vol_scouter

I am a physician, Hospitalist, at a university hospital and a research scientist with degrees in medicine, engineering, and physics. I am an Eagle scout and Brotherhood OA. I have served as an ASM, Philmont crew leader twice, Philmont staff at the healthlodge twice, and have been on the EB and EC since 1994 and I am currently the council membership chairman.

A couple of comments. On trained leaders: As someone said, many of the leaders were WWII vets and others had been raised on the farm. There connection with the outdoors was greater than for most of us today. I think that they required less training than some adults do today. Oftentimes the best leaders are former scouts - once again someone with outdoor experience. I am not sure that training can make up for the youthful experiences in the outdoors. Second comment: Since most parents now were not raised on a farm or rural setting, they are afraid of the outdoors themselves and

I refer you to "Wilderness Medicine", By Auerbach for an excellent discussion. In general, stay away from highpoints, bodies of water, and the base of trees. Do not seek shelter under a lone tree. Squat down (do not lie down due to possible ground currents) so that only your feet are touching the ground. This makes you the smallest target. Lightning can strike as far away as 10 miles ahead of the thunder clouds! Once again, consult "Wilderness Medicine" and visit www.wms.org