April Brings Troop 5 a Training Hike, Along The Apalachian Trail

By Nathan V.

Troop 5 went on a hiking trip in the middle of April at the Worthington State Forest in Columbia, New Jersey.

The drive took around an hour, and we passed by many towns throughout New Jersey. Arriving around 8 p.m., we had to set up our tents in the dark — before the rain hit. We had to rest up for the next day, which was a big hiking day.

Once we woke up, we had breakfast and ate enough to get us ready for the hike.

We started our hike at the bottom of Rockcore hiking trail. As we continued along the path, the elevation increased greatly with every step. We saw a wide variety of nature and wildlife throughout the hike.

We found ourselves on the Appalachian Trail as we progressed.

Photo by Assistant Scout Master Kevin D.

Then we arrived at Sunfish Pond, a great body of water on the top of a mountain. We then rested out there to have our lunch.

Photo by Henry V.

Once we were going to head down the mountain, the Troop split into two groups. One group consisted of participants of Philmont for 2025 and other hikers. The other group had younger Scouts and some adult leaders. The Philmont group went for a 10 mile hike and gained around 1000 feet in elevation. The smaller group went for 5 to 6 mile hike though still got a great experience.

The troop then met up back at our campsite. Some of us were not out of energy from our long hike so they decided to play ultimate frisbee near a beautiful spot along the Delaware River.

Photo by Henry V.

We ate dinner — some of us had delicious cooked meals while some of us ate premade meals. Then we had our campfire which consisted of skits and songs. Eventually, we did go to bed.

Sunday morning was scheduled as we woke up, had breakfast, and packed. Once the cars arrived we all loaded up the cars. Then each car was filled with Scouts and we returned home.

Photo by Henry V.

Riding the Waves, Seeing the Caribbean at Troop 5’s Spring Break Virgin Islands Return

By Peter D.

Early on a Friday in late March we hoped on a plane to St. Thomas, a part of the territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

About four hours later we arrived.

Then we took a taxi to a ferry to St. John, another of the U.S. Virgin Islands, home of the U.S. Virgin Islands National Park, and another taxi to our camp site, in Cinnamon Bay, where Troop 5 used to camp until hurricanes wreaked havoc on the islands in 2017.

We set up and rested for the day.

The next day was a “beach day,” so we just relaxed on the beach and did a hike around some ruins.

On Sunday we kayaked from Cruz Bay to a reef and snorkeled around, then kayaked back and relaxed on the beach for the rest of the day.

“The whole trip was super fun and I would go again!”

Monday we had another “beach day,” and half-way through we hiked and saw some great views of Cinnamon Bay.

Tuesday we did a hike and took a taxi to the trail head with the Park Service and got a guided tour of a few sugar mills.

The hike took the whole day and we took a boat back to Cruz Bay and spent some time in town.

On Wednesday, we rented a boat and did a hike and swam and snorkeled around the boat — we even jumped off the top!

Thursday was another “beach day” and the waves were huge and we had some fun.

That Friday, one week after our arrival, we packed up and went home.

The whole trip was super fun and I would go again!