The Bloggers
A Scoutmaster's thoughts on advancement, camping trips and troop program, hosted by Boy Scout Trail.
Showing 1–50 of 711 · page 1 of 15. Each title opens the post in a new tab.
I believe all Scouting units should support each other with the intent that all youth get the opportunity to experience Scouting. Some troops in a community see other troops as competition and refuse to help the other units improve. By having all units improve, Scouting improves, and more youth will tend to participate - maybe not…
If your scouts have already earned the Exploration merit badge and are looking for something more interesting, it's your lucky day! The Tattoo Merit Badge was just announced and the merit badge pamphlet is available in scout shops and as electronic download.
Are you just waking up from your winter hibernation? Did you put off finding a summer job for too long? With all your leadership qualities, outdoors skills, and interpersonal communications learned in Scouting, many opportunities are out there for you to work in exciting, adventurous settings.
You can get a Super Achiever patch for all Cub Scouts in each rank that earn all Adventure pins. The Webelos patch has been available for awhile, but now there's a patch for Lion, Tiger, Wolf, and Bear. This Super Achiever patch is not an official advancement award, but is a popular way to recognize…
With females officially joining the Scouts BSA program today, I look forward to helping them get as much as they can out of their scouting experience. Most of my involvement is currently with adult leaders preparing for high adventures, but I anticipate some volunteer opportunities to help female scouts with outdoor skills.
Lack of adequate Personal and Camp hygiene is a common problem on outings, and something that is easy to prevent. With a little education and effort, no one should get sick when out in the wilds. First, a few common problems encountered by long-distance hikers on the Appalachian Trail: Sharing Food - once someone touches their…
You can win $1400 in backpacking gear by entering this giveaway by Friday. The sponsors include a dozen brands like Sawyer, Black Diamond, and Patagonia that I'm sure you know well. Enter at this page and you just need to use an email and first name - no other info.
Well, this is big news! Bear Grylls has been appointed as the Chief Ambassador of the World Scout Movement. Very cool for Bear, eh? Not only that, he is the FIRST Chief Ambassador. I've not found much detail about the position yet, but it's a volunteer spot to promote Scouting worldwide.
Jen is a friend of mine here in Minnesota. She is a super role model for scouts, and women interested in expanding their outdoor adventures. It is no wonder the BSA has done a Scout Me In video featuring her fun and positive persona!
Looks like it is going to be a perfect fall evening here for a fun Halloween. Our maple tree is bright orange, I have a bucket of candy - the good stuff - and my magic campfire is ready to light. I have "stuff" to change the flame color and make flashes and sparks to make it…
Do you wanna go back to Philmont? Or, go for the first time? I have enjoyed the Philmont experience twice, once with each of my sons. There is a lot of planning and preparation that goes into a trek. You have 1 month to get registered in the lottery drawing for crew slots in the…
2019 will be a special year, actually an extraordinary year, for youth joining Scouts BSA. With girls joining starting February 1, some folks have been concerned that they won't have time to work their way up to the Eagle rank.
This event would be interesting to discuss at an Emergency Preparedness merit badge meeting, or as the topic of a Scoutmaster Minute about Being Prepared. At 1:18pmCDT on Wednesday, Oct. 3, your cell phone will alarm with an emergency broadcast message from the President.
The BSA Scout Shop has issued a voluntary recall of some Cub Scout neckerchief slides: On September 27, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the Boy Scouts of America, announced a voluntary recall of certain units of the Wolf, Bear, Lion, and Webelos neckerchief slides sold between February 2018 and August 2018.
Swedish Torch, Canadian Candle, or whatever you call it, burning an upright log or bundle of wood is a fun twist on your normal campfire. Instead of laying wood on the ground, lighting it, coaxing it to flame, and waiting for embers to cook on, this alternative fire style has some benefits.
The title is the Philmont Ranger motto, and the way of life for everyone associated with Philmont this season. Whether Philmont staff, youth participant, or volunteer adult, many people have had their summer plans turned on end by the closure of the Philmont backcountry due to extreme wildfire danger.
Due to fire, many Philmont treks have been cancelled and the crew advisors contacted. In case you're still thinking of alternative adventures, or just to be aware for future treks, here's some other cool places to Scout around the country.
In an official statement released today, the BSA and LDS announce a dissolution of their relationship. LDS will "discontinue its role as a chartered partner with BSA" effective at the end of 2019. A layperson's interpretation of that is "Game Over" between LDS and BSA.
Get ready to recruit youth of all genders. The BSA announced a new recruiting campaign to attract all youth. It's called "Scout Me In" and is aimed at reaching girls to join Cub Scouts. I don't think it's really so "historic" as the BSA news releases are saying since the BSA churns out marketing campaigns…
I think the 29th Burscough Scout group would be a fun bunch of scouts to visit some day! They have come up with an energetic request to contact other scouts around the world by making a video on Facebook. Watch It This scout group has an active FB page that you might scan through to…
Leggings, Capris, Skorts, and Scarves - these are some of the new girl gear items coming to Scouting this year. With girls joining Cub Scouts, BSA National Supply has been making some clothing updates for the new scouts. You will probably be seeing these items (and more) in your Scout Shop in the not too distant…
The new Webelos Super Achiever patches have arrived and are available now. ClassB.com did a great job on them and they look super! A hundred have already been shipped out to folks that pre-ordered them so they'll have them well before their Blue Gold event.
Today is the best day of the year for Astronomy merit badge and worst for Photography. :-) At 10:28am Central time today, the winter solstice occurs. For the next six months, we'll be getting more and more sunlight each day in the northern hemisphere while our Scouting friends down under are losing it.
Lots of people have been asking about the Webelos Super Achiever patch. It has never been an official national BSA award, so it fell to individual units or councils to create or adopt the award locally. It was available in a handful of various designs and names, but has become difficult (impossible) to find.
If you ever find yourself wondering if it is worth the effort being a BSA volunteer - this should take away any doubt you have. Listening to this young man might be the best way you have to spend 10 minutes today.
Our Pen Pals program has about 1700 Scouting units signed up and scouts around the world are exchanging mail and electronic messages. A new Postcard Exchange has just been started. Scouts across the USA can collect postcards from scouts in every state.
I just gave away 3 gifts this morning in my Monthly Give-Away and I'm waiting for the winners to claim them. You could win at the end of this month - if you just enter! If you're looking for some gift ideas, here's a few to consider: Reusable Handwarmers - Instead of throwing away hand warmers after…
Plenty of rumors, speculations, and concerns about the changes we'll have in place starting next year. Rather than fretting and wondering, if you have a half hour to invest, Bryan Wendell reads questions from scouters across the country answered by Mike Surbaugh, the BSA Chief Scout.
Well, that was fast! Starting next year (2018), girls will be part of the BSA scouting program, not just Venturing, Sea Scouts, Explorers, and STEM. What, you did not realize they were in all that already? Oh my, it will be a busy year of updates - the organization name, logos, training, uniforms, patches, stickers, books…
Check out the July BSA promotional program! If you are on the net, you could win some very cool prizes including trips to the national high adventure bases down to a $50 ScoutStuff gift card. The contest is only going on through July so click here to start earning points while everyone else is out…
If you have been trying to help scouts cook balanced, healthy, wholesome meals on campouts, you might as well give up on breakfast this year. General Mills is giving away 10,000 boxes of Marshmallow Only Lucky Charms cereal! When scouts go shopping for food, they might notice the specially-marked boxes of Lucky Charms on retail…
With a mild winter and warmer spring, vegetation around here is earlier than usual. I found these new growth poison ivy plants just getting started on my hike this morning. In 2013 , poison ivy was almost a month later. The garlic mustard and buckthorn are also already green and growing.
Last September, Boys' Life ran a MacGyver Challenge sweepstakes. Today, I received this photo of the patch from a participant in the contest. Doing a bit of research on the net, it looks like 1,158 people entered so all of them should have gotten a patch, 10 should have received a swag bag of stuff…
Following up on my post from yesterday about Boy Scout projects, here is a fun one for Cub Scouts. There are around 20,000 species of bees worldwide and they are very important for the pollination of plants. Since WWII, bee populations have been declining due to pesticides, disease, parasites, and habitat lose.
Looking for some service conservation projects for 2017? There are TONS of opportunities for volunteers to help out, from computer data entry to banding woodcock chicks - whatever your ability or interest. Here's a few from MN DNR : Eagle Project? Field desks for kids to use in outdoor classrooms.
A tiger den joined my Pen Pals program and included code for a tiger emoji in their name. I thought that was quite creative so I went looking for other emojis that might be useful, or at least fun. Fleur-de-lis = ?
You should view this announcement about gender identity by the BSA Chief Scout Executive today so you are keeping up with changes in the organization's processes - BSA video
I've had the good fortune to learn from a lot of good men while volunteering in the Boy Scouts of America. They range from professional artists to scientists, some with a high school diploma and others with too many letters after their name to list.
I don't generally agree with the common statement regarding Scouting to "let them fail". I think what is meant when "fail" is used is actually "learn". Burning pancakes is not failing - it is learning the point at which they're ready to flip.
Already tired of winter vacation? Bored with your current job? The week after Christmas is a great time to think about new opportunities. As a scout with lots of outdoors skills, leadership qualities, and interpersonal communications, there are lots of openings for you to work in exciting, adventurous settings.
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of WASPcam? . All opinions are 100% mine. Who takes pictures and records your outings? I have hundreds of photos that we've used in slide shows, web posts, ceremonies, and recruiting.
The National Forest System Trails Stewardship Act just became law! So? Well, it directs the USDA to significantly increase the role of volunteers in trail maintenance projects. That means more opportunities for scouts to step up and provide assistance to the Forest Service to improve trail access to national public lands.
Check out my North Country Trail 100 Miles patch! Any scout can receive this patch and certificate by hiking at least 100 miles on the North Country National Scenic Trail by the end of 2016. So, you've got a month remaining to get out on the trail and rack up some miles.
Everyone I know that camps has been at least a bit scared by something going bump in the night. My scare was one night on the Arizona Trail, all alone, when I heard coyotes howling - not from one direction, but all around me.
Looking for a fun winter activity for a Webelos den? The US Forest Service has a Junior Snow Ranger program that you can use in a den meeting. This PDF file is a great activity book with an application form at the end.
It's that time of year when all good scouts take on the extra challenge of camping in cold weather. Whether 'cold' to you is 30 degrees or -30 degrees, preparing and educating scouts is a big part of a successful outing.
Wow! It's been a busy year with new groups signing up to do pen pal exchanges. Over 400 new groups have signed up this year and there are now over 1200 groups in the database. As far as I know, this is the largest, active scouting pen pal database - please let me know if you…
One reason I like taking scouts backpacking up in the mountains above timberline is because I can see forever. Not just the wonderful scenery, but the terrain around me, too. No little animals or snakes rustling in the brush right beside me, no prickly thorns and weeds scratching me, and no roots tripping me while…
Sometimes a Daily Good Turn takes some effort, and sometimes an opportunity literally blows up in your face. You've seen the movies where a briefcase full of cash cracks open, or dollars are thrown from a building, or an explosion blasts money through the air, right?
Oh my, it's fun to have all three of those critters part of the Cub Scouting program now. The kindergarten Lion program seems to have been 'in the works' forever since our council has been piloting it for a few years now.
