69RoadRunner

Well, we'll see if those folks continue but as the population grows, it's not a surprise there are more people on the trails. The AT is never too far from some town. I'm backpacking in Yosemite next month, as long as the fires stay away (no with scouts). I hope the AT never becomes a permit thing like it is out west.

I'm fortunate to live about an hour from the AT in Virginia and a member of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. One of the best stories about the AT is Grandma Gatewood hiking it and in a way, pioneering the ultralight backpacking movement. At 67, she was the first woman to hike the entire AT. Many scouters who think they need a 75 pound pack should read up on how she hiked from Georgia to Maine. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandma_Gatewood

They made no age exception for us a couple of years ago. You're right about the weight limits. We saw several adults who were clearly way overweight. A couple of them were behind the rest of their crew hiking up to Baldy and looked like they might not make it. I always say it's their place and we'll follow their rules, even the ones I think are dumb, outdated or don't teach the best backpacking skills. Now if you ask and they make an exception, you're still following their rules.

Very little. Check the guidebook on their web site. That's it. They provide most things.

I assume you've read this thread I wrote?

Swim test is the usual, but a tad shorter at the environmental center. The biggest issue some scouts have is swimming in a natural body of water vs. at a pool. At Sea Base, you're swimming near docks in ocean water. Take a hammock and a tarp. That's what I did. It was really hot and while you can take the fly off of the tents, you can have storms every night. A hammock means you have better airflow and you don't have to tent with another person. That's a big reason why I took a tent to Northern Tier and Sea Base. I hate tenting with someone else. It's very hard to sleep. Sea Base act

They have a percolator, coffee, creamer and sugar. You can bring a mug or use a bowl from the chuck box. I took a mug. The percolator is pretty simple and the scouts clean up. 😉

Man, that's old school. Today, it would be Essential Oils. Gotta stay current with the kids.

My motion sickness issue has gotten worse as I've gotten older, unfortunately. I really can't enjoy boat rides.

Photo dump: https://www.amazon.com/photos/shared/a2j8RWwvSieTQV4LSUNkDQ.9Oe9MUTqGg6wWy9BodD2UX

Some more random thoughts/advice. Adults, consider bringing a book. You should be leaving your crew to run dinner. You'll have down time. Tell your crew leader to mentally plan out meals with the food out. Set aside the items for each of the meals. Don't do this with them. I wish they'd noticed the gravy packet for the potatoes, but let them do it. If any crew members take a hammock, make sure they have practice setting up and accept that there might not be adequate spots for everyone. The tents are 4 person tents. Even if you have a full crew, you won't have 4 in a tent. Y

Same. I scratched my legs so much yesterday they started to bleed.

Oh, and take a coffee mug or use one of the provided bowls.

<record scratch> You're probably wondering how I could possibly almost get hypothermia in the keys in summer. We'll come back to that. Some random thoughts on out Out Island Adventure. I was smart booking out vans well in advance because the cost of rentals went up. I was dumb booking at Miami instead of Ft. Lauderdale, which has more and cheaper flights. Every high adventure is a long wait at the rental counter for our van(s). Two hours this time. I hate rental car companies. While you might not need much insulation on the island, you do at the Environmental Center f

Well said. I think the current YPT measures are very good. They do rely on people following them. A conspiracy of 2 registered adults could result in a failure. Let's all do our part to provide a safe program for the youth in our charge. I know the victims will forever be affected by what happened to them. I hope they are able to find some peace in their lives. And last, I hope Avis has our 2 vans at the Miami airport so we can get to Sea Base on Monday.

I now see they specifically say no mess kits, so I don't think they want personal stuff. Could be Covid related or maybe standard policy.

Yep. I bought some Bonine. I get motion sickness.

I have an Eagle scoutmaster conference and wondering if you do anything different? I'm thinking of asking more about his future plans and what he's gained in scouting. I always keep Scoutmaster conferences positive, low stress. It's a good conversation.

Ah, gotcha. Last time we went we did the big sailboat, something I won't do again. Seasickness is the primary reason.

We're not doing the sailing adventure. We're doing the out island adventure, so we'll be on the island all week. I found a document that showed they have percolators and coffee. I've often said that the most important safety item in scouting is a properly caffeinated scoutmaster.

Can we take mugs and instant coffee for the out island adventure? Mugs aren't on the packing list

We use charcoal chimneys. If we have a fire going, we put hot coals under the chimney. You can also tear the top of the charcoal bag off and light that under the chimney. We've also found that for dutch oven cooking, the Matchlight type charcoal with lighter fluid in it doesn't burn as hot/long as charcoal without it, so more is needed. Don't be Eddie Murphy's Uncle Gus with the lighter fluid.

I have no experience with these companies, but I'd rather rent a Zoleo or Garmin Inreach Mini than a big satellite phone. https://www.skycallsatellite.com/zoleo-satellite-communicator/ https://www.outdoorsgeek.com/product/inreach-mini-rental/ They're more appropriate for backpacking and you can set them to send your location every X hours by text to someone. https://andrewskurka.com/review-zoleo-satellite-communicator-seamless-messaging/ https://andrewskurka.com/preview-garmin-inreach-mini/

If everyone was wearing masks, then the protection was the Covid positive people not transmitting to the others. The people wearing the masks did not receive protection from their masks but from the others wearing masks. Only N95 masks protect the wearer.

I disagree about vaccine mandates not sitting well with Americans. For most of my life, people were very supportive and there was very little resistance. That changed with the discredited anti-vaxxer movement that claimed vaccines caused Autism. This is completely debunked, but there is still a movement that believes this and any other crazy thing they hear about vaccines. The vaccines work amazingly well. Get vaccinated and go back to normal life. For most of the pandemic, Covid was much deadlier than the Flu for adults. For children 12 and under, it was a little less deadly than th