Buffalo Skipper

I have slept in a hammock more than 40 nights in the past year. Since moving up, I have not had to sleep on the ground since. At summer camp, I set up my hammock a few yards behind the rest of the tents. It rained over 4" during the week, mostly in 3 heavy spurts; the only dry spot in camp was my hammock under my tarp. Even my down bag was perfectly dry! I have slept in my hammock from 85 during an afternoon nap, all the way down to 21 during a winter backpacking trek with plenty of comfort. I can set up my hammock in less time than two scouts can set up a simple tent. I cannot descr

So let me understand this. If a scout is doing selfless service for scouts it counts. But if he gains any other benefit from the time, he can no longer count it for scouts? So if he is doing a service for his church, like say being an usher, it may count for scouts. But not if he is credited these hours and recognized by his youth group, it somehow becomes something else and doesn't count? None of our schools give a flying hoot what other motives a student may have for doing service. This whole "anti-double dipping" perspective seems to me to be a uniquely scout-only attitude, and

Look at ULA packs. The Circuit or the Catalyst. I have a Medium Circuit and I am 6'1" They may do custom work if needed. http://www.ula-equipment.com Also look into Six Moon Designs backpacks and Gossomer Gear, other small US backpack manufacturers. These backpacks are designed for lighter loads so you must take a more lightweight approach than typical crews at Philmont. Then look up these articles by Doug Prosser on lightweight hiking at Philmont. http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/boy_scout_gear_list_philmont.html http://www.backpackinglight.com/c

As far as a sleeping bag goes, actually I am not going to be using one. I am switching to top quilts. If you are not familiar with TQs, they are like a sleeping bag with a V cut back (bottom), following the practice that any down or synthetic insulation on which you sleep (compress) does not provide you but a very negligable amount of insulation. Your sleeping pad should provide you with sufficient warmth/insulation from the ground. These are popluar amongst hammock sleepers and ultralight enthusiasts. With winter approaching, I will be getting a 20 TQ, which weights just about 20 o

Brent, as always you offer sound and well supported advice. Thanks for the article from BPL, it reinforces our philosophy regarding lighter backpacking. I do have one other question for everyone experienced here. Since Philmont allows anyone to bring their own gear or use gear they provide, is the same true about food? We have gotten into the habit of creating our own Freezer Bag Cooking (FBC) backpack meals. They would be like pre-made backpack meals (Mountain House, Backpacker's Pantry, etc) but because we make the meal, we have more control over things like sodium, preservatives a

Thanks for all the resources. I am still soaking them all up. One question I have for everyone, is what type rating of sleeping bag would you recomend? 40? 20? We are looking at a lightweight sleeping bag purchase very soon and want to know at what range we should be looking. It will be the first week of August, 2012. Also, for the group gear on the gear list, how many tarps are recomended for a crew, or how many per person? Our troop has some backpack tarps (12x12 Kelty Noah's tarp at 2 lbs or I have a 10x12 sil nylon at 19 oz) they could plan to use; just trying to figure out how

Great article! Thanks Kudu.

Interestingly, this became law, in a variety of forms and ammendments through the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. There is now an Eagle Feather repository, a national collection of feathers of dead birds which is preserved for Native Americans and their rituals, rites and ceremonies. More on the law can be found here:L http://www.fws.gov/laws/lawsdigest/baldegl.html Information on the repository can be found here: http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/law/eagle/

My understanding (based on what I have read in the Committee Guidebook and on the scouting.org) is that the COR is not a part of the committee, unless he also registers as the Committee Chair. He does represent the unit (or units) and may be a part of the District Committee and the Counil Exectutive Committee. Most, of course, do not follow through with these responsibilities. This page has some intersting information. It is one session of the outline for COR training. Not always specific and detailed, but certainly insightful. http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/Media/Relationships

>>Did you ask them?>...But what really surprised us was the weight of our personal gear in the Northern Tier treks. We easily had one less bag per canoe than most crews simply because of our backpacking experiences. Duluth packs are rather large, so that is a lot of gear we left behind compared to other crews.>...He was carrying approximately 32 lbs + food and water.

Eagledad, sorry if I made my point poorly. I am not really talking about a tent vs a tarp. I am saying that if you knock off 2 lbs on a tarp, and 2 more on a tent and a little more here or there, you can easily save 10 lbs or more. That makes an incredible difference in a day's weight of hiking. For a hiker in good shape, that can mean coming into camp unwinded with plenty of energy; for a one in less than perfect shape, it could make the difference between approaching the breaking point and still being a ways from it. Having more energy and feeling better (physically and mentally) about

One more question. I did not see a suggested rating for a sleeping bag. There is (on the summer list) a section for cold clothing (polar fleece, etc) so is there an expectation to bring a 3-season (20F) or would a summer bag (40) suffice? Again, to the point, this would make a difference in weight....

I discussed this with my SE a couple of years ago. This is what was explained to me. Within a council, a scout may be registered to one Cub Scout Pack or one Boy Scout Troop. In addition to a troop, a Boy Scout may be registered to one Venture Crew OR one Sea Scout Ship. A Venturer may be registered in UP to two units (Venturing Crew(s) and/or Sea Scout Ships). Youth membership may not exceed 2 units. As each council has a separate charter, so what happens in different councils is largely immaterial, however it may become quite a difficult issue if advancement is taking place in

Thanks for the info. As much scouting experience as I have (youth and adult), I have yet to make it to Philmont. I guess my concern here is that in our troop, we have been working to encourage an approach where the focus is on lightening ones load in order to enjoy the hike more. So far this has been a great success (for those who have gone this route). My son hates a heavy backpack (as do I!). Why carry (share) a 5 lb tent, when one can carry one that weighs 1.5 lbs (or share one that weighs less than 2.5 lbs). My load on a 3 day weekend has gone from 44 lbs down to under 20 (winter wei

My son may be going to Philmont next summer, and we are looking at gear. I am a bit of an ultralight enthusiast (with a hammock) and my son would be on the verge of getting a hammock as well. But as hammocks are not allowed at Philmont (not sure if that is the backcountry or everywhere), we are now considering a lightweight solo tent. Knowing that also "tarp tents" are prohibited there is much gray area between tarps and tents. I am looking to define this gray area, but for those of you who are experienced in this area, we are specifically looking at the Lightheart Solo Standard, Six

I guess my attitude is a little simpler. If you don't want to have EVERYONE read what you want to announce that you are doing, the keep your page private. If you do want to tell EVERYONE what you are doing, then keep it open. If it is private, then it should not be on the table. If it is open, then anything's game.

Another important consideration is what where this may (or may not) connect to the troop. Does the troop have a Facebook? Does his FB page link back to a troop FB page? Troop webpage? Charter Organization page? If so, then such posting may be associated with the troop and CO. If it an "open" page, then it should be open to public discussion. (QQQ for scout at BOR: "How do you feel your illegal use of alcohol, as posted on your site reflects on you as a scout?" or "Do you feel your expression of your exploits is in keeping with the Scout Oath's commitment to keep you '...mentally awake a

SR540Beaver, thank you my friend for the kind words of support. I can assure you that what I put here is only the tip of the iceberg. Here are just a few examples: http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=267849#id_267849 and http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=286275#id_286311 The scout just turned 14 and has attended NYLT (one of less than a dozen scouts in our council to do so as NYLT is not offered locally) and NAYLE (the only scout in our council to ever have attended). He has already earned 55 MBs, a significant portion of which he earned wi

Sorry if this came off as confusing. I want to focus on the parent rather than the scout; but I will briefly sum up. The scout and parents transferred to our troop 22 months ago after a falling out with another local troop. Because of the past history with the other troop and concerns about their interaction with the scouts, the decision was made to offer the parents positions on the committee rather than as ASMs, which they only begrudgingly accepted. Our relationship with the parents has been challenging, at best, but I continued to work with our CC and COR to find meaningful respo

We have a family who has just left our troop. The parents have been registered ASMs of another troop for several months, and the scout has been working with that troop as well. The scout formally advised me last night that he was leaving. The mother (a MC with our troop) ended up leaving in a huff over some self created drama. She has been serving as a MBC for some of our scouts for at least one Merit Badge. I no longer feel it is appropriate to have her continue to work with our scouts. How would you handle this situation?

There is more to the answer of this question than just a number. We had 5 scouts practice for the mile swim during our week at camp, all of whom completed all 4 practice sessions. One broke his arm on Thursday evening, and one, a first year scout, was not able to complete the mile. But the other 3 did finish. These were the first scouts in our troop to complete the mile swim in at least 5 years, possibly longer. Just as importantly for all 3, the mile swim was the last requirement for their Aquatics rocker of their National Outdoor Award. I felt it was a very positive accompl

I second what emb021 said. Wood Badge and Seabadge ("Wood Badge" is two words while "Seabadge" is one) are two different courses each with a very different purpose. I would suggest the Khaki uniform for WB. If your ship has a t-shirt or polo shirt worn as casual wear, that would suffice; otherwise, the official Sea Scout polo would be good. Keep in mind that upon completion of the course (and tickets) the beads are NOT to be worn with the Sea Scout uniform. The only acceptable WB insignia is the ax and log pin to be worn on the pocket flap. I would certainly encourage

I recomend Laughing Cow, Hillshire Farms, or most any single serve cheese packed in wax. These should last some time without refrigeration. Also, parmesan cheese is available in "shelf stable" packaging, like you get at Pizza Hut. Another option is dehydrated cheese powder (like found in mac-n-cheese boxes). Package the powder with the appropriate amount of milk powder and just add water. You can purchase it here: http://www.packitgourmet.com/Cheese-Sauce-Powder-p315.html

My son was a Den Chief for a year and a half. He was presented the Service Award at the Blue and Gold, right before the Webelos crossover ceremony. It was also announced at the next CoH, a month later. He wears it proudly to this day, and I think he is more proud of that award than anything else he has accomplished in scouts thus far.

Sure thing. We had 7 new scouts attend camp. We did not participate in the BP program, but instead worked with "Operation First Class." The reason for this is that all our FY scouts had almost completed Tenderfoot. We had covered much of the "Health and Safety" with the troop, so they were enrolled in "Scoutcraft" and "First Aid" sessions. Classes were small and organized, and I can say that the requirements covered were done thoroughly and with discipline. That said, in 4 hours of Scoutcraft class, only FC requirements 1 and 7ab were completed; in "First Aid," only FC requirement 8 was c