Mike F

johnsned, I missed this when originally posted. Prayers with all of you. -mike

It's really an issue of "boys being boys" and allowing them to sleep in groups that achieve critical mass. The more you group together, the more overwhelming the temptation to ignore things like Courteous and Obedient, not to mention common sense and respect. This can be handled by either rules (2/tent) or discipline. Our older Philmont crew arrived late to a crowded camp a few months ago. As the night was cool and clear, the guys decided to sleep under the stars. About 8 of them were crowded together, excited about being out, and the joyous ruckus commenced. After a few minutes to en

There is definitely a problem with the non-Scout family - according to GTSS (http://www.scouting.org/pubs/gss/gss03.html), on a Scout Family Camping activity, at least one member of each family must be a registered BSA member. All scouting GTSS and YP rules apply. The beer is out. Read the Safety Afloat section carefully - for example, everybody including adult guests needs to take the BSA "Swimmer" test. There are very explicit requirements for how to handle anyone who doesn't pass the test. Your tour company may be able to provide all the required certified lifeguards, but it's your

Dutch ovens are almost indestructible. About the only thing that can ruin them is a sudden temperature shock that will crack the iron. Ive never seen one crack from being put on coals. I have seen one crack after being put on one of those big volcano burners with a very hot flame. Ive also seen one crack when a lot of cold water was dumped into it while the metal was hot. If youre going to use one on a stove, crank up the flames gently. Ive used the bottom of lid as a griddle on coals. Never tried it on a stove, but guess it would work on one of those big two burner rigs if you have

EagleInKY, 95% without issues? You're batting way above average! Keep up the great work!! -mike

OGE & Eamonn mentioned "The Cremation of Sam McGee" by Robert Service. He has a bunch - and "Cremation" is one of the best. My favorite is "The Call of the Wild."

Jason, You'll be welcomed almost anywhere! (Who out there can't use another willing/able volunteer?) While in Grad School, my wife & I served as Advisors for a co-ed Explorer post. A few years later in another area, I served as an Asst SM and had a great time. Wife didn't think it was such a great idea to continue after our second child was born, so I backed off a bit for a while. (Note: Consider the extent of your committment carefully. There will be times when family has to come first - if you don't have a kid in the game, scouts won't always take top priority.) In one of

1Hr, We got one of those Texsport cots to try it out and I found it almost impossible to assemble, too. It's now in the back of our camping stuff pile. I picked up a simple folding aluminum frame cot with 1" pad from Academy. Takes up more room, but works fine. Also doubles as a spare bed around the house. -mike

Mom, This certainly sounds out of line. Trying to draw your son into the action in order to get him to expand his comfort zone is certainly laudable, but not a requirement. Since your son is undergoing treatment for depression, I would think he qualifies for some consideration as a special needs scout and the first step is for the SM to get some training/guidance on how to best help your son achieve his goals. Have you or dad tried to talk to SM without son around? I think he owes you an explanation of why he's holding son back. This will also give you an opportunity to help him bet

We laid a beloved Scouter to rest on Saturday. His family was deeply touched by the 300+ Scouts and Scouters who attended in uniform. Even the alter boys were in uniform. After the service, we all lined the path to the hearse and saluted as the pallbearers brought him out for the trip to the cemetery. One of his older sons beamed through his tears, "Yeah -- that's just how dad would have wanted it." Please pray for his family and extended scouting family as we all cope with the loss. -mike

Just a little more info: Pilot-to-CoPilot: side by side seating Pilot-to-Bombardier: back to back seating Both involve no screening - takes a little getting used to for most city scouts. Some used to be within clear view of trail - nothing to do but grin and wave as the cute coed crew hikes by... Recommendation is to urinate on a rock instead of classical tree. Varmints will chew the bark off tree to get the salt. No harm in using soft ground instead of rock.

scouter659, Well done! Hope you're not losing as much sleep as mom. Tell us about that Troop JLT website! -mike

Just found this link for canoe trip OA Wilderness Voyage web page: http:/www.oa-bsa.org/programs/ntvoy/ Sounds great! Please let us know if you find out they have any openings to either!!

Thump, I agree - the 6 months always seems to be too short - I personally think they're almost always still on the learning curve and miss out on the confidence of really knowing a job well. But the pressure to roll them over is overwhelming in every program I've been affiliated with. The way we work it, it's irrelevant if a scout comes up saying he "needs" a POR for Eagle (or any other rank). The only way to get a job around here is to earn it by being elected (SPL or PL), or having the SPL select you as the best scout for the job (who is willing and able). We have several scout

Woodsmith, I think you know the real problem - it has nothing to do with needing term limits and everything to do with the previous administration not using the BSA program of scouts electing their own SPL and PLs. I've been a part of 5 troops and 2 Explorer posts through the years - and I've never seen a need for term limits in any situations. Like dan said, the scouts will work it out. I've actually seen more of the other side of the coin - people (scouts and adults) who wrongly state or assume that leaders are limited to a single term of office in a certain position. It has taken a lot

I just returned from a 10-day backpacking/leadership course - part of a fairly new program for adult professional development at the National Outdoor Leadership School (http://www.nols.edu/). I'm still at a loss for words, but WOW! This was the experience of a lifetime!! The two instructors stayed with us the whole time - pushing us to do stuff I never dreamed I'd be attempting in some truly rugged conditions. It snowed on us almost every day, we bushwhacked across terrain while post-holing for miles on end with 70-pound packs, and climbed a 12.6K peak in howling winds with ice axes at

I just got back from VFW Post ceremony where our troop performed the flag ceremony for the 4th year. This one was different; however, with the presence of 2 families of local soldiers who recently gave the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq. The fact that these soldiers were just a few years older than our scouts was sombering to all.

I've also used both and used North Country Canoe Outfitters last summer after getting recommendation from Eagle90 and others. Couldn't have been happier. Very professional. Best part was pulling away from the shore (about 50 yds from Northern Tier dock) without a Guide - it was exciting to be totally on our own. (But we did rent the satellite phone -- just in case...) The responsibility of going in without a Guide is probably not for everyone, but I'll definitely be using NCCO again.

After some years with symbolic calling out, our troop ceremony team performed ceremony at the District Camporee. Some of the old timers were surprised to see Allowat (my eldest son) perform traditional tapping. It was clearly symbolic and restrained - until my next oldest son was brought before the Chief of the Fire. With a twinkle of mischief and sparkle of pride in his eyes, Allowat let him have it with just a touch more vigor. Best part was my wife drove out to watch that night. It was her first time to view an OA ceremony after hearing me talk about them for over 25 years. It was

opps(This message has been edited by Mike F)

Thanks, hastingr! I ended up finding one on sale, too. So far, so good. Only downside I've seen: It wants to be full. I had it out on a weekend backpacking trip with moderate temps, etc. The load was unstable because there was no way to cinch it all down. For more serious trips (the reason I bought it), this won't be a problem. I may experiment with some additional cinch-straps to pull it all tighter to frame when lightly loaded. -mike

Good advice - start with the Pros - they've dealt with this before. And get parents and doctor involved. The Tenderfoot fitness requirement is an easy one. Purpose is to introduce new scout to the concept of regular physical activity to promote and improve personal fitness (one of the 3 Aims of Scouting). By regularly exercising for 30 days, the scout can see improvement and hopefully be encouraged to continue in some regular activities so he can continue to improve - leading, again - hopefully, to instill a habit that leads to a lifetime of improved personal fitness. If pushups a

We almost never bail out due to weather unless it's totally flooded - and then we'll usually just look for higher ground. Instead, we use the opportunity to find where problems occur and teach everybody how to avoid it next time. About 1.5 years ago, we arrived at the trailhead late at night in a steady cold rain. After some extra time to check everybody's gear, we stepped off into the wet darkness for a bracing 5-mile hike to campsite. In the few breaks we got that weekend, we dried out what we could and got ready for the next onslaught. In the meantime, we set up and ran compass courses

Thanks for the feedback - I appreciate it! We had an incident during a council shakedown hike a couple of weekends ago. Crew decided on Saturday evening what time they would get up to start packing out on Sunday morning. One of the scouts - the Asst Crew Leader, who had a bad attitude all weekend - refused to get out of bed. After several wakeup calls and disrespectful replies, the Crew Leader dropped the tent on his recalcitrant assistant. (The assistants father is one of the adult advisors. Although plenty steamed, he let the scouts work it out.) The crew was the last of 20+ to come

Razor, Good discussions. You'll be amazed at what you want handy in those smaller pockets. I use mine for things like rain gear, pack cover, toilet paper, soap, water purification tablets, compass, knife, little bit of cord, sunscreen, bug stuff, trail snack, camera, maps, change of socks, sunglasses, small first aid/blister kit, etc. If you can't find one to borrow, you can rent gear at some outdoor stores. If not local, you might be able to find stuff close to your hiking area. I've flown into Albuquerque and rented gear from REI a few times before driving north to trailhead. Good