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 si

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 I've personally seen the worst happen three times since the law was repealed.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

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 b

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 st

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.