Adventure Trips

Boy Scout Troop 175  has one of the strongest camping programs of any troop in the country. We are an adventurous Troop with an emphasis on the basic skills of Scouting and putting those skills to the test every month on challenging trips.

Sample Trips

  • September – Block island Bike Trip
  • October – Burke Mountain Hike/Bike Trip
  • November – Annual Webelos Challenge on our “home” turf, Onion Mountain in West Simsbury. This is a great event where Cubs are invited for a full day of Scout activities and to work with our Scout patrols on making rope bridges, furniture, campfires, orienteering and zip lines. In the evening, the patrols will cook a meal with the Cubs followed by a Troop campfire with songs and skits put on by the Scouts. Cubs are invited to spend the night camping (with a parent).
  • Mission Profile/Immortals Tryout – a 24 hour marathon “Seal Team” exercise for our older guys.
  • December – Skills training at winter camp Mattatuck. To celebrate the New Year the troop spent alll  night at Launch trampoline park.
  • January – Our Annual Weekend Ski trip – this year to Bromley Mt
  • February – The Deep Freeze Campout
  • March – Our cross-over trip for Webelos joining our troop. We camped at Camp Allymuchy in NJ. Also our leaders Group snow shoed into the White Mountains for Leadership Training at Lonesome Lake Hut
  • April – we went hiking in the Gunks.
  • May –  We did a bike trip along the greenway in Ct.
  • June – the Troop went to Sea base in Florida and sailed a windjammer for seven days among the Florida keys.
  • 10th Annual Boy Scout Adventure Race. This race was developed by Troop 175 and involves biking, running, canoeing, rappelling, orienteering and climbing in Simsbury in a 16 mile, 4 hour race..  Boys Life Magazine published a full picture, 6 page article of the race in April 2010, featuring Troop 175.
  • June also included our Hartford Marathon Securty Campout.
  • July – Our annual 1 week summer camp at Camp Mattatuck.
  • August- During August our troop provides international expeditions – last year was sailing in Croatia.

The Ultimate Adventure – International/Domestic Expedition Trips

Each summer, Troop 175 provides an opportunity for its most experienced Scouts to go on an International/Domestic Expedition Trip.

Croatia Sailing Expedition -2021 – This last summer we took 20 people sailing in two 50ft Catamarans down the coast of Croatia. Each day would would sail into a different port and enjoy the medieval history of this ancient country. We then stopped in Dubrovik in toured this World Heritage City for two days.

Seychelles Sailing Expedition- 2020 – This last summer were scheduled to take 20 of our Troop sailing through the Seychelles Islands off of Africa- Due to the Covid Pandemic we were forced to Cancel this trip.

Kilimanjaro – 2019  – Twenty-eight of our Scouts and their parents traveled to Africa to climb Kilimanjaro, a trip in the planning for over two years. It was an extraordinary adventure. We spent five days climbing the largest freestanding volcanic mountain in the world. In the process, we went through five climatic zones. Our group of 28 had 86 Tanzanian support staff, as everything has to be carried up the mountain. Our Tanzanian Guides were the best on the mountain, and each two-climber team had a guide. On day six, we started our final assault at midnight from 15,500 feet, climbing up the crater wall. The temperature was 15 degrees; the oxygen level less than half at sea level. We climbed for six hours with four, five-minute breaks. The crater wall was steep. In the dark, under a full moon, the group slowly moved to the summit. At 6 am, we reached the first summit at Gillman’s Point. Water bottles were frozen, and fingers and toes had lost most feeling, but after a brief regroup it was on another two hours around the crater to the final summit at Uhuru Peak at 19,341 – the rooftop of Africa. Our group took a round of pictures and then went back down the crater wall and eventually down to 12,000 feet by 5 pm that afternoon. Everyone agreed that it was the longest – but most memorable day – of their life. We first did We first made this trip in 2007 with a group of 24 and, at the time, we were the first US troop to climb the mountain. We did it again in 2012 with 20 people. We are the only Troop in America to have done it three times.

RV Trip National Parks  in the West – 2018- In July we took a group of RV’s and 25 Scouts and parents to tour the western national parks, climbing in Yellowstone, Jackson Hole, Zion and the Badlands national parks.

Roatan, Honduras 2018  – In April we took 20 of our Scouts and parents to Roatan in in Honduras to get Scuba Certified and to then dive in the over 200 dive sites that surround the island. In addition we got to learn underwater night navigation and to swim with a large group of sharks.

Thailand Islands -2017 – In July/August we took 30 of our Troop to Thailand. We explored Phuket, Thailand, rafted a whitewter class 4 /5 river and  rode elephants through the jungle to a giant waterfall. We then sailed through the Phi Phi islands on three yachts we operated ourselves.

Cuba – 2017 – We were granted special visas to visit Cuba and became the first Scout Troop in 59 years to tour Cuba.  We toured Havana and then sailed to nearby islands. Along the way we played many soccer games with the locals kids and got to practice our Spanish.

Greek Sailing Expedition – 2016 – In the summer of 2016 we took 30 scouts and adults on three large yachts and sailed through the Greek islands. We flew to Athens and toured the city for two days and then sailed our yachts and sailed of to Serfos, Peros, Mykonos, Hydra and Paros. We spent the days sailing through the magnificent Mediterranean Sea with all the Scouts learning to sail and stand watch. At night we would be a different island and would frequently find a small restaurants to eat . We would often get invited by local Greeks to experience their way of life in this remarkable place.

Alaska Expeditions – 2015 and 2010 –  We took 26 members of the Troop to Alaska and explored the Great State in 6 RV’s. We explored and hiked on Glaciers, panned for Gold in the Klondike, Fished for King Salmon in the Kenai River, explored the fiords of Seward, and enjoyed the endless twilight of the Arctic Circle. We first did this trip in 2010.

Zambezi White Water Rafting – 2014 – 16 Scouts and parents traveled to Zambia, Africa to raft one of the three greatest whitewater rivers in the world. Using the world’s top Rafting guide service “Water by Nature”, we successfully descended 60 miles of the Zambezi River’s class 3, 4, 5 rapids as well as portaged a half a dozen rapids that were un-raftable.  At the end we were flown out of the Zambezi Gorge by helicopter to a mountain top lodge to clean up. The group then traveled to Botswana to explore a game park and camp among lions and giraffes.

National BSA Jamboree – 2013 – In July 18 of our Scouts attended the quadrennial Jamboree at the Summit Bechtel Jamboree Site in West Virginia.

As part of the Connecticut Rivers Council Contingent they spent 10 days rafting, zip lining, shooting and meeting other scouts from all over the country. The Jamboree site became the 3rd largest city in West Virginia for that ten days – 45,000 Scouts and Scouters.

An Eagle Scout from Troop 175, Keegan Rice and the rest of the cast of National Geographic’s “Are You Tougher Than A Boy Scout” TV Show was one of the featured guests of the event.

Caribbean Expedition –   In April 2013, we took 24 scouts and leaders on two 45ft catamarans down the Belize Barrier Reef for 7 days.  We visited many remote islands and explored the reef with snorkel equipment.

In April 2012 we took 18 Scouts and leaders on two 47ft Ocean Catamarans on a one week sailing expedition in the British Virgin Islands. Departing from Tortola we sailed, fished, swam and explored the islands south and north. We had high winds and great sailing and all the Scouts learned the skills of navigating, piloting, and operating a serious sailing machine.

In February of 2011, we chartered two catamarans and sailed from St. Martin to the British Virgin Islands.

Philmont Scout Ranch – Every two years the troop sends a crew of 12 to Cimarron, New Mexico for an unforgettable 2 week backpacking adventure in the Sangre De Cristo mountain range.  Philmont, donated to the Boy Scouts in 1947, consists of 220 square miles of high altitude terrain.

This last summer(2020) we had two crews ready to go to Philmont but had to cancel when the Ranch did not open due to Covid.

Our 2018 Crew was unfortunately cancelled as a result of the major fires that summer in Philmont. Instead we re routed the troop through Utah and created our own equally challenging trip in the high country of the Utah deserts.

Our 2016 crew hiked 82 miles carrying fully loaded packs, which enabled us to be self-sufficient for our 2 week stay.   We climbed one of the highest peaks, Mount Phillips at elevation 11,711’.  Later that afternoon we cooked our dinner while watching the sunset behind the valley below. Our crew finished their experience by starting at 3am to climb another peak to watch the sunrise.

Philmont was a wonderful experience not only for the outdoor adventure but also for the wilderness and leadership skills each scout mastered along the way.  In 2018 we will send 2 crews to Philmont.

Amazon Jungle – In 2008, we took eleven of our Scouts and Leaders deep into the Amazon Jungle. We flew to Lima, Peru and then into Iquitos, a city on the Amazon River that is the largest city in the world inaccessible by road. After a 110 mile journey up the river, we went through jungle training for 3 days with local Indian guides.   We then departed with a full expedition into a part of the Amazon that had rarely seen humans. Under the auspices of Dr. Paul Beaver and the Amazon Research Center, we observed and cataloged rare species of monkeys. Along the way we had to deal with tarantulas, poisonous snakes, deep mud, wild boars and incessant rain. It was an extraordinary experience.