Trail Life Kilgore, TX-5662

Experience the great outdoors with our regular camping trips. Learn survival skills, appreciate nature, and bond with fellow troop members.

Give back to our community through regular service projects. We believe in the importance of serving others and making a positive impact.

We welcome boys ages 5-17 to join our troop. Meetings are held on Mondays from 6:30 PM to 7:45 PM at Highland Park Baptist Church in Kilgore.

Joining Trail Life is an excellent opportunity for young men to grow in faith, character, and leadership while having fun and making lifelong friends.

Our older boys join the Navigators and Adventurers program, which emphasizes:

The Navigators and Adventurers program builds upon the foundation laid in Woodlands Trail, offering more complex challenges and opportunities for leadership. Participants engage in advanced outdoor skills, take on leadership roles within the troop, and participate in more demanding adventures. This program also deepens the focus on spiritual growth, encouraging young men to apply their faith in practical ways.

Learn essential life skills through hands-on lessons and activities. From first aid to leadership, we cover a wide range of valuable skills.

Woodlands Trail (Ages 5-10)

Our younger boys participate in the Woodlands Trail program, which focuses on:

The Woodlands Trail program is designed to introduce young boys to outdoor adventures and character-building activities in a safe, supportive environment. Through engaging games, crafts, and simple outdoor skills, boys learn important values and begin to develop a sense of responsibility and teamwork.

About Our Troop

We are Trail Life in Kilgore, Troop TX-5662! Trail Life is a Christ-centered outdoor adventure, character, and leadership program for boys and young men. Our troop is dedicated to guiding the next generation of godly men through fun, adventure, and character-building activities.

Through our program, we aim to develop character, foster leadership skills, and create lasting friendships in a supportive, faith-based environment.

Campout Packing List

We recommend that you look over this list for each campout. It is better to decide not to bring something on purpose than to forget it by accident.

Campsite

Clothing

Toiletries

Personal Camping Gear

Other

Things we generally avoid: fixed-blade knives, propane or butane lighters, axes (except in the axe yard), hatchets, propane or gas lanterns, fire accelerants, fireworks, electronics.

Campouts

Campouts are a big reason the Trailmen love coming to Trail Life, so a lot of time needs to be taken to make each one a fun learning experience. Troop TX-5662 needs an Event and Activity Coordinator to help determine different camp sites and have plenty of activities for the Trailman. Some campouts will be combined with both Woodlands Trail/Navigator and Adventurers.

Typically, once a year, the troop will have a family campout which will be similar to the Woodlands Trail style campout. Please note that the family campout is not a time for parents to drop off their Trailman and leave. Parents are expected to stay and participate in the campout.

Core Values

CHRIST-CENTERED - Trail Life USA (TLUSA) is a Christian outdoor adventure program that emphasizes and teaches biblical moral values and requires all adult members to agree with, sign, and abide by the Trail Life USA Trinitarian Statement of Faith and the Statement of Values. The program is unapologetically Christian. However, the program is designed and intended to be presented without being “churchy” or “religious,” focusing on outdoor adventure, character, and leadership development. The analogy for this principle has been referred to as “carrot cake.” The carrots in the cake are not in big and obvious chunks, but are still present throughout the entire cake, as are the assumptions of a Christian worldview throughout the entire program. At the same time, the TLUSA program is not intended to replace or compete with other youth groups, Bible studies, or church programs, but rather to complement them and give youth an opportunity to exemplify and demonstrate Christian values in their relationships

Disciplinary Policy

Woodland Trails

We believe that part of teaching your son to become a godly man is teaching him discipline. We want boys to be boys, encouraging them to be what God has created them to be. We also want them to be meek. Meekness is best understood as strength under control. When strength is controlled, it can be focused on difficult tasks with success. When strength is out of control, it is unfocused and often results in harmful outcomes. Understand, we do not want to weaken your son or “break” him; we want him to be as strong-willed and physically capable as God has created him to be. But he must be able to control his strength under the guidance of God and godly authority in his life. For this reason, we will be disciplined in our meetings.

Health and Safety

The health and safety of each Trailman is always front of mind each time the troop/patrol meet. Trail Life USA has a list of documents available on https://www.traillifeconnect.com/ consisting of:

All Registered Adults are required to go through a background check and child safety training. We require 2-deep leadership where no leader may be alone with the children. Our goal is to have a Registered Adult for every 4 Foxes, 8 Hawks, and 10 Mountain Lions. Please talk to the Troop Ministry Liason (Preston Lewis) or Troopmaster (Chris Umphress) about how to help!

Organizational Chart

G r e g S y k e s , C o m m i t t e e C h a R i y r a n M a l o n C e h , r i R s a n U g m e p r h r e s s , T B r r o i o a p n m a F s l t e e n r s , A d v i s P o h r i l V o g e l B s l a a n k J g e . , K P T i r r m e e b s a r t s o o u u n r g e h L r , e w S i e s n , i o T r M R L o M b i & e n r i C t s h t a P r p e y l r a r L i y e n , a d C e o r m m u n i t y S e r v i c e V i c k i M a l o n e , C o m m i t t e e M e m b e r K r y s t l e P e r r y , P u b l i c R e l a t i o n s

Program Costs

The national Trail Life organization charges roughly $40 per year for membership. This applies to youth who participate in Trail Life, and to adults who pass the background check process to become “Registered Adults.” The cost is determined by the national organization, and covers insurance, background checks, and other administrative costs. We cannot track awards and advancements without this registration.

Uniforms and handbooks are additional costs. A uniform shirt is required for all youth and adults. The cost of a shirt is roughly $55. The cost of a handbook is roughly $18. Together, the cost of a uniform and handbook is roughly $75.

Trailman Levels

Troop TX-5662 consist of three groups – Woodlands Trails, Navigator and Adventurer.

Woodlands Trail

Woodlands Trail consists of boys 5-10 years old with three patrols (Fox: 5-6, Hawk: 7-8, Mountain Lion 9-10). Each patrol should have at least two adult leaders in charge for two-deep leadership. The purpose of each patrol meeting is to complete training which goes towards seven separate branches (Handbook, Section 3, page 17):

  1. Heritage (Brown)
  2. Hobbies (Black)
  3. Life Skills (Burgundy)
  4. Outdoor Skills (Blue)
  5. Science & Technology (Yellow)
  6. Sports and Fitness (Green)
  7. Values (Red)

Each Trailman will work toward awards throughout the year, starting with the Joining Award which consist of memorizing (Handbook, Section 3, Pages 18-22):

Troop Level Positions

Trail life emphasizes men mentoring young men. Most roles which directly interact with the boys are restricted to male mentorship. These include: Troop Chaplain, Troopmaster, Ranger, Trailmaster, Advisor, Guidon Coach, and all Navigator and Adventurer Trail Guides.

The Charter Organization Representative is not restricted to males unless dual-registering as the Chaplain.

All other positions may be held by females including all other Committee Members, and Trail Guides for the Foxes and Hawks.

Troop Training

Trail Life USA has a training program called “3 Peaks.”

Peaks 1 and 2 can be completed online in Trail Life Connect. Go to “Dashboard” -> “Trail Life University.”

Peak 1 can be finished in an afternoon, and Peak 2 will take about a day. If you prefer, in-person events are scheduled periodically around our region. Speak with Chris Umphress if the in-person events interest you.

Uniforms

A uniform shirt can be purchased from the national Trail Life store.

Required items:

The handbook can also be purchased from the national store:

When and Where Do You Meet?

We meet every Monday night**, from 6:30 to 7:45 PM at Highland Park Baptist Church. We aim to get the boys outside each week.

We also have a “Hit The Trail” event once a month, which is a hike, camping trip, community outreach, or other event.

** We observe holidays and the summer break along with Kilgore ISD.

Location

Highland Park Baptist Church 2424 S Henderson Blvd Kilgore, TX 75662

Time