The Bloggers
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Kevin Callan is the most famous camping and canoeing expert you've never heard of. Maybe expert isn't really the word I am looking for; let's call Kevin an enthusiast. When I think of an expert I think of someone with a great deal of experience and knowledge in a given subject who shares knowledge and…
Adults keep an eye on things from a respectful distance and Scouts lead themselves. When we talk about boys planning, preparing and leading Scout outings some folks reply "Good grief, how can you leave the Scouts in charge when the troop is going on a strenuous hike to Jones Mountain and they have no experience?
On our high adventure canoe trip each crew packs and cooks food for a group of five to nine Scouts. Our menu is a combination of freeze dried and grocery store food that keeps the cost reasonable while providing good nutrition and good eating.
In this edition of the Scoutmaster Podcast it's time, once again, for another Scoutmaster Panel Discussion! Larry and Tom join me to discuss program evaluation tools and how we keep up with how well we are doing our work as Scoutmasters (or as any Scouting volunteer).
Steven Karoly's blog Round the Chuckbox features this receipt with a story about camping with his family: After a quick inventory, I realized that flour was in short supply in camp so I prepared the hotcake batter with ingredients on hand.
Modern portage packs have an advanced suspension system that is much like a normal backpack. At the beginning of a high adventure canoe trip our portage packs our packs weigh about 60-70 pounds. This is quite a load for some of us but time has proven that even our smallest Scouts can handle them very…
Any high adventure canoe trip requires selecting the right gear and clothing. I am pretty specific about what we carry on our trips because I know one thing for sure; in the case of where we are going: It's All About Portaging In a place like Algonquin you'll be traveling from lake to lake, and…
Click to view slideshow. For the last nine years every summer our Scouts pile into a van and drive north to Ontario's Algonquin Provincial Park for a week-long high adventure canoe trip. Our crews typically cover 40-50 miles of paddling and portaging during our stay.
This email about one Webelos crossover to a troop needs little introduction or explanation, but one part bears repeating; Meetings don't cut it, selling the parents on how great a troop is doesn't cut it, your "reputation" of being a strong troop doesn't cut it.
In this edition of the Scoutmaster podcast we introduce ‘The Colorado Experiment' with new Scoutmaster Arlen Ward, we'll be checking in with Arlen from time to time to see how his newly chartered troop is coming along. All this and your messages in the mailbag!
Click to view slideshow. A bit of planning, a lot of work, and the result! From Seth Godin You don't get to just do the good parts. Of course. In fact, you probably wouldn't have chosen this path if it was guaranteed to work every time.
Supplement your B.S.A. Hazardous Weather Training with the free National Weather Service's SKYWARN training . ( Rick Jameson suggested this after reading Ten Causes of Scouting Disasters in the Wild - thanks Rick!) To obtain critical weather information, NOAA's National Weather Service established SKYWARN®, a volunteer program with nearly 290,000 trained severe weather spotters.
It takes a few years but that gawky 11-year-old becomes a responsible young man when Scout parents cooperate with the process. I received this email from a Scout parent: I am new to the Boy Scout Program and I am not getting answers to questions .
Here's another idea to put in your file of Scout Games – we've had great fun with this one by creating a maze of chairs and tables for the ship to navigate, or as an inter-patrol competition. It's a foggy night at sea, a ship full of passengers must reach a safe harbor.
A wall cloud like this is never good news. (The storm that followed caused tornadoes, thankfully a good distance from where we hunkered down!) Scouting disasters in the wild loom when things start to get sketchy, the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, you get that feeling that something is not quite…
In this Podcast we discuss the difference between planning and preparing, and answer an email question about patrols Links in this Podcast: 23 Leadership Questions Leadership Self-Evaluation April ScoutCircle details Kevin Callan's Book Dazed but Not Confused: Tales of a Wilderness Wanderer Scoutmaster Podcast 164
Going camping? Go light! Here's an infographic of the collective wisdom of a number of my favorite authors, Nessmuk , Aldo Leopold , Horace Kephardt , Ellsworth Jaeger and more. Click the go light infographic to see full-size Printable PDF of the go light infographic Going Camping? Go Light!
If you want to serve a memorable campfire meal I can't imagine a much more flavorful or impressive dish than this paella. Dave Herzog (the chef who developed this recipe) is a real dutch oven impresario – you can get his recipe collections through the Cook'n recipe organizer , this requires purchasing the Cook'n software - something you…
This infographic was generously provided by reader and listener Roger Thor Roop – Thank's Roger! Click the infographic to see full size. pioneering chair Pioneering Camp Seat Infographic
Backpacker Magazine's Complete Guide to Outdoor Gear Maintenance and Repair is your ticket to becoming a camping gear repair guru. Author Kirstin Hostetter's well illustrated, carefully explained directions return your investment with the first piece of damaged gear you save.
These leadership questions were part of our annual leadership challenge event this past weekend. Scouts were asked to evaluate their leadership skills at the beginning and the end of the weekend by rating themselves on how well the understood and applied these concepts.
A new patrol leader may think, at first, their position is one of great power and authority. Truth be told patrol leaders do have great power and authority but it's not aimed at bossing people around or commanding their respect.
In this Podcast we discuss the difference between planning and preparing, and answer an email question about patrols Links in this Podcast: Working the Patrol Method (my review with links to purchase the book) Scoutmaster Podcast 163
Troop 676 of Bozeman during their August 2012 traverse across Spanish Peaks in the Lee Metcalf Wilderness of Montana, standing atop Indian Ridge listening to our oldest Scout tell an animated story about another adventure from the past. (Photo from Ryan Jordan) Scouts need some structure and direction but they also need the opportunity (plenty…
These incredible pioneering structures built by Israeli Scouts are a real inspiration( here's the website ). Obviously a lot of planning and modeling went into creating projects on this scale. It looks like a tremendous amount of fun doesn't it? I'll have to show my Scouts these pictures – who wouldn't want to build a giant Spongebob…
Freeze-dried food is convenient, lightweight and packs well for extended trips. A hybrid menu of bulk freeze-dried food and grocery store ingredients is a more versatile and less expensive alternative for a patrol or high adventure crew. For our week-long canoe trips we've developed a hybrid menu of freeze-dried and grocery store food that our…
David from Hawaii writes: I am a fairly new Scoutmaster and I asked the committee to present merit badges and rank patches in troop meetings and present the certificates for those badges at the court of honor. They declined out of fear that no one would attend the court of honor.
Here's the latest ScoutCircle presentation on the troop committee. Every month the virtual round table at ScoutCircle.org features a presentation and question and answer period. This month our guest was Frank Maynard , committee chairman who maintains a blog at Bobwhite Blather .
In this Podcast we answer email questions about the advisability withholding boards of review if rechartering fees aren't paid, how to work with helicopter parents, and some ideas about getting Scouts and parents to attend a troop court of honor.
Join us on Sunday March 10th at 9 PM EST (6 PM PST) for a presentation and question and answer session at scoutcircle.org . Our guest this month is Frank Maynard, a long-serving Committee Chair for a troop of 65+ boys in Michigan who also serves committees at the Cub Scout and District levels.
Here's a game recommended by Walter Underwood named after Scouting's own John Thurman , you can find it in this list of games (pdf file) Equipment: For each patrol, a Scout stave or broomstick handle Procedure: The patrols line up in relay formation, with the patrol leader of each holding the stave about 5 feet in…
In a post titled The Patrol Leader's Council and Planning I laid out the basis of structure, content, planning and preparation. Scouts establish a structure (the calendar of what's happening), the content (what they'll be doing) and plan (who will be doing what) and then they prepare for actually carrying these things out.
A "bend' in knotting terminology is a knot used to join two ropes. The carrick bend is consider superior in strength and utility to the square or reef knot (which is not classed as a bend). In 1783 the carrick bend was mentioned in nautical dictionary.
In this Podcast we talk about some common mistakes Scout leaders make and offer ideas on how to balance your approach to leadership. Email answers to questions about recruiting methods and applying the buddy system while camping; do Scouts have to share tents?
Dan Baker shared an interesting 9 ounce reflector oven idea constructed of titanium foil, aluminum and bicycle spokes. I think this is a great design, it's lightweight, collapsible and looks like a fun project. I cannot resist taking this on my trips.
35 years ago, Kathy Hall was a single mother of three in search of a male role model for her then 7 year-old son. She decided to enroll him in her neighborhood Boy Scout troop, under the Grand Towers district.
Yesterday a Boy Scouts of America review of ‘Values and Membership Polices' was announced on the Scouting Magazine Blog where a link to this B.S.A. website with comprehensive information about the review is available. I'd suggest reading the information available there for a pretty thorough understanding of how the membership policy of excluding people based…
Sometimes it seems we are doing all the right things but the results we are hoping for never materialize. When Scout leaders grow frustrated with their work it's usually because they are making one or more of the following mistakes: 1.
This podcast features our February Scoutmaster panel discussion. We answer email questions about how positions of responsibility are determined among youth leaders and the Scoutmaster's role in making this happen, offer some advice for how to go about getting a Troop that's off track back on track, and the issues involved in replacing a Scoutmaster…
Larry Green (no relation) has an excellent website and blog on the subject of Scout Pioneering : My name is Larry Green and for over twenty years, I've been a student of the late, greatly-loved and widely admired Adolph Peschke, author of the (previous) Pioneering Merit Badge pamphlet, and the acknowledged designer of thirty original "boy-sized…
Last fall's Voice of the Scout results have been out for some time now. I have looked at it a few times but quickly grew frustrated with trying to figure out what it was saying or what it all meant.
Richard Francis "John" Thurman (4 April 1911 – April 1985) was Camp Chief of Gilwell Park from 1943 to 1969. In 1943, he introduced the Gilwell woggle awarded on the completion of basic training, and the Gilwell scarf and the Wood Badge beads were awarded on the completion of Advanced Training.
I've watched Scouts who struggle with the traditional square lashing (especially getting it tight enough) learn the Japanese square lashing quickly and go on to actually building stuff rather than fiddling with lashings. The Japanese Square Lashing is a vast improvement over the traditional square lashing Scouts normally use that involves tying clove hitches.
In this podcast a discussion with Scoutmaster Jeff Kvistad, Jeff's troop is unusual in several respects, but much like every other Scout troop in others. I think you'll enjoy hearing Jeff tell us the story of his troop and what they do.
Seth Godin recently posted this concise analysis: There are only three reasons to really chew someone out for something they did, only three reasons to have an emotional tantrum, to use cutting language and generally make them feel lousy: 1.
It's been a couple of years since I designed the old Scoutamstercg.com and it was past time to add some new features that should make things easier to find. I've re-grouped the articles to a better category structure that you can access from the ‘index' tab in the menu.
How effectively you apply the Scouting advancement method hinges on how well you understand the subject. The National Advancement Team has released a bunch of new educational resources that you ought to check out. While Scouting advancement is at least some part of leadership training I think we owe it to our Scouts to take…
I asked Jay to write about his experiences in Scouting because I think it's important to get to know and understand each other, that young men like Jay are not new to Scouting, that they have always been there – Clarke To all my fellow Scouters – We are all engaged in a conversation about whether or…
I asked Jay to write about his experiences in Scouting because I think it’s important to get to know and understand each other, that young men like Jay, a gay Scout, are not new to Scouting, they have always been there – Clarke To all my fellow Scouters – We are all engaged in a conversation about…
In the never ending search for the perfect chuck box here's another interesting chuck box design by lupinsea found at the Expedition Portal . Looks like a lightweight, compact and functional idea (there's a video below showing how it is set up.
