Re: Equipping New Troop
Andrew Hagemann (hagemann@VISI.NET)
Fri, 17 Jan 1997 22:50:27 -0500
1. Trailers: They're okay if you don't plan on teaching your Scouts
how to be self-sufficient. Truck camping (which my 73-year-old Troop
does almost exclusively, ugh!) is certainly convenient, but it makes the
Scout's expensive backpacks nothing more than glorified duffle bags.
Because we almost always take our trucks right to the campsite, our boys
rarely ever have to carry their supplies and personal gear. Therefore,
when we do make that rare backpacking camping trip, my Scouts really
don't know how to "share the load". It's a logistical nightmare getting
them ready to go. They don't buy the right kind of food (grocery store
produce, bottled food, loaf bread, etc.), they can't seem to figure out
how to leave room in their packs for their share of the Patrol gear,
food, and water. I guess that's why we don't go backpack camping very
much. WARNING, Will Robinson! Once you get used to using trucks and
trailers to get your gear into camp, you're "ruined".
2. Patrol boxes: We have a several well-constructed, marine-ply chuck
boxes that we use only rarely. When we go to summer camp we may take
one or two because it's a shame not to (know what I mean, Vern?). We
don't use them on weekend camping trips because they're much too heavy
for boys to carry and they take up a lot of room in our trucks (a
trailer now, well...). My New Scout Patrol uses a plastic footlocker to
organize our staple goods and to keep the rain out of our staples. The
plastic box gets hosed out after each trip (spilled cocoa and maple
syrup, yeesh!), dried well, and then gets stored in our Patrol room. If
I don't get my Guides to get the boys to lash up a two-tree table for
our gas stoves (used more and more now, ugh!), the youngsters will set
the stove on top of the (slippery) plastic box before they've taken out
all the supplies. You can imagine what happens next. Despite all that,
I like the plastic box idea much better than the heavy, essentially
unwashable wooden box.
3.a. Necessary Truck Camping equipment, per Patrol:
+ One heavy-plastic rain fly w/ four 25-foot nylon guy ropes, and
one 50-foot ridge line
+ One tent per each two or three boys, dome or A-frame, 7x7 foot
base (the key is a "long-tailed" rain fly, not "skull cap" rain fly
!!! ADULTS NEED LARGER-SIZED TENTS !!! (8x8 foot base minimum)
+ A BUNCH of extra tent pegs (The boys eat them. Really!)
+ One aluminum Trail Chef (nesting pots, see Scout catalog)
+ One kitchen utensil kit (see Scout catalog)
+ One or two rugged plastic footlocker for non-perishable staples
+ Two folding bottled gas stoves, two burner (I like two stoves
since it makes it easier to get a BIG pot of wash water going while
they cook rather than afterward, and it's easier to get all of the
parts of the meal cooked in parallel so we eat a meal rather a series
of "entrees")
+ One small "pony" bottle of LP gas (refillable, not the green ones)
+ One gas manifold ("goose-neck") and hoses for each stove
+ Several spare 'o'-rings
+ One small pipe wrench (to tighten gasline nut)
+ One LP-gas lantern w/ case (put strap around case, bottoms fall off)
+ Several spare mantles per lantern
+ Three two-gallon plastic wash basins (warm rinse, hot wash and
scalding rinse)
+ One or two 3-gallon water jugs (5-gallon jugs are too heavy for
young boys)
+ One two-quart bottle w/ watertight seal (bug-juice maker)
+ 200 - 300 feet of 3/8-inch manilla line; cut a bunch of it
into various lashing lengths (see Pioneer MB book for correct
lengths).
Save the left-overs for bigger jobs, loss etc.
3.b. Backpack Camping, per Patrol
+ One light-weight tent for each three Scouts (poles & pegs to Boy
One, fly to Boy Two, and tent to Boy Three)
+ Two multi-fuel backpacker stoves per tent (filled at trail head)
+ One one-pint fuel bottle per stove (a weekend-camp
just-in-case quantity, a lot more fuel is required for long-term
trecks)
+ One LP-gas backpacker's lantern w/ spare mantles (optional)
+ Two water filters (w/ a single spare filter cartridge) per Patrol
+ 200 - 300 feet of 1/4-inch nylon line, cut into 25-foot lengths
+ One or two large nylon Bear bags per Patrol
+ Nalgene storage jars, various and sundry (a personal decision)
+ Kitchen utensil kit, light weight (home made is good)
These two list only enumerate the Troop-owned gear. There are many more
personal items that each Scout needs to bring.
I hope this helps to stimulate a lively discussion.
YiS,
Drew Hagemann
ASM, Troop 6
Colonial Virginia Council
"I used to be a Buffalo..."
WB SR-158
Terry Howerton Sakima Group, Inc. SCOUTER Magazine Kansas City |
