Medicine Mountain | South Dakota 2016

Medicine Mountain 2016

Rather than skipping out on the opportunity to take a big trip in 2016, the troop decided not to return to Hale Scout Reservation in 2016 but rather to hop on a bus and visit Medicine Mountain in South Dakota. The trip featured visits to Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Monument that is under construction. Scouts were able to participate in unique activities such as spelunking. This is the patch for the trip. The “PP” in the bottom left corner stands for SPL Parker Plank. If you have any additional stories or information about this patch that you would like us to add to this page, please let us know.

Camp Pupukea | Oahu, Hawaii 2015

Pupukea 2015

This is the patch from Troop 26’s 2015 Hawaiian summer camp adventure. The ghosted initials on the patch stand for the stickmen of the trip: Eagle Scouts Parker Plank (SPL), Eric Keilbarth (ASPL), Kyler Smith (HQM) and Josh Kroll (LC Chair). The troop visited Pearl Harbor, Camp Pupukea, Waimea Bay and Valley, the Polynesian Cultural Center, Shark’s Cove, the Dole Plantation, the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet, and the Punchbowl Military Cemetary where Bill was able to see his dad’s name on the wall that pays tribute to those missing in action during WWII. At the Punchbowl, attendees were also given a challenge coin. While it is not a patch, it might as well be included here.

Hawaii Challenge Coin

While at Camp Pupukea, the troop earned a special award known as the Hawaiiana Award. This award is exclusive to the Aloha Council, the council that owns and operates Camp Pupukea. The patches below are the Aloha Council patch and the Hawaiiana patch. (The patches below were not designed by Bill.) If you have any additional stories or information about the Hawaii trip that you would like us to add to this page, please let us know.

Aloha Council

Civil War | 2013 National Jamboree

Jambo 2013

This is the Troop 26 patch from the 2013 National Jamboree, the first at the Summit Bechtel Reserve. The theme of the trip’s itinerary was “Civil War,” as it roughly coincided with the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. Troop 26 scouts who attended this Jamboree were able to participate in a very rainy pledge coin ceremony at Gettysburg National Cemetary at the end of a very rainy trip. Many videos and pictures from this trip can be found on the Troop A229 and Troop C117 pages. If you have any additional stories or information about this patch that you would like us to add to this page, please let us know.

Zombie Apocalypse Campout, 2013

Zombies 2013

The Zombie Apocalypse Campout was an exciting survival experience featuring lots of first aid and survivalist opportunities after a zombie raid of the campsite. Under SPL Austin Hinds, the troop faced the challenges of a true zombie apocalypse by building shelters and utilizing the survivalist techniques they had learned so far in scouts to help them fend off the undead army. In all, it was a pretty exciting campout. If you have any additional stories or information about this patch that you would like us to add to this page, please let us know.

The Three Kings Set | Camp Alexander, Camp Hale, Philmont 2011

2011 Patch Set

These three zig-zaggy patches are all from the summer of 2011. The one on the left is from the troop’s 2011 trip to Camp Alexander near Colorado Springs. The one in the middle is from Camp Hale that year, and the shoulder patch above it is the Camp Hale shoulder patch for 2011, designed by Bill to match our troop patch. The patch on the right is for the Philmont crew that same year. These patches are full of religious and symbolic significance, so it may be worth giving them a closer look. If you have more info on this patch set that you would like included here, please let us know.

Shipwrecked Campout, 2008

Shipwrecked 2008

This is the patch from the infamous “Shipwrecked” campout, which was another survival-based campout in the style of the “Lost” campout from a few years earlier. “The Shipwrecked campout was the themed campout during the term of SPL Andrew Parks,” says Bill. “Again, survival was the objective in a winter setting. The Scouts were attacked by natives in grass skirts and bone necklaces. Map reading and survival cooking were key to survival after the scouts built shelters. Great campout.” This campout later inspired Doug Fournet’s 2012 “Endurance” campout. If you have any additional stories or information about this patch that you would like us to add to this page, please let us know.

LOST Campout, 2005

LOST 2005

This is the patch from the first major themed campout in the troop, based around an airplane crash and building the skills necessary to survive on an island. “It was the brain child of SPL Reid Spears,” says Bill. “One of our Assistant Scoutmasters, Weldon Levacy, got us a tail section of a plane for the debris field. When the troop arrived at the field on Saturday morning, they were met with suitcases and other debris. It was a survival campout. The scouts had to survive Saturday night using only what they found in the suitcases and what they could use from the debris. First aid opportunities were everywhere including an injured Randy McGuire with an aircraft bolt in his back. The first themed campout was a roaring success.” If you have any additional stories or information about this patch that you would like us to add to this page, please let us know.

2001 National Jamboree Troop 26 Indian Nations Council Set

This patch set is from Troop 26’s visit to the 2001 National Scout Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia. Each of the 16 patches in the set represents a different Native American tribe, and each came with a sheet of paper with stories about each tribe. If you have any additional stories or information about this patch set that you would like us to add to this page, please let us know. I’ll let the patches do the talking. And yes, these are actual size.