Boy Scout troop has adventures

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Malibu High School students, and Troop 85 scouts Rasmus Bathum (right) and Ethan Stockwell, take part in the week-long cross country hike at High Sierra.

Interested youth and parents are invited to an open house on Nov. 18 for Boy Scout Troop/Venture Crew 85, a group unique on the Westside for being both co-ed and exclusively focused on outdoor high adventure. The event will take place from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Methodist Church in Pacific Palisades, located at 801 Via de la Paz. It will feature an interior ropes course, live cooking of chocolate tacos and highlights of recent trips.

“Troop 85 has been a wonderful backpacking group,” assistant scoutmaster Jim Suhr said. “We’ve learned about so many hidden trails and less-traveled parts of the local mountains. And the annual Sierra treks, which last a week and cover 50 or more miles, are the best wilderness trips I’ve ever gone on.”

Ethan Stockwell, a Malibu High freshman who joined last year, said, “Hiking off-trail in the High Sierra for several days last summer was great. There’s nothing like getting to a remote ridge and looking out across the wilderness.”

The troop recently launched a 12-foot, backyard-built rocket more than a mile and a half into the air at Lucerne Dry Lake.

Troop 85 is open to boys ages 11 and older, and girls ages 14 and older. Girls ages 11 to 13 are allowed with parent supervision. Family members are welcome on all outings.