Topic
Campouts, cooking, backpacking and Leave No Trace. The outdoors is where Scouting happens, and these posts are full of gear lists, Dutch oven recipes and lessons learned on the trail.
540 posts · 2006–2020
Showing 401–450 of 540 posts
Six years ago, the troop had a single dutch oven that was rarely used. Last month, we had five patrols making dutch oven meals in a snow storm. :-) This troop distributes gear to each patrol to manage by themselves. Each patrol that wants one has been issued a dutch oven from the quartermaster.
Kevin Callan tells a great story about a canoe hat: I didn't give it much thought at first when my paddling buddy began handing over his sleeping pad, rain jacket and canoe pack to his nephew. I just considered it a nice gesture; after all, we had finished our trip – 27 days paddling Quetico park…
I know that you all saw this in the latest issue of Scouting Magazine, but they only gave you a link to the requirements... well if your unit is anything like mine this will be a snap and a great incentive to get those younger Scouts to work on the trail to First Class.
This past summer, at BSA summer camp, four of our scouts did the Wilderness Survival merit badge. As part of that badge, they each made a cool alcohol pocket stove - directed by the camp staff. Ken at PK Stoves asked me to try out his Pocket Stove on some camping trips and let him know…
Thanks to all of you who posted comments on our recent Facebook question: Which area of your camp receives the most use –sleeping area or kitchen? Generally speaking, the camp kitchen receives more impact than sleeping areas. While there are certainly exceptions to the rule, the majority of time in camp, for most groups, is…
The majority of the over 125 active merit badges introduce scouts to skills, careers, and hobbies which have little to do with Scouting. The goal of the merit badge program is to broaden a scout's experience, not just to improve his scouting skills, and that's why we have Coin Collecting, Dentistry, and Truck Transportation merit…
Sometimes newspapers really do publish things which are just complete and utter rubbish. Just read this Telegraph article , which claims that Scouts are abandoning traditional scouting activities such as camping in favour of video games. As if! The "data" the journalist is basing this on?
So for today, I’m going to go way back to Friday and Saturday, September 29 & 30, 2006. That was the date of (I believe) the first Hopewell District Cub-o-Ree. It also was the very first Cub Scout event that Jon and I attended, having signed up maybe a week before that.
In Backpacking meals are an important of your trail experience. There are as many ways to go about planning and preparing meals as there are trails. As promised in the podcast here are some of the resources mentioned and gear that we use as well as meal ideas and items that I typically eat on…
In Backpacking meals are an important of your trail experience. There are as many ways to go about planning and preparing meals as there are trails. As promised in the podcast here are some of the resources mentioned and gear that we use as well as meal ideas and items that I typically eat on…
Our troop has 32 tents currently in service. With 80 scouts in the troop, I've had lots of opportunity to see how tents wear out, break, or get damaged. Sometimes it is due to nature, other times it is neglect, and on rare occasion it is malicious.
(The following is an excerpt from my 1992 trek at Philmont Scout Ranch. It was not my best day at Philmont Scout Ranch.) Wednesday, August 5, 1992, Day 8 "Wake up," Josh yells in the early morning stillness. A new day is upon us.
The following is an excerpt from the journal I wrote of Boy Scout Troop 68′s trip to Philmont Scout Ranch in 1992. It was our last full day on the trail, the day we would climb the Tooth Of Time.
I mentioned that we conduct an annual group gear purchase from Campmor on podcast 39. We started doing this at least ten years ago. Before this we would give a Scout a list of gear he needed and he would come back with whatever he and his parents could find.
So another Webelos campout is under the Lightning Dragons’ belts, and overall I am very pleased with how things turned out. Half of the Webelos II boys attended along with 4 of the Webelos I boys. Those seven along with myself and the Webelos I Den Leader were sponsored by Troop 718 who sent 6…
FROM THE SCOUTING MAG. BLOG (I love this idea, this is Scouting folks!) With its new National Outdoor Awards, the BSA honors guys who can't stand still Guys join Scouting to experience the outdoors. It's that simple. To recognize that passion for adventure, the BSA announces its new National Outdoor Awards .
Guys join Scouting to experience the outdoors. It's that simple. To recognize that passion for adventure, the BSA announces its new National Outdoor Awards . As we told you last year , the awards are available to Boy Scouts and Varsity Scouts who meet specific requirements in one of five subject areas: camping, hiking, aquatics, riding, and…
This is the Cloud Peak Wilderness boundary marker, but it could be any wilderness area. We have special regulations and laws when you set foot past that sign. It's necessary because many people still do not appreciate the value of preserving wild spaces.
Hundreds of thousands of Boy Scouts attend summer camp every year. The Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 are no exception. Five Scouts and two adult leaders attended Many Point Scout Camp, located north of Park Rapids, during the week of July 11-17.
Summer Camp was a blast this year. Better than my first one as Scoutmaster. We camped at Adventure Point (called AP) at Camp Ransburg. It is 2.5 miles away from main camp with it's own waterfront and range. It is where Troops can go and run their own program.
So, as many of you probably know if you follow me on twitter @scoutdude I just returned from a week of summer camp at Cedarlands Scout Reservation with my troop (@troop50). Here is a recap of our week. So Sunday morning we met bright and early at the local Methodist Church (our charter organization) and…
Big Smokey Waterfalls in Shawano County, Wisconsin It's camping time, actually camping time is 365 days of the year, but now it the time that most people love to go camping because the season in Wisconsin is better suited for most to be comfortable without the extra gear that must be packed in cold weather…
I will never forget the Hiking Skill Award. "Why?" you ask. Because back in the 1980′s, while on an overnighter at a local state park, I decided to take the troop on a five mile hike to complete a requirement for this skill award.
As school ends all over the country, for some of us, the countdown begins until school starts again. A lot of us have a summer filled with exciting activities, and others may just have one biggie planned. For my little troop, things started on a different note, as April rolled around, we made plans to…
I'll be taking two crews into the Cloud Peak wilderness of Wyoming this summer to experience some changes in attitude brought on by changes in altitude. To prepare, the scouts have made a schedule of practice hikes and the two crew leaders have agreed on a minimum participation expected of each scout.
The following is an excerpt from the journal I kept during my Boy Scout troop's trek through Philmont Scout Ranch in 1986: Ute Springs Camp was the smallest of the various camps at which we stayed. The site we chose was quite small.
Hello fellow Scouters, We had a family in my former pack that were some of the nicest people you could meet. Along with being wonderful people, they were awesome outdoor cooks! They were so good that I would do whatever I could to make sure my campsite was next to theirs, so I could mooch…
When I was a Boy Scout in the mid 1970's we needed to earn belt loops called skill awards for the first three ranks. Each skill award was based on a certain set of skills, such as camping, hiking, or swimming.
Jeremy Zweiacker is a KISMIF.org guest blogger from Oklahoma. He is a Tiger Cub Den Leader, an Eagle Scout, and a long time Scouter. A couple of weekends ago, our pack went camping in the great outdoors — the first Scout camping experience for some of our Cub Scout families.
The Troop Outside the Cabin So last month our troop held our March Campout. This trip is traditionally the first campout for our new scouts and we had a good number of them attend this trip. This month we decided to stick with our of staying in a cabin at Camp Kingsley.
The Heart of America Council has a set of new hiking trails called "Watkin's Mill Trail" with a wonderful patch available. Watkins Mill's theme and history is based on the highly successful woolen business by a turn of the century, rural family in the central Midwest.
This week's merit badge is one that fosters lifelong skills that scouts can use in their every day lives. While working on this merit badge scouts will get the chance to learn one of the most valuable skills they can, how to cook.
I told @scoutdude that My storage arrangements for camping gear was a blog post so here goes. It all lives in my garage. We also have a pop-up, but I prefer to grab the tents and go as I can decide to go camping on the way home on Friday.
So for this week's Gear Head Friday we are going to talk about stoves. Before I tell you what I think let me share with you the results of a poll I conducted using google forms to find out what others use.
This weeks merit badge is one of the most important subjects to have good knowledge about to succeed in the great outdoors. This is the Camping merit badge. This is an Eagle required badge. Here are the Requirements: Show that you know first aid for and how to prevent injuries or illnesses that could occur…
In the UK, camping in snowy weather is somewhat unusual these days and we don't get the same opportunities to do so as, for example, SM Jerry's Troop . However, the Scouts from my Troop are currently at a weekend camp and are surrounded by snow.
From Ryan Dionne at The Gear Junkie Boy Scouts young and old remember the traditional A-frame tent. For many, that tent was a Eureka Timberline. So to commemorate the Boy Scouts of America's 100th anniversary, Eureka has upgraded the Timberline with its Timberline SQ Outfitter model.
Two weekend's ago we held our troop's December camp-out. We decided to spend the weekend at a lean-to site at one of council's camps. We had planned to arrive on Friday night but the weather forecast was not very positive and when we called the camp's care taker to find out the conditions he told…
I think that as long as there are guys like me there will be debates on which is the best type of stove to take on backpacking trips. And as long as there are guys like me.. we will have each type of stove..
I've decided to start another post series (I know another series for me to forget and neglect, just kidding). So this new series is going to be a weekly merit badge corner were I'll talk about a random merit badge, some eagle required some electives.
This past weekend the Central New York Orienteering Group (aka cnyo) held there 16th annual Scout-O Orienteering competition. This event was divided into two days, the training part and the competition part. On Saturday the training takes place with a map hike guided by club members and a practice course.
Do your boys know their way around a campsite? How are they in a canoe, on a horse, or climbing a mountain? If their outdoor skills have been heightened through the Scouting program, they'll soon have a new award to show for it: the National Outdoor Award badges.
Unofficial Academics and Sports requirements for Hiking: Belt Loop Complete these three requirements: 1. Explain the hiking safety rules to your den leader or adult partner. Practice these rules while on a hike. 2. Demonstrate proper hiking attire and equipment.
It's getting to be that time of year.. time for some Cold Weather Camping. This is one of my favorite times of year to camp. Kind of a weird thing to say, as I love to camp all year long, but camping in the Fall and Winter are great and I look forward to it…
Hiking is one of the forthcoming new Cub Scout belt loops for the Cub Scout Academics and Sports Program . I have received from an unofficial source this set of requirements for the soon-to-be available award: Requirements Tiger Cubs, Cub Scouts, and Webelos Scouts may complete requirements in a family, den, pack, school, or community environment.
I am missing Philmont and starting to think it is time to go back to Scouting's paradise. Here is a short excerpt from my 1992 Philmont journal: Harlan Camp is a welcome site. My right foot has just joined the left in protest.
Camping is the backbone of the Boy Scouts of America. Super campers get to join the Order of the Arrow . We dream about it, look forward to it each month (you do camp each month, right?), teach the skills and walk the walk.
Hello fellow Scouters, There are many great tabletop campfires on the Internet. Here's one that I made for a centerpiece for our pack's 2005 Blue and Gold banquet. Actually, I made three of these for that banquet, which celebrated the 75th anniversary of Cub Scouts.
Around The Scouting Campfire #9: Trekking Among The Stars Has your troop, patrol, or den ever had to develop a new skit or patrol for a campfire program? The Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 created several new ones over the decades, mainly in the 1980's and 1990's.
Has your troop, patrol, or den ever had to develop a new skit or patrol for a campfire program? The Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 created several new ones over the decades, mainly in the 1980's and 1990's. The Scouts would take a song, chance the words a bit (or a lot), add some…
