Mike Long

Most Troops in my area are sponsored by Churches or military bases. In our unit our COR is a past Scoutmaster's wife who was extremely active in the unit. Other than that we only have two families that attend the church. But by and large the Church has very little interaction with us. We have made it a point to offer any help we can to the church and have had limited success. In reality the statements made on other threads about CO's running troops, choosing leadership and membership is erroneous and uninformed. Almost all CO-Troop relationships I have seen are nothing more than a simple "sure we'll leave the lights on for you, just lock the door on your way out" arrangement. The whole concept of a CO seems to be mostly symbolic to me.(This message has been edited by Mike Long)

It was pretty cool.

I was there. WooHoo! Good talking to you OGE and Paul (it's trail day)

What DD? You don't know any Girl Scouts you could forward this too? Looks you have our council covered too. Good luck.

I see no problem with that. Wasn't it B.P. who said: "When in the field, improvise." It really doesn't matter if it was him, the setiment is applicable.

How cool is that?!?!? Please pass on our "attaboys" to Bobby.

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Eman just so you know what I ment, in Florida helmets are not required anymore as long as you have more insurance. I've personally seen the worst happen three times since the law was repealed. I make sure to ask anyone who rides to wear a helmet.

Le Voyageur doesn't the route have to be approved? I think next time around I'd make it a there and back route. I was under the impression that requirement were SUPPOSED to be hard. I have a saying, If it's easy, it probably isn't worth doing. Raise the bar!(This message has been edited by Mike Long)

I'm more concerned about putting together a quality program and instilling the scout oath and law. Eman, please wear a helmet. We don't want to lose you. Live to Scout, Scout to Live.

Yep, I'm with Le Voyageur on this one. Lots of times I cook in my cup, rinsing is all you need. Though if you aren't used to it drinking grey water can be disturbing at first.

Campmor does provide discounts to Scout units. You have to call them for details.

Scouting IS life. 'nuff said.

Judging by it's similatity to another acronym I'm thinking...... LMHO-laughing my head off?

Good stuff le Voyageur, keep 'em coming.

The HH can also be pitched like a tent if you need to. A very versatile choice. If you do a lot of camping at state parks be aware that many have banned attaching anything to trees including hammocks. The Florida State park system recently went to this rule. Very silly if you ask me, but some folks couldn't seem to be bothered to remove their ropes. National forests and BLM land for me.

And in 2000 two young ladies going by the trail names of Isis and Jackrabbit did the AT barefoot. Anything is possible. I did forget on thing, be sure that your toenails are trimmed neatly.

Technology has ALWAYS failed me when I needed it most. Fundmental skills always come through. I do like the stalking badge idea but we might ought to rename it. "Johnny what did you do at Scouts tonight?" "It was cool Mom! I learned how to be a stalker!"

In the end it all comes down to your feet. Everyone asks about footwear, as they should. The most asked question is what is the best brand to get. Well, there is no best brand but there are a lot of good ones. What really matters is fit and a boot or shoe chosen for the conditions that you will be hiking under. To choose wisely you must ask yourself 2 questions. 1. Where will I be hiking? Terrain helps to determine the ampount of protection your feet need. If you will do most of your hiking on well groomed trails, and well drained, level terrain a simple pair of supportive sneakers or running shoes will do the trick. If you have weak ankles get high tops. More aggressive terrrain requires more aggressive boots. For what most troops do I wouldn't get anything heavier than a light to mid weight boot. Remember that even though you might not notice the weight of a heavy boot at first, a long day of picking them up and putting them down equals a huge expenditure of energy. Here in Florida I don't normally wear boots backpacking as they are overkill. A simple pair of supportive shoes will do the trick. I use a waterproof pair of mid height approach shoes. For terrain similar to the Smokies I use a waterproof mid/light boot as there are sections of broken trail and numerous water crossings. In areas like Glacier NP and the White mountians where there are scree and talus fields I use a heavyweight boot to protect my feet from broken rock. 2. How much weight will I be packing. This is an area where lightweight packing excells. If you don't carry a big load then you probably won't need heavy boots. The more weight you carry directly equals more stress on your feet, thus the need for heavier boots. I have several hiking buddies that are ultralightweighters and never need anything more than a pair of running shoes. No matter what the condition. However, we have been in rough areas where they have be slowed down because they needed to pick their route more carefully than those of us with wearing boots. Footgear that's too soft and floppy for your load will let sharp stones bruise your arches and encourage ankle sprains. Get fitted. Before you try on boots go for a long walk. While backpacking your feet will swell and spread. By taking a long walk you are "pre-loading" your feet. Also wear the socks you plan to wear on the trail. (See socks a little further down.) If you can, visit a shop that can professionaly fit your boots. If not then here are some tips. Properly fitted footwear should provide enough room for your toes, and be snug around the heel and instep so your heel doesn't slide around as you walk. The shoe should be long enough that your toes don't bang into the front of the boot (toe box) when you're hiking downhill. To check for proper length, loosen the laces completely, slip your foot into the boot and slide it all the way forward. You should be able to fit a couple of fingers behind your heel. With the boots laced up, walk around the store. Stand on a sharp edge to see how well the boot protects your arch. Let your foot rock from side to side to check stability and ankle support and to make sure the heel cup doesn't jab you under the ankle bone. Hook the boot heel on a step and point your toes downward to confirm that the boot will hold your foot securely in place during long descents. Some shops have an incline you can stand on to test this also. If possible, try on boots with the load you'll be carrying. Wear the boots indoors for awhile, sometimes what felt great in the store feel horrible once you leave. Most good shops will allow you to return boots that haven't been worn outside. There is no such thing as a water proof boot. The most any company can claim is that they are very highly water resistant. You don't need to buy goretex boots. They are nice and goretex does work but a good pair of boots that you applied waterproofing to will work just fine. But sure to seal all seams thouroughly. Get a boot that is simply constructed. You know how hard it is keep your fellas in shoes. The more seams there are the more places the boot can fail or leak. Remember what Scotty from Star Trek said. "The more complicated the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain." Socks. Wearing cotton socks backpacking is probably the single worst decision you could make. Cotton absorbes water and dries very slowly. Soft wet skin is pretty much guaranteed to produce blisters. The best thing you can wear would be wool boot socks or bacpacking socks. Something that will dry quickly and pad your feet. My hikers, myself included, wear liner socks next to the skin and hiking socks over the liners. What liners do is they are designed to move moisture away from your feet and into your outer sock. They also act as a friction layer. The theory is that your liner and wool sock rub against each other and not your skin. The cheap alternative to liner socks is to wear a pair of men's nylon dress socks. They essentially do the same job for much less money. If you must wear cotton socks bring extra pairs and when you stop (lunch or some other interval) change your socks, let your feet and boots air out, powder your feet and hang the wet socks on the outside of your pack to dry. We aren't making any fashion statements in the woods folks. General foot care. Teach your scouts to take care of their feet. Cracked and broken skin is an invitation to infection. If you are going on a trail that may force you into water over boot high you might want to inspect your boys bare feet. There are many things in untreated water that you don't want to introduce into the blood stream. Break in. Do not wear your boots backpacking until you have broken them in. To me a boot is broken in when it starts to mold to my feet and I can flex the sole. I try to put about 50 miles on mine before backpacking with them. All I really do is wear them to work and around town and on the occaisional dayhike. For particularly stiff boots I will soak the boots in warm water and wear them until they dry, changing socks frequently. Heavier boots require longer break in periods and some even require break in to be done while carring loads. On your first BPing trip with new boots be sure to bring extra blister care items and check your feet often. One other suggestion, It is extra weight but I bring a pair of sandles so I can get out of my boots at the end of the day. Aqua socks work well too.

A bit you say? Modesty, I like that. That's some heavy duty trip. Looks like fun to me. 18,800 feet? Where were you and what mountain did you climb as the highest mtn. in the lower 48 is Whitney at 14,494? Alaska? I can't help but think most trips would be considered run of the mill compared to that.

My point is simple. The boy did what was asked of him. The ADULTS are the ones who need more training. Also please re-read the original post. He didn't earn all the merit badges at 12 he earned them at 16. I knew a guy when I was a scout in the 80's who did the same. Some folks are more dedicated to achieving a goal than others. Olympic Atheletes anyone? Everyone got stuck on the 12 year old Eagle. I can't say I like it or agree with it. Personally I have never seen a 12 year old Eagle but I sat on the Review Board of a thirteen year old Eagle and never knew it. I have come to believe that all a scout has to do to get Eagle is to do what the adults ask of him. Sad but true.

Pack at 12.5? I'm guessing it's a GoLight pack or very similar right? Thanks I am very familiar with the techniques for ultralighting, but I find that they don't make for an enjoyable trip for me. I'm not knocking ultralighing, it's just that I'm a mid to light kind guy. As I said earlier This will be a series of threads. When I get to gear please jump in let everyone know about your techniques. Backpacking is intensely personal, especially gear selection and style and the more info we can give to our fellow scouters yes indeed we will get more of us out there. Glad you stuck around my friend.

I though there was a signaling merit badge? I wouldn't chenge the name of the orienteering MB (I just don't think it's necessary to do so) but I would definately add the high tech techniques as an option. I wouldn't put age limits on badges, just make them hard or require prerequisite badges.

Sounds like a great idea to me. I'm not very familiar with the Venture program but providing resources to units can't be a bad thing. What exactly would the guides do?

Maybe some adults went easy on some requirements down the line, maybe not. But a Scout is Trustworthy and as such I have to take this Scout at his word that he dutifully performed all tasks assigned to him to the level his MB councilors required of him. Good Job Jedadiah.