Ohio_Scouter

Thanks, Dan. They tell me I have a top-notch robotic surgeon, so I'm pretty confident in his abilities and the probability of a good outcome.

Congratulations, and welcome home little DanKroh! Get well and grow strong so that we will see you hiking atop of Mt. Phillips or Baldy some day soon. My surgery is scheduled for 2 weeks from today.

eagle2160, I've never attended Region7, but I found a recipe for Hudson Bay bread from BSA's Northern Tier High Adventure Base that they fed us on our canoe trek in 2005. HUDSON BAY BREAD 1 1/2 LBS. MARGARINE OR BUTTER 4 CUPS SUGAR 2/3 CUPS KARO SYRUP 2/3 CUPS HONEY 2 TSP. MAPLE FLAVORING CREAM TOGETHER THE ABOVE INGREDIENTS. ADD WHILE MIXING: 1 1/2 CUPS GROUND NUTS 19 CUPS QUICK COOKING OATMEAL Spread in a large sheet pan, 18 inches x 26 inches. Press it down into the pan. Bake at 325 degrees in a convection oven for 15 to 18 minutes. As soon as t

My scouting days are numbered, too, so I won't be buying any more uniforms.

Flying Fish, IMHO, have the scouts/scouters all get class 3 forms, and then they can do just about any activity without worry. You probably already know this, but also ask your scouters to get certified in First Aid, CPR/AED, Safety Afloat/Safe Swim Defense, and Climb On Safely. If you plan to do Philmont, have a couple of them get certified in Wilderness First-Aid, too. It'll pay off later on.

Congrats, gwd-- Sounds like your troop has found a new annual fund raiser. Isn't it amazing how fun yard sales can be? In a few years, your guys will be raking in thousands to support their troop .

Check the Summer Camp forum on this board and search for reports on Camp McKee. I'm pretty sure that robvio has been to camp McKee recently with his troop. You may want to send him a personal message to get his first-hand report. Good luck!

mdkeplars, Our troop did a Grand Canyon high adventure trip in the summer of 2001. The guys loved it; it was one of their all-time favorites. See this link for a copy of their trip journal and additional details: http://www.troop325bsa.com/highad/grandcanyon/2001/gc-journal-01.html

Good luck, Pack283. Get the COR and those Eagles working on forming the troop. In four years it should be a great troop for your son to bridge into . Several members of this board also have plenty of ideas and experience for recruiting new scouts. Let us know how we can help.(This message has been edited by Ohio_Scouter)

Contact your District Executive at Simon Kenton Council. Start with their website for contact information at: http://www.skcbsa.org/

I agree with GW and Gnome1952. For Eagle, I would require Wilderness Survival, Cooking, Backpacking, and Orienteering. I would remove Cycling.

Recommend the scouts set up a shotgun and rifle range next to the donut and coffee van. This should alleviate concerns about scout safety.

Here's a link to the Philmont Country Cookbook. Enjoy! http://usscouts.org/macscouter/Cooking/docs/PHLMNTCB.pdf

Dan, Tell that First Class son of yours we intend to see him hiking at Philmont after he fully recovers from his heart surgery. Speaking from experience, there's nothing better to strengthen a person's heart muscle than a 10-day trek at the Ranch. Best wishes .

I haven't read the requirements for all 120 MBs, but of those with which I am familiar, I believe that Backpacking was the toughest. Seems like we'd never finish requirements number 11: 1. Do the following: a. Write a plan for a backpacking trek of at least five days using at least three different campsites and covering at least 30 miles. Your plan must include a description of and route to the trek area, schedule (including a daily time control plan), list of food and equipment needs, safety and emergency plan, and budget. b. Using Leave No Trace principles, take the trek planned

Well, count me in and let's make it 4 now. Any other takers from Central region?

I say take your chances with the felt hat. I've had my hiking boots and my baseball cap branded, and they both turned out pretty fine.

Knot-head, Yes and Yes. I believe that each person who donates to our scout garage/yard sale is entitled to a deduction on their federal income taxes as a charitable contribution. Once the sale is over, whatever doesn't sell either gets donated to goodwill or trashed. We use the income from the sale primarily to subsidize our high-adventure and capital replacement programs. For example, we just recently acquired a new 15-passenger troop van, a dozen new single-shot, bolt-action rifles, several new troop tents, and brand new certified climbing and rappelling gear. Good luck!

IWGBP

BrentAllen, Our troop did a Yellowstone/Grand Teton backcountry high adventure trip in 2004, and it was top-notch.

WS, Wal-Mart and Target carry several nut- and fruit-based trail mixes that don't include sunflower seeds, or you can make your own GORP (Granola, Oats, Raisins, Peanuts). Experiment!

Hey SW, Sorry you missed summer campthis year, but glad to hear you seem to be checking out OK in the cardiac department. Don't sweat it too much, though; it sounds like you're doing all the right things. Worst case, at age 54, I had quadruple bypass surgery in October, 2006, and after completing a short intense cardiac rehab program, I was hiking a trek at Philmont within 8 months.

Trev, There was an article in last June's Scouting Magazine about a Camp Emerald Bay on Catalina Island in California that has some triathalon high adventure trips. Check it out at http://www.scoutingmagazine.org/issues/0705/a-cat.html. There may be others elsewhere.

I agree with FireKat. The best exercise for backpacking is backpacking, so do as much as possible under realistic conditions, eventually, with a full pack. If you can't do that, I believe the next best exercise is hiking up and down sets of stairs. It's pretty boring, but it worked for me. Nearby, we have an earthen dam along the river with 2 sets of stairs consisting of about 100 steps each. In preparation for Philmont, each day I would walk down to the river and walk up and down those steps until I couldn't continue. In the beginning, I couldn't do very many reps, but after a while

scoutmomma, I've done all 3 BSA high-adventure base trips, and they are all great in their own ways. Do them all, and have your guys earn the high-adventure triple crown of Scouting. Gern is right. Coral Reef sailing at Seabase is a vacation. The scouts learn how to sail from Seabase to Key West and back (about 150 miles round trip), snorkel along the way, and deep-sea fish off the back of a 41-foot sailing sloop or ketch. They also get to filet and grill whatever they catch that's worth eating. It's a wonderful trip. We sailed through Tropical Storm Alberto in 2006 with 50 kn