69RoadRunner

We've gone to Camp Ottari every year I've been with the troop and are doing Powhattan next summer, so we're familiar with the BRMC. It's about a 5 hour drive for us. I was hoping to find something a bit closer, but I've been looking at Claytor Lake. We had scouts go there for summer camp with BRMC several years ago. I had to work hard to keep a straight face when we had scouts get the motorboating merit badge.

We're in Northern, VA and I was wondering if anyone had good experiences with canoe outfitters in the region we could use for Northern Tier training. I've found some for on the rivers in the area. There are also some where you can just paddle around like Burke Lake, which isn't much of a lake. Thanks!

There are lots of challenges for BSA. Financial challenges during a time of decreased membership is a big one. Society changes and what people enjoyed decades ago sometimes goes out of favor. Look at bowling alleys as one example in this country. It was very popular when I was a kid and it could be tough to get a lane to practice sometimes. Now many of them have closed. Scouting has always competed against other activities. Will it offer something that draws in enough youth? We also have the stain of the child abuse scandals. That doesn't help. I'm doing what I can to hel

Skurka is an expert on backpacking and his site has lots of good info.

https://andrewskurka.com/tag/how-to-poop-in-the-outdoors-woods-perform-backcountry-bidget/

2 boxes of Stove Top 1 can of chunk chicken Package of Craisins (dehydrated cranberries). Boil the amount of water required for the 2 boxes (no butter at Philmont, but you can use some oil). Take pot off the stove, pour everything in and stir. You can vary the amount of chicken and Craisins.

Our CM made this and it was gone very quickly. She makes great pumpkin bread.

Looks like I can't upload the pumpkin bread due to the 10mb limit.

At our Iron Chef competition, the adults do lunch. This is also an activity that Webelos visit. The scout patrols compete for Breakfast, Dinner and Dessert. We enjoy cooking and eating well plus we try to set an example of things the scouts can do when they plan. Our secret ingredient was cranberries. I made 3 things, chili, fresh cranberry applesauce and since the favorite Philmont meal is stuffing with chicken and cranberries, I made it to demo for the scouts who didn't do Philmont. The other adults made red beans and rice, flank steak, beef and noodles and pumpkin bread al

I'm seeing the reasoning on the Kindle. Points taken. As for the gloves, I haven't picked anything specific, but after the kayaking experience, I think I'll be getting something. We're doing Ely Base at BSA NT. The packing list includes this for the dry bags: "25-30 Liter dry bag for clothing and other gear – this will be packed in our gear packs". So they provide the big gear bags. At Philmont, I required our crew to put clothes and sleeping bags in dry stuff sacks. I then got them all trash compactor bags to line their backpacks and roll down for double protection. I would t

OK, I'm not duplicating tents. It's either/or. I don't know what NT uses, but mine is likely much lighter. Even if you add the chair and Kindle, I'll bet I would be lighter than the NT tent alone. We need something to eat with, so how would the bowls be overpriced techno-trash when they're dirt cheap and we already have them? Same for the gloves? NT specifically suggests a Crazy Creek chair. What I'm asking about is lighter. NT also suggests a book and my question is about something much lighter and as I said, it would require no charging as the battery lasts 6 weeks.

We're going to NT next year. The scouts can use the NT tents. I was thinking of taking my Locus Gear Hapi Grande and inner to save some weight and bulk. The Grande version (not on their web site, but you can special request) is relatively spacious for a 2 person, lightweight tent. We have 2 crews going and will likely have 2 adults in one crew and 2 or 3 in the other. Any suggestions on dry bags for each crew member? Is the Helinox Chair Zero I took to Philmont a good idea? They say to bring a book. I think a Kindle Paperwhite might be a good option. It's light, waterproo

Filter can be a patrol item. Hand sanitizer would be a good idea.

I got some Amazon tarps for our patrols to start using along with some poles but we haven't used them yet. I'm going to have them start next month at our Iron Chef campout. At Gettysburg, we camped next to a troop that had this circus tent metal pole tarp. I bought a backpacking tarp that was on clearance and a bug bivy to try out but haven't had a chance yet.

Yearly will bring in more revenue. People who drop out still pay the full amount compared to monthly. Plus there's the processing costs.

I suspect that vegan shoes use a lot more petroleum based materials than leather shoes. Pick your poison.

I'm not sure the fire pit was large enough for 3 pots. We also needed to cook the beans in a skillet and of course the schnitzel in a skillet. We do have a nice cowboy fire cooking setup for grilling or hanging a pot over a fire. It will likely be used at Iron Chef next month.

I looked at that, but I just don't see me using one often enough to justify it. This was the first time I've has spaetzel. I don't need more house clutter. ☺️

Something like that would have made an interesting alternative, but also perhaps a bit of a tease.

Sigh, the lack of beer was a frequent lament. To be honest, this wasn't that hard to do. Adults have a three burner stove, so it was just a matter of thinking through the best order. We started the applesauce first. Then the green beans and spaetzel. The pork was really quick, so it was last. The only thing that slowed us was not having enough pots to run all 3 burners at once (applesauce, beans and spaetzel). We try to set an example for the scouts to go beyond basic meals. Plus we like to eat well.

I soooooooooooooooooo wanted to make beer cheese, but alas, the rules say no. So, this weekend, I, along with our 2 other adults, made pork schnitzel, spaetzel, German green beans and homemade applesauce. Lots of butter involved here. For the pork schnitzel, get thin sliced boneless pork chops. Slice off any fat and pound even thinner. Then dredge in flour. Next in egg/milk. Finally in Italian bread crumbs. Sautée in butter 2-3 minutes for each side. Slice of lemon. Cook the spaetzel to the directions on the bag. Add butter. Get fresh, trimmed green beans. Boil for

We don't do that camporee anymore (it was canceled this year due to lack of interest). The scouts didn't enjoy it and it was the only activity I went to because I had to, not because I wanted to. They crammed us all together, so you were sleeping in a tent, but not camping. A troop next to us got up at 4:30 to start breakfast. Well, the adults did. I got up and informed them of what time it was and the lack of sound insulation in my tent. I almost asked if they were cooking a <bleeping> turkey, but just went back to my tent. We do the Klondike Derby each year, but that's i

Please be like the Woodbadgers who use the training to help them be better leaders in the troop. Please don't be like the Woodbadgers who see it as a justification to be condescending to non-Woodbadgers. I encountered a few of these types at Camporees. One simply couldn't accept that my entire group there was first and second year scouts plus 1 older scout with special needs as a reason why the adults had to provide more teaching assistance than ideal.

Don't ever tell me not to put on the foil!

I'm sure it helps some. I just think the safe thing is to know your pad has the right R value for conditions and not rely on anything else. With comparable quality, a quilt will be lighter and cheaper than a bag, but not everyone will like it. There are hybrids that fully unzip to quilt mode, too. I liked my Feathered Friends quilt at Philmont this year. It was actually warmer in quilt mode than in bag mode.