day trip to the climbing and zip line park in Sandy Spring, Maryland has been re-scheduled for Saturday, October 31.  For those who signed up for the original date of October 3, please confirm or cancel your participation for the new date of October 31 as soon as you can.  Sandy Spring, located about 45 minutes away, is an "aerial adventure forest", with 13 separate trails of varying levels of difficulty.  Each trail has zip lines, but primarily consist of bridges between tree platforms made of rope, cable, and wood configurations. The cost is $40, plus bring a bagged lunch.  The current sign-up sheet and permission form are attached and will be available at the meeting tonight. 
Patrol outings, November:  Patrols have begun to plan their outings for November, so be on the lookout for sign-up sheets starting soon.  (Guides for Lumberjacks and Sharks have an outing planned for Monday, November 2 to Manassas Battlefield.)
USNA Football game, November 14:  Saturday, November 14 is Scout Day at the Naval Academy football game.  That Saturday the Naval Academy is playing SMU at 3:30pm.  Tickets for Scouts are $15, and for adults, the tickets are $25.  Eight Scouts are signed up already, and a sign-up sheet will be available at tonight's meeting.

Outing Committee Members

Cole Thomas, Chair

Natalie Givans

Susan Keating

Mark von Keszycki

Outing Planning 

Troop 673 Trip Plans

Troop 673 Outings

Winter Camping Trip
On Saturday, February 18, 17 scouts and 6 adults left for Troop 673's Winter Camping trip from UMC at 8:30 am. The drive was around 3 hours and 37 minutes. When the crew got there, they began to build "wilderness survival structures" discussed in the previous meeting. These include the Quinzee and the Igloo. Afterwards, the scouts began having ice ball fights (infused with powerful minerals known as rocks). They also threw rocks on an icy lake. Soon the scouts and adults went on a hike, and finished it despite constant complaining. After they returned, they began to cook. It also began to rain within an hour. The scouts and adults ate after the rain stopped, and also built a fire, and then went to bed. They woke up at 6 am and were out by 9 am. They also took around 3 hours and 40 minutes and had Five Guys on the way back.



Ski Trip
​On Saturday, January 14, the scouts left the Church at around 1 pm for their Seven Springs ski trip. This ski trip is downhill, so people will actually go on this one. It was a 3-hour drive, with a stop at Sheetz, the gas station/grocery store/fast food place. After checking in at the resort around 4pm, the scouts skied for a little bit and had dinner at the resort.  The next day, the scouts skied all day (hence the word "ski" in the trip name) and ate dinner on their own. On Monday, the troop skied until noon, packed up, and started heading home at around 1 pm. They stopped at Arby's for food and returned to the Church at around 5 pm. Overall, the scouts enjoyed the trip very much (probably even more to miss District Band Auditions!).



Big Schloss
On November 19, 10 scouts and 4 adults left the church for Big Schloss at 8am and arrived there around 10 am. The crew hiked 7 miles to get to the campsite, and before they even stopped for lunch, it started raining. Thus, they had to hide under some big rock to finish lunch, and then they kept going while it was still raining. They got to the campsite around 4 pm after passing their old one. The "Bubbles" patrol (no joke) had burritos for dinner, while the "Outlets" (as in electrical plugs) had pasta. One can imagine the difference in cleanup time between these two. That night, there was a tree creaking for the whole night, waking up the campers periodically. They woke up at 7 am in a windy and snowy environment. After having bagels for the Outlets and pancakes and eggs for the Bubbles, the group hiked upwards for another two miles towards the Big Schloss Viewpoint to get a nice view. They then hiked back, put their packs on, and hiked back down. Their second day route had only 4.5 miles before getting to the fire road, which leads to the parking lot. The squad had Five Guys for lunch and arrived at the church around 3:30 pm.


Rip Rap Hollow
On September 24th, 10 scouts left from the Church at around 8 am for the Rip Rap Hollow outing, arriving at around 11 am. On the first day the hiking was good; there were a few river crossings, and there was actually a water hole at the campsite. There, scouts apparently played lots of dares on each other. There was also mention of a cooking pot that shot flames... Anyway, the next day, on the hike back, the scouts actually got chased by bees. Luckily, there were no reports of any serious injury. The scouts finished their hike at 1 pm, with them being back at the Church at 4 pm.

Fall Bike Trip
On October 15, 2016, the scouts left for their annual Fall Bike Trip at 7 am and arrived at White's Ferry around 8 am. They biked towards Georgetown (which wasn't the destination, though) for 25 miles, and had their campsite a few miles outside of Great Falls, Maryland. On the way, a scout fell into a ditch. The first account stated that it's because the scout in front of him suddenly braked, while the second one said that it's because he was attempting to get off his bike (and grabbed a thorn branch while he was falling). Luckily, the ditch was not wet at the time. Afterwards, the scouts camped at Marsden Tract for the night, getting their gear from the cars. The next morning around 9am, they left the campsite, arriving at White's Ferry at around 1:30 pm. After a meal at Five Guys around 2:45 pm, the scouts returned to the church at 3:30pm. Overall, this was a pretty great trip!