Scouts from Troop 51 take a break while riding the trails in DuPont Forest near Brevard, N.C.

PICKENS — As usual, Boy Scout Troop 51 of Pickens had an adventure-filled summer highlighted with three scouts receiving their Eagle Awards.

Scouts Receive Eagle

In June, the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest rank in scouting, was awarded to three outstanding young men from Troop 51 — Brandon Booty, Andrew Dyer and Kirk Alexander.

All three have been integral members of the troop for the past six to seven years, working hard to achieve the very prestigious award. Between the three scouts, they earned a total of 86 merit Badges, 21 rank advancements, camped 228 nights, hiked more than 184 miles, bicycled more than 464 miles and performed more than 200 hours of service projects throughout the community.

“These are three great scouts, and this is a great accomplishment, which is only awarded to about 7 percent of all scouts,” Troop 51 scoutmaster Perry Gravely said. “I consider it a great honor to have been a part of their scouting career and watching them grow up to be outstanding young men and important members of our community.”

Brandon is the son of Larry and Karen Booty of Easley, Andrew is the son of Teresa Dyer of Pickens and Ronnie Dyer of Woodruff, and Kirk is the son of Khol and Lisa Alexander of Easley.

Cycling Summer

The Troop spent a lot of time on two wheels this summer with a Mountain Biking Trip to Dupont Forest near Brevard, N.C., in June and a trip to the Greenbrier River Trail in southern West Virginia in August. The Dupont trip was a more typical mountain biking trip, riding on forest trails. After a hot day of riding, the boys got to enjoy a dip in the cool waters of Hooker Falls, a great swimming hole in Dupont.

At the end of the summer, the troop spent a weekend in West Virginia for a trip down the Greenbrier River Trail. This is a different type ride and travels along an old railroad bed which has been converted into a recreational trail for cycling and horseback riding.

Greenbrier is one of the many “Rails-to-Trails” sites throughout the country, and the trail follows the Greenbrier River for 85 miles. Most of the Scouts on this trip completed a 15-mile section, while several older scouts and adults completed 50 miles of the trail.

On Sunday morning before heading back home, the troop hiked several miles to a lookout tower for great mountain views of the surrounding states.

Jayme Styles, a Dacusville Middle School student who has been in the troop for almost a year, said “the bike ride in West Virginia was the longest I had ever ridden before and makes me we want to ride more.

“It was also fun going behind the waterfall,” Styles said of the trip to Dupont Forest. “The outings our troop goes on every month are a lot of fun.”

Summer Camp

As always, one of the premier events of the summer was the annual pilgrimage to Camp Old Indian in Northern Greenville County.

While at camp, scouts worked on merit badges, met new friends from around the country, learned new games and skills and many other activities: swimming, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, etc. Scouts from Troop 51 completed 39 merit badges in a variety of topics such as archery, lifesaving, kayaking, canoeing and many others.

General Troop

Information

Troop 51 was chartered with Boy Scouts of America in 1940 and has been an important part of the Pickens community since that time. The troop meets every Monday night at 7 p.m. at the Troop 51 Scout Hut on Blacksnake Road in Pickens. The troop has at least one scouting adventure each month, including cycling, hiking, camping, service projects etc.

For more information about the troop, contact Gravely at (864) 878-1577.