Local Boy Scouts troop featured in Scout Life magazine

One Long Beach-based Boy Scout troop has earned national recognition after one of their adventures last year tested their skills and endurance.

For the scouts of Boy Scout Troop 321 in Long Beach, exploration is at the heart of what they do. Scout Addison Carroll said, “We had a beautiful picture. There was ice on the mountain, and we just had an open view, no trees in the way, and it was really good.”

Last June, 18 members of the troop traveled to Colorado to hike parts of the Continental Divide, climbing to heights of 10,000 feet and higher.

The trip allowed scouts to learn new skills like adjusting to high altitudes, snow, and even warning away bears on their path. Scout Justin Elliott said, “What you’re supposed to do whenever a bear comes in, you’re supposed to bang your mess kit as loud as possible, so that’s what one of the other guys did, woke up the entire camp. You’re supposed to keep banging it until it goes away.”

Troop 321’s experience in new surroundings caught the eye of the National Scout Life magazine. So much so that they are on the cover of April’s edition and are featured in an article detailing their trip. Scout Master Tommy Carroll said, “They get about ten-thousand contacts each year to go do stories. So out of that ten-thousand, they choose ten troops to do stories about. We were one of those ten, so this is a big deal for us.”

Troop members like 16-year-old Johnathan Potts says it is exciting for them to be recognized in this manner as they learn new skills. “To be featured on the front page? That just adds a whole new level of excitement to this scouting thing, that we get to go out and be recognized for what we’re doing here.”

Now the troop is busy preparing for their next adventure to the Grand Canyon and scouts are excited to use the tools they learned in Colorado to blaze a new trail this year. “It’s fun, but it also proves a challenge and that’s what makes it fun.”