Ohio_Scouter

My recommendation is Eureka Spitfire 2 tents (or equivalent) for backpacking. These 3-season backpacking tents sleep 2, weigh under 5 pounds each, and 2 scouts can split the weight of the tent between them on a backpacking trip. Unfortunately, they run about $150.00 each new from Eureka.

For tarps, you might want to consider Tyvek (or equivalent house wrap) which is very lightweight and durable. I've heard that some builders might even cut you off a piece from a Tyvek roll for free if they know you're Scouters.

Good luck! I'm sure you'll be getting many, many more suggestions shortly ,. Also, check previous threads because this question has come up numerous times before.

Our council has no limits on the number of badges a counselor may counsel.

kahits,

In my opinion, AK-Eagle is correct. BSA supply division still sells white gas stoves, as do all BSA high-adventure trading posts. Plus, they work better than butane or propane stoves in cold weather and at higher altitudes when backpacking.

jblake47,

Well, if those rules also apply at BSA's Donald Rogert Canoe Base in Atikokan, Ontario, Canada, then somebody had better inform the Northern Tier-provided trek guides since they told our crews how to rig them.

DeanRx,

Our Venture Patrol did Northern Tier High Adventure Base in the summer of 2005, but we went to Atikokan Canoe Base in Ontario, Canada, and they loved every minute. When we got tired of paddling, we lashed our canoes together, tied our dining flies to our paddles, raised the sail, and cruised down the lake at about 4 knots per hour. There are very few places more beautiful than the North Woods where the loons lull you to sleep and the fish are huge and delicious . I highly recommend it!

baschram645,

Thank you and every other Scotuer who helps our boys become upstanding young men .

Hi Eamonn,

Unfortunately, I don't have any useful advice for you. Personally, I don't waste my time on them. I've been ignoring them and some others for quite some time in the hopes that they'll get tired and go away because no one will play with them. Still waiting. They obviously can't be true Scouters because they have violated just about every one of the 12 points. I have little use for "Scouters" who blatantly ignore the Oath, Law, and Motto . Good luck.

Congratulations, bald eagle, to you and your son, and thank you for helping our sons on their trail to Eagle. I'm sure Mom knows of her newest Eagle Scout, too. My son will have his Eagle Court of Honor on October 19th.

Yeah, I noticed that, pack, but I don't think it's strictly a Republican thing. The first time I heard the word "nuk-u-ler" was about 30 years ago from Jimmy Carter, our first nuk-u-ler engineer president.

shortridge,

We agree with you. There's not much better than the smell of pine.

Well, Philmont doesn't have many flat trails, but you should see the expanse of pine tree views from atop of Mt. Phillips (11,750 ft. elevation). The aspens are quite beautiful, too, constantly quivering in the breezes. The entire ranch is just gorgeous! Find a way to get there with your daughter as soon as you can. I'm tearing up right now just thinking about a return trip.

shortridge,

You might want to try Philmont's trail meals and get your guys ready for a trek in God's Country at the same time.

http://www.scouting.org/highadventure/philmont/camping/menus.aspx

cad-guy,

Sorry, I can't help with Colorado or New Mexico white-water rafting. Now, if you were heading to Yellowstone, I can highly recommend Montana Whitewater http://www.montanawhitewater.com/ on the Gallatin River. They have a 23-mile trip with the last "mad mile" of Class IV and V rapids. Our troop used them in 2004, and they loved it.

Good luck. I'm sure some of our brothers and sisters west of the Mississippi will be able to help you.

Rob,

I haven't been able to locate the exact melody, but I did come up with the following information about the song. Hope this helps a bit:

ARTIST: Don Bellairs

TITLE: Magic

Lyrics and Chords

When I was young I thought the stars were made for wishing on

And every hole deep in a tree might hide a leprechaun

Old houses all had secret rooms, if you could find the key

I do believe in magic, I believe

/ F C F G / F C Am G / C Am F G / F G C - /

{Refrain}

Magic is the sun that makes a rainbow out of rain

Magic keeps the dream alive to try and try again

Magic is the love that stays when good friends have to leave

I do believe in magic, I believe

Growing up the grown-ups said someday I'd wake to find

That magic's just a childhood dream I'd have to leave behind

Like clothes that would no longer fit and toys that I'd ignore

I'd not believe in magic anymore

{Refrain}

Now that I am grown I found that much to my surprise

Magic did not fade away, it took a new disguise

A child, a friend, a smile, a song, the courage to stand tall

I do believe in magic, after all

Magic is the sun that makes a rainbow out of rain

Magic keeps the dream alive to try and try again

Magic is the love that stays when good friends have to leave

I do believe in magic, love's the greatest magic

I do believe in magic, I believe

... / F G F G / F G C - /

Originally written for the Girl Scouts in "Camp Magic" in eastern Kentucky in 1991.

Lisabob,

I understand completely. Here's hoping that your council is more competent than some councils with which I'm familiar. Based on what you've written, though, I don't see much evidence yet.

It would be much easier to be more patient with councils if they were more trustworthy, helpful, friendly, courteous...

Lisabob,

FYI...here's a blurb on the Centenniel Jamboree from the current issue of Scouting Magazine. Please note the second-last paragraph particularly. Good luck.

Plan now for BSA's centennial jamboree. For an organization that turns 100 in 2010, the BSA still knows how to party.

Planned as "the best, most exciting, fun-filled, safest jamboree ever, according to John Alline, national jamboree director, the 2010 National Scout Jamboree will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts from July 26 to Aug. 4 at Fort A.P. Hill.

Located in the rolling hills of Virginia, close to Washington, D.C., the 76,000-acre facility has set aside 3,000 acres to support a city of 18,000 tents and 3,600 patrol kitchens that will house and feed about 43,000 Scouts and leaders.

Planned activities include scuba, kayaking, rafting, sailing, archery, and shooting, as well as a merit badge midway, an American Indian village, and a re-creation of Lord Robert Baden-Powells original Scout camp on Brownsea Island off the southern coast of England.

Scouts and Scouters can sign up for the 2010 jamboree by going to www.myscouting.org or www.bsajamboree.org. If you dont already have a MyScouting account, you must create one. After logging in, go to Event Reservations then Jamboree and choose the appropriate application link.

After completing an online application, pay the $10 nonrefundable processing fee with either a debit or credit card. Then print your confirmation, have it signed by your Scoutmaster, and take it to your local Scout council service center along with the required deposit. Contact your local council for the deposit amount.

Local councils will set the price for their jamboree contingents. Costs will include the jamboree fee, travel and tour expenses, meals, lodging, unit and patrol equipment, accident and illness insurance, and costs of pre-jamboree training.

Be aware that a confirmation of the applications receipt does not guarantee a spot in a council jamboree troop. Local councils make that determination, and each council can select only a certain number of Scouts and adult leaders.

Also, log on to the BSA jamboree Web site to learn details on Boy Scout and adult leader requirements that can qualify you to join in the festivities. Expect periodic Web site updates, so check it often.

If I were in your shoes, I would not resubmit my records again, but I would attempt to hold the council responsible.

If your council is anything like my council, no matter how many times you submit your training records, or how many letters you write, the council will continue to lose any documentation you send them. IMO, competence does not seem to be a job requirement for council staff. After all, your council could have lost your records 8 times in 8 years .

Alternatively, you could notify your council to send you a stamped, self-addressed envelope with an appropriate processing fee, and you would resubmit your training records via registered mail (signature receipt) as soon as possible.

I'm convinced the best way to keep young Scouts interested in Scouting is to have a really good program--something that younger scouts really look forward to. Our high adventure program seems to fill the bill for our Troop. We keep them interested and inspired to stick around until they are old enough and physically prepared enough to attend our high adventure trips every summer. To do that, we have designed an exciting program that keeps them interested year round supplemented by more senior scouts and ASMs/JASMs who help run the programs. Our dropout rate is pretty low, and our Eagle attainment rate is currently running about 90%.

OGO,

Sounds to me like you've tried your best to keep the boy interested in Scouting. You can lead a Scout to the campfire, but you can't make him camp. Time to move on ...

OGO,

Doesn't sound like real Scout material yet to me, but we can't give up on a boy just because he doesn't like camping. My best advice would be to get him interested in all things outdoors, e.g., hiking, backpacking, fishing, canoeing, sailing, swimming, cooking, etc., so that he'll have to learn to like camping in order to do other outdoor activities.

You might also help educate him about outdoor critters. It sounds like he might be afraid of sleeping outdoors with racoons, possums, skunks, bugs, snakes, etc...

Good luck!

Yeah, I guess that just proves that you can't believe everything you read on Internet forums and blogs.

OK, Basementdweller,

I couldn't find this policy on the national BSA website or on the local Tecumseh Council--where these Scouts live--or on my Council's website, either. So, I'll grant you that this may be a local policy in at least 4 BSA councils, but I'm not yet convinced that it's a national BSA policy. Thanks for trying to research it, though.

So Basementdweller,

Where can we find this BSA national policy documented so that we can all be educated?

And why should the Scouts and Scouters of the Tecumseh Council owe the entire community an apology? Because they presented the U. S. colors as requested by an American political party?

Yes,

My wife, who attended the event, said that the Scouts were the color guard.

KY_Scouter,

I have a fairly light-weight Coleman Exponent mummy bag I like (weighs about 5 pounds and cost around $75.00 new 6 years ago), but it's only rated down to about 20 degrees F. If I need more warmth than that, I usually insert a fleece liner which gets its temperature rating down to about 10 degrees F. I've also heard very good reports on the light-weight Slumberjack models, too. If you'll be backpacking, make sure to get one that compresses down really small with a compression sack.

Good Luck!

Well, I see politics is once again bringing out the worst in people. Gern, shame on you. What would your mother say about that comment?

BTW, the Scouts in uniform at the McCain rally at the Nutter Center in Fairborn, Ohio yesterday were the color guard.