LeCastor

For the camping side of things, I would also recommend Woodcraft and Camping by Nessmuk. You can read it here online: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/34607/34607-h/34607-h.htm There is a lot of fun information here about having a comfortable camp and I think I might try suggesting some of his ideas to my outdoors-shy Patrol. Not everything Nessmuk fits exactly wiith the Leave No Trace ethics...but a lot of it is still quite valid.

Hey, St0ut, I totally hear you. As I mentioned above, those two young Scouts who went on the campout two weekends ago did it solely because of the camping merit badge--"collecting nights". But you and the Gipper are right. I should talk to the parents and evaluate this whole Scouting business. Our local Cub Pack is dwindling, too, but I've reached out to those Webelos three times about going on an "adventure" and having fun with the Boy Scouts. All I hear is crickets...LOL

Alex, when I took over the role of Scoutmaster for my current Troop it was undoubtedly adult-run/adult-led. And you could absolutely argue that some of those tendencies are still there with a few adults. However, I have fought tooth-and-nail to give the Scouts the authority and have attempted to empower them to make their own decisions. As I mentioned in my thread about the younger patrol not wanting to go camping, the newest patrol is having fun (like Stosh's) planning trips to hockey games and planning elaborate video game lock-ins at the church. I personally want to jam hot pokers throu

We have a Patrol of older Scouts who have a wilderness survival outing on the calendar. These young men are the last of the die-hard outdoors Scouts in my Troop. They joined Scouting for the adventure and they've made that happen for themselves over the past 5-7 years. They'll go far in life; I have no doubt about that.

Sadly, I think you're correct. However, if they bail on me I don't have a Troop. After sleeping on this one I have come to the following conclusion: LeCastor, you should be happy that they are in your Troop and that they are taking advantage of the Patrol System/Method. They've planned their own activities and, even though they aren't outdoors-centric, they are going to do what they're going to do. I can lead them horses down to the river but I can't make them drink.

Have you done any digging online? Here's just an example of what I found: http://www.scouting.org/jota/station_registration.aspx'>http://www.scouting.org/jota/station_registration.aspx http://www.scouting.org/jota/station_registration.aspx Just throwing those out there.

Sure!

Well, that's what I've got right now. As the older Scouts have turned 18 and moved on to college, etc, the younger Scouts coming into my Troop "just aren't that into camping. They put camping trips on their Patrol calendar but when it comes to their Patrol meetings they realize that none of them are going. Many excuses are made as to why camping isn't fun and they'd rather see if anything else comes up. You may recall that I got two Scouts from this Patrol to agree to go camping two weekends ago. That was solely to fulfill First Class requirements and most definitely NOT because they wa

I'm lost on this thread. What's "whither Order of the Arrow" mean? Huh?

Men of Schiff is an excellent book about professional Scouters from the early days. (Can you tell I like to read? My wife's a librarian...) There is some insight into the life of a pro Scouter in the late-70s and early-80s. It certainly doesn't sound like a stress-free gig. One of the guys who went through Wood Badge this fall was chosen to become our new DE and I think he'll do a good job because he's been DL and knows the role of the volunteer very well. In some ways I think an outsider might be better for a DE role but in most ways I see an insider doing a better job because s/he u

Hey, Ken, I don't think you got the answer you were looking for here. Do your Scouts needs suggestions to help spice it up? Mark Ray has some good tips for conducting ceremonies in his The Scoutmaster's Other Handbook. I think what we were attempting to do, and it might have come across as an attack, is remind you that the Scouts, themselves, should be planning these ceremonies and carrying them out. Heck, it's sometimes a little uncomfortable when there are awkward pauses and "ums" and "uhhs" but at least they are doing it themselves! The best ceremonies I've attended are ones

Calico, to clarify, I am a HUGE dork anyway so Scouting suits me. LOL KDD, I don't think the majority knows about our controversies, no. We are clued in because we read Scouter.com and monitor all things Scouting. But in my community, which is politically charged anyway, the membership policy was really put front and center in the news. The local paper interviewed me and several other local Scoutmasters in February 2013 when the debate was really blowing up. Stosh, I'm curious now what you did have in mind when you started this thread. It's a valid question and I'm enjoying the b

Do you see what happens, Scoutldr?! LOL You can't take these guys anywhere...

oh, whew!

Wow...

Long ago in the dim ages..my grandpa would warm rocks, place them in a stuff sack, and then finally put that sack at the foot of my grandma's sleeping bag. Never heard of putting them under the tent...seems like the woo blanket insulator and sleeping pad would be enough.

Whoa, whoa, SSScout! That's more than ONE! Seriously, though, those are all good suggestions. I particularly like the Green Bar Bill books for Scouting 101. But, as people have been staring to post, this reading list doesn't have to be Scouting literature. There's plenty out there, fiction and non-fiction alike, that is useful to the Scouter.

Maybe we can quarantine them for 21 days just to see if they show any spamming symptoms... Jk, scoutldr. Yeah, it's annoying ain't it?

KDD, is right! Man, I hate getting out of my nice, warm sleeping bag in the cooler temps to answer the call of nature. Thanks Hedgehog for the yellow Nalgene idea. Just like the red bottle is for stove fuel...Don't drink from the yellow Nalgene!

Hey, Stosh, nice addition! I had never heard of this particular volume but found it an exciting read. It's on Google Books here: http://books.google.com/books?id=DvUWAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=along+the+mohawk+trail&hl=en&sa=X&ei=FTdOVLmDEKKV8QGFo4DABw&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=along%20the%20mohawk%20trail&f=false So far we have: 1. Handbook for Patrol Leaders, William "Green Bar Bill" Hillcourt, 1929 2. Working the Patrol Method, Four Eagle Scouts, 2010 3. Scout Field Book, William Hillcourt, 1944 4. Along the Mohawk Trail, P.K. F

Hey, Pack! Yeah, it's hard to see what Stosh said earlier in the thread since he and NJCubScouter kind of went at it. At any rate, here's my opinion of what public perception of the BSA is today: Boy Scouts are "do-gooders" who don't game the system and are there to help when needed. (In the movies, especially Tom Clancy thrillers, the crafty government officials refer to Jack Ryan as a "Boy Scout" because he does the right thing and won't cheat just to get his way.) Also, people tend to appreciate when they hear someone is an Eagle Scout because that means they must have a

If you could recommend just one book to be added to "A Scouter's Reading List" what would it be? This is a little project I have been working on for the past few years as a means of continuous learning/improvement. I'll go first: Handbook for Patrol Leaders by William "Green Bar Bill" Hillcourt, 1929 The first summer I spent with my grandpa after crossing over from Webelos, he gave me an old dog-eared copy of GBB's book and it has stayed with me ever since. This particular copy belonged to a Silver Beaver recipient and long-time Scouter in the community where my grandparents

Hey, NewScouter. After living in WI for a few years I went back to Baton Rouge to visit some college buddies. They met me at the car as I arrived and said, "we're going camping". It got down to about 32 that night and I was terribly cold due to the dampness in the air. I'm a Southern boy who has gained a boat-load of knowledge about cold-weather camping through trial and error (and reading forums) while living in the Midwest. Have fun and listen to all this great advice!

I agree with Q and Fred about moisture. We have an annual backpacking-themed Camporee in our council in April. Here in the upper-Midwest it's still pretty chilly and damp at that time of year and the medical officer always reminds us to be mindful or keeping dry to avoid hypothermia. 40s and wet = dangerous when sleeping outdoors. I have to echo the knit cap, too. I never camp without a knit cap jammed in my pack for when the temps drop into the 50s. After all, we do lose a LOT of heat from our heads. So knit cap, dry socks and a thin layer of dry clothing coupled with a foam pad and sl