elitts

This has always been my suspicion as well. Our local council spends a fortune on flying and boarding its staff members all over the country for various conventions, training and what ever else they do. I knew one council staff member fairly well and he was traveling AT LEAST 3-5 days every month; and he was only one of 3 or 4 people with the same job. *I'd probably be less unhappy about that sort of thing if my council wasn't also incredibly inept at anything that resembles administrative work. I've had to submit my Merit Badge councillor forms 5 times in the last 2 years* The solu

I realize that, but this wasn't a crew going out on the trail on a "Trek". The scouts in the "Intro to Backpacking" were still in the "base camp" portion of the week. They weren't out backpacking over-night, it was just a day-hike. My troop's camp-outs all follow the "Two Deep Leadership" rule, but if one of our patrols wishes to take an hour or two day-hike, they are allowed to as long as they clear it with the SM first. "Two Deep Leadership" has NEVER meant that all scouts will be accompanied by 2 adults at all times; it simply means that the over-all outing has at least 2 adults (one ov

Parmesan Cheese - A healthy quantity added to almost everything. Adds some zip to bland things. Successfully added to: Scrambled Eggs, Mashed Potatoes, Mac n Cheese, Au Gratin Potatoes, Hamburger Helper, Spaghetti, Broccoli Cheese Soup, Corn Chowder, Bean Dip, Also, Us 1/3rd Orange Juice instead of water for most recipes that are made from Bisquick. The acid neutralizes any excess baking powder and improves the flavor.

I just wish the news organizations would actually check out statements that their subjects make and verify or qualify them when they are incorrect. I realize the father thinks it is a policy that there be 2 adults on any hike, but it's incorrect. Yet every news organization is effectively letting that be reported as "the truth" by publishing his statements with no indication as to whether or not it's true.

That's how I did it in 1990 as well. It was a fantastic trip, and my crew certainly looked a whole lot happier than the folks that climbed it with their packs on. Of course, the average pack weight was 60-80lbs back then too, so that might be a little better now. Personally, one of the best memories I have of Baldy was going down to Baldie town by jumping down the side of the mountain into piles of rock. Then, getting to Baldy town, skipped getting a snack and taking a shower. (the first in 5 days of monsoon) I was the first kid into the showers by a good 15 minutes, so it was still h

Well, there are some scouts for whom cooking on a camp-out isn't just an annoying chore. While learning to do more with less is good, sometimes the ability to have a really good multi dish meal is fun. While I'm certainly capable of dealing with a backcountry trip now and again, it's not my preference. And I felt the same way as a scout. Oddly enough, I was the cook most times then too.

I've always been a fan of the Eureka Timberline tents, particularly with regard to ease of setup and durability, but they are pricey. The last purchase our troop made was of a number of Alps tents. It hasn't gone well so far, but part of that I think is that the scouts have no ownership of them, and care for them accordingly. I will also say, I've had 3 that had minor rips in the fly within the first 4-5 uses. However, Alps didn't bat an eye when we called to let them know and just immediately sent us 3 new ones.

About 2 months after the 2015 BSA rule change on homosexual leaders, our new scout patrol finally got around to naming themselves. I had to stifle a laugh when their patrol leader announced that they would henceforth be "The Flaming Patrol".

Yup. My project was the restoration of an enclosed playground at my high school that was used for kids during adult education classes. The whole thing was torn out 1 year later to put in some portable classrooms for 2 years while they built a new wing.

The pack where I was Cubmaster up until 2 years ago just sold Christmas wreaths. The 50-60 cubs would sell about 1100 wreaths, and we would end up with about $6,500-$7,500 profit. My current Troop used to just sell Popcorn, but of the 30% of the sales that the troop received, only 5% was kept in the troop coffers. The remaining 25% was credited to the scouts. They would also charge about $150 for annual registration. Given the success of wreath sales at my former pack, I convinced the Committee to do a trial wreath sale this last year. We only ended up with about 160 wreaths pre-or