🎥 2026 Leaders Meeting Recording | 📊 2026 Leaders Meeting Presentation
Camp Hi-Sierra is committed to helping every Scout advance on their Trail to Eagle. With over 50 merit badges available and a low Scout-to-instructor ratio, our programs provide personalized attention to help Scouts succeed.
The Trail to Eagle area at camp is a central hub for advancement, where Scouts can work on rank requirements, get help with merit badge partials, and participate in advancement reviews.
The Trail to First Class area helps new and younger Scouts make steady progress toward their First Class rank. Instruction is organized into three tracks — Trail to Tenderfoot, Trail to Second Class, and Trail to First Class — each covering the specific rank requirements listed below.
How sign-off works: Camp Hi-Sierra staff teach the skills for the requirements listed below. We do not sign off requirements in a Scout's handbook. After camp, the Scout's unit verifies the Scout's knowledge and records completion in the handbook and advancement records. Scoutmasters should plan to review and confirm these requirements with each Scout when the troop returns home.
Requirement wording below is condensed from the current Scouting America Scouts BSA Rank Requirements (December 2025 edition). Always confirm against the official requirements before recording advancement.
Requirements taught: 1c, 2c, 3a–3d, 4a–4c, 5b–5d, 7a, 8
| Req. | What we teach |
|---|---|
| 1c | Explain how you demonstrated the Outdoor Code and Leave No Trace on campouts or outings. |
| 2c | Explain the importance of eating together as a patrol. |
| 3a | Demonstrate a practical use of the square knot. |
| 3b | Demonstrate a practical use of two half-hitches. |
| 3c | Demonstrate a practical use of the taut-line hitch. |
| 3d | Demonstrate proper care, sharpening, and use of the knife, saw, and ax, and describe when each should be used. |
| 4a | Show first aid for: simple cuts and scrapes; blisters on the hand and foot; minor (first-degree) burns or scalds; insect and tick bites or stings; venomous snakebite; nosebleed; frostbite and sunburn; and choking. |
| 4b | Describe common poisonous or hazardous plants, identify any that grow in the local area or campsite, and tell how to treat exposure to them. |
| 4c | Tell what you can do on a campout or outdoor activity to prevent or reduce the injuries or exposure listed in Tenderfoot 4a and 4b. |
| 5b | Describe what to do if you become lost on a hike or campout. |
| 5c | Explain the rules of safe and responsible hiking — on the highway and cross-country, during the day and at night. |
| 5d | Explain why it is important to hike on trails or other durable surfaces, and give examples of durable surfaces. |
| 7a | Demonstrate how to display, raise, lower, and fold the U.S. flag. |
| 8 | Describe the steps in Scouting's Teaching EDGE method, and use it to teach another person how to tie the square knot. |
Requirements taught: 1b, 2a–2d, 2f–2g, 3a, 3d, 5a, 5c–5d, 6a–6e, 8a–8b, 9a–9b
| Req. | What we teach |
|---|---|
| 1b | Recite the principles of Leave No Trace from memory, and explain how you follow them on all outings. |
| 2a | Explain when it is appropriate to use a fire for cooking or other purposes — and when it would not be. |
| 2b | Use a pocketknife, and a saw or axe if needed, to prepare tinder, kindling, and fuel wood for a cooking fire. |
| 2c | Using a minimum-impact method at an approved location, build a fire with that tinder, kindling, and fuel wood; light it (unless prohibited), let it burn safely at least two minutes, then safely extinguish it and dispose of the ashes and charred remains. |
| 2d | Explain when to use a lightweight stove versus a propane stove. Set one up, light it (unless prohibited), and describe the safety procedures for these stoves. |
| 2f | Demonstrate tying the sheet bend knot, and describe a situation in which you would use it. |
| 2g | Demonstrate tying the bowline knot, and describe a situation in which you would use it. |
| 3a | Demonstrate how a compass works and how to orient a map. Use a map to point out and explain five map symbols. |
| 3d | Demonstrate how to find directions during the day and at night without a compass or an electronic device. |
| 5a | Tell what precautions must be taken for a safe swim. |
| 5c | Demonstrate water rescue methods by reaching with an arm or leg, reaching with a suitable object, and throwing lines and objects. |
| 5d | Explain why swimming rescues should not be attempted when a reaching or throwing rescue is possible, and why and how a rescue swimmer should avoid contact with the victim. |
| 6a | Demonstrate first aid for: object in the eye; bite of a warm-blooded animal; puncture wounds from a splinter, nail, and fishhook; serious (second-degree) burns; heat exhaustion; shock; and heatstroke, dehydration, hypothermia, and hyperventilation. |
| 6b | Show what to do for "hurry" cases of stopped breathing, stroke, severe bleeding, and ingested poisoning. |
| 6c | Tell what you can do on a campout or hike to prevent or reduce the injuries listed in Second Class 6a and 6b. |
| 6d | Explain what to do for accidents requiring emergency response at home and in the backcountry — what constitutes an emergency and what information to give a responder. |
| 6e | Tell how you should respond if you come upon the scene of a vehicular accident. |
| 8a | Participate in a flag ceremony for a school, religious institution, chartered organization, community, or Scouting activity. |
| 8b | Explain what respect is due the flag of the United States. |
| 9a | Explain the three R's of personal safety and protection. |
| 9b | Describe bullying, and tell the appropriate response to someone bullying you or another person. |
Requirements taught: 1b, 3a–3d, 4b, 5a–5d, 6b–6e, 7a–7d, 7f
| Req. | What we teach |
|---|---|
| 1b | Explain the potential impacts of camping on the environment and on other outdoor users, and why the Outdoor Code and Leave No Trace principles matter for protecting the outdoors. |
| 3a | Discuss when you should and should not use lashings. |
| 3b | Demonstrate tying the timber hitch and clove hitch. |
| 3c | Demonstrate tying the square, shear, and diagonal lashings by joining two or more poles or staves together. |
| 3d | Use lashings to make a useful camp gadget or structure. |
| 4b | Demonstrate how to use a handheld GPS unit, GPS app, or other electronic navigation system to find your current location, a chosen destination, and the route — then follow that route to the destination. |
| 5a | Identify or show evidence of at least 10 kinds of native plants found in the local area or campsite location. |
| 5b | Identify two ways to obtain a weather forecast for an upcoming activity, and explain why forecasts matter when planning an event. |
| 5c | Describe at least three natural indicators of impending hazardous weather, the dangers that might result, and the appropriate actions to take. |
| 5d | Describe extreme weather conditions you might encounter locally, and discuss how to assess the risk ahead of time, plan alternatives, and prepare for and respond to them. |
| 6b | Tell what precautions must be taken for a safe trip afloat. |
| 6c | Identify the basic parts of a canoe, kayak, or other boat, and the parts of a paddle or an oar. |
| 6d | Describe proper body positioning in a watercraft by type and size of vessel, and explain why proper position matters. |
| 6e | With a helper and a practice victim, show a line rescue both as tender and as rescuer (victim about 30 feet from shore in deep water). |
| 7a | Demonstrate bandages for a sprained ankle and for injuries on the head, the upper arm, and the collarbone. |
| 7b | By yourself and with a partner, show how to transport a person from a smoke-filled room and transport a person with a sprained ankle at least 25 yards. |
| 7c | Tell the five most common signals of a heart attack, and explain the steps of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). |
| 7d | Tell what utility services exist in your home or meeting place, describe potential hazards, and tell how to respond in emergencies. |
| 7f | Explain how to obtain potable water in an emergency. |