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My son has a brand new (read: no food ever inside it) solo tent that the'd planned to take to Philmont, but he was told that they only want participants to use two-person ones because it reduces the amount of space in camps taken up by tents. Bears think hammocks are tacos.

I finished the YPT today and must say I really approve of that module. I’m in a much better place now and so I feel free to disclose and discuss, but Scouting gave me the resilience and skills to survive domestic violence, etc. perpetrated of my stepfather. As mentioned before, I’ve decided to look at coming back to Scouting because I feel that Scouting gave me more than any other youth activity in which I participated and I would like to give back. I felt shy about mentioning it, but part of my reasoning for choosing Scouting was because I could be in a proactive position to help prevent chi

I wanted to share some success from this weekend. Since I joined two years-ish ago, I have been trying to effect a change in our troop to move towards the Patrol Method. I was accompanied by a very experienced ASM who joined in the spring. Together we've been talking to the SM about the Patrol Method, tag teaming him in small ways with encouragement etc that makes the SM more inclined to think Patrol Method. Stuff he already knows, but hasn't been doing. He and the "Wanna-Be-SM" have been making excuses about why they aren't doing the Patrol Method. Really stupid excuses like "but you know the

When we go on hikes, even short ones, we stress the rule of 3's for being out and dictating what your priorities may be. Note these are generalities, this makes it simple to remember: You can survive 3 weeks without food You can survive 3 days without water Your may survive 3 hours without shelter in the rain Key being shelter is vital. Our SPL on a Webelos visitation campout was explaining the importance of a jacket and the emergency blanket as the troop went on a hike. The Scouts repeated (in unison) " You can survive 3 weeks without food, 3 days without water, 3

Oh no, personal preference dipping into this. I have to put the red felt brag vest right up there with the red beret (which I have for some unknown reason). I would rather drink bug juice in the dark than have the brag vest. I would have it torn up or lost on the first trip. Brag blanket is another story. An old army wool blanket and patches is awesome. With a pillow case with patches on one side and blank on the other is cool too. You display the patches during the day and flip the pillow over (patches down) at night.

Real men don't need moss on trees. They can smell which way the wind blows...(acceptable answers for 2nd Class requirement 3d).

I'm more in favor using their tents. You don't have buy them. Really, you can treat them rough...sorry. If damaged on the trail, a staffed camp may help replace it. They don't take up room while you are traveling to and from the center. I'm not in favor of all the solo tents. How about doubling up, reduce footprints, and when adults demo solo tents, every scout then wants the same. And please don't suggest Philmont allow hammocks.

I used trail runners. I think the support from boots is dubious. Waterproof boots are waterproof in both directions. Once they're wet, they take forever to dry. Boots are also heavier. Every step lifting more weight is not joyful. Only take your own tents if you have something significantly better than the Philtents. They're easy to set up, so it's not like knowing your own tent is any kind of issue. If you have a much lighter, high quality backpacking tent, consider bringing it. Otherwise, use the Philtents. If you have any problem, they can replace it.

I learned your "bragging point" at the Chilean exhibit at World Jamboree this summer! At the opening show, a contingent of scouts from Chile sat behind my troop. They were an awesome group of kids! Just to push you "out of the box," stay open to advising a venturing crew. Your mix of activities would appeal to older scouts. On the flip side, venturing can be a wild ride. But, let's not get bogged down in those details just yet. Enjoy meeting scouters in your counsel, and let us know what they offer you!

Also was fun explaining to a first year why sweat bees were very pleased with their kitchen area. After a meal of watermelon, brownies, pink lemon aide, and chili made with baked beans (they seemed to love it) was left out after supper. Course the scouts didn't clean up right away, and all ran off to do something way over there. So when this one scout and his buddy came back to get a drink, they find all these bees loving their kitchen and dining area. Minor freak out ensues. Why doesn't the adult kitchen and eating area have bees? Because they like sweet things and we're all bitter and

Thank you!! Part of the problem was the browser I was using. It didn't show the box next to the scout's name, so I had no idea what to do from there. It's done now!