69RoadRunner

I like how the article mentions the #MeToo movement, which is completely unrelated to the lawsuit. A clear case of a journalist tossing in personal views.

XYZ

Maybe we'll be the XX & XY Scouts of America.

They don't like BSA just becoming "Scouts". https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-06/it-s-girl-scouts-v-boy-scouts-in-new-twist-on-gender-wars?srnd=markets-vp

I think it makes sense to have a forum area specifically for it.

We had a couple of scouts in our troop with behavioral issues. We required a parent to come to any event the scout attended as these issues were beyond what we felt we were capable of handling without a parent. One came to summer camp with his dad. His dad had to go into town to log in to get work done. We told him he had to take his son with him. He did the first time. Then he went again and did not take his son. Well, his son used some very inappropriate language with a mom who came to camp that year while the dad was away. We made it abundantly clear that this would never happen

When I played in Little League back in the late 70s/early 80s, there was a mom who would shout out how much she was paying her son for each hit he got during the game.

First, you did the right thing and made sure the scout was safe and assuming you had the other adult with you during the dropoff, you followed the YPT rules. I agree that a conversation needs to occur with the parent. They need to understand that this can't happen again. Either make arrangements for someone approved to pick up the kid, or the kid doesn't go.

If you look at the link I posted, it's a remote canister stove, so very capable of supporting heavier pots. You're right about Jetboils and ones that sit on top of the canister. The white gas stoves have more parts than the canister stove. There's no pumping and priming. No maintenance other than wiping it down. I find the canister stoves much simpler and there's no fuel to spill.

I realize this posting has aged a bit, but after watching our scouts use white gas stoves I decided it was time for the troop to upgrade to canister stoves as we prepare for Philmont. The risk of a scout spilling white gas and creating a problem was more than my stress level wanted. The same would be true of alcohol stoves. Yes, I know white gas stoves have many years of use in BSA troops. I just think these that I got are lighter and safer than what we had. Your mileage may vary. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B007S3MHI0/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Talking to the SM in private is the honorable thing to do. You don't need to dread it because you'll be walking away. It sounds like you're prepared to handle it in a respectful way that the SM can either use to improve the troop or not. If it causes you too much anxiety, option 2 is to explain it in an email. I wish you well.

I don't think you need Wood Badge. I just became SM and it's really not something I feel the need to do. If you plan on doing a high adventure trip in the next 2 years, get WFA certified. Even if you're not sure, it's a good course to take. Decide later if Wood Badge is for you. Most important, thank you for giving back to scouting. I hope you enjoy it and make scouting enjoyable for your troop.

I guess it depends on whether we do something on our own or pick an established HA camp. While we'd need to commit to something in the next few months, the scout planning wouldn't start until later. I don't think it would require 2 years of planning. Sea Base required little scout planning, although it should have had more from them. A former ASM in the troop ended up signing us up for the trip without running it through the scouts. We had a great time, but it was not done right. Philmont will require more prep. We're starting that. They will choose their trek. We'll work on skills

Before we had kids, my wife and I went skiing in Davos, Switzerland with the Baltimore Ski Club. We were on the European red eye in seats that had the least amount of leg room of any flight I've ever taken, and I'm 6'3". Luckily, I was in my mid-20s at the time. I felt beaten like a rented mule when we landed.

I would not call any of those ideas trivial. Personally, I'd love to do any of them and I'm sure our scouts would, too. We have a meeting tonight. I'll see if I can start getting an idea of what this group is thinking. It's hard when we've barely started Philmont stuff for 2019 and kids change so much year to year. Some of those things are activities we could consider for next scout year. Of course not in full, but an exposure to them. The scouts who went to Sea Base said some very good things. For most, it was an experience like nothing they'd done before. Yes, it was far easie

That would be hell for me. I absolutely HATE trying to sleep in the heat and humidity. I say try because I rarely succeed. Our other ASMs have said the same thing. You can get warmer when it's cold, but when it's hot, you can only get so naked. Right now, of the established HA camps, MOHAB is my personal favorite. I'm trying hard to find options so it won't be my personal choice. Adults do have veto power, though. 😄

We have a very successful mulch fundraiser that results in scout bucks for each scout based on the hours worked by the scout and family/friends they provide. Scouts then write "checks" to the Treasurer to pay for activities. The average scout can cover every activity and much of a HA trip with scout bucks. I'm not sure if he was serious or not, but one of our ASMs mentioned Camp Alpine in Switzerland. ☺️ I like the idea of mentioning activities and you're right about them leaning toward the easy. I showed my son the MOHAB promo video on YouTube and he thought it looked great.

Our troop hadn't done high adventure for a few years when we joined. This year, we did Sea Base. Next year, we're going to Philmont. I want to present ideas to the troop for 2020. Obviously Northern Tier would get many of the boys the Triple Crown, but I want them to consider more than that. Summit by Disney is probably not one we'd do. MOHAB sounds like a great option. I'd definitely like to present that to the scouts. We're in Northern Virginia, and I'd like them to be able to experience things very different from what we have in our area. Sea Base and Philmont are certa

NOLS WFA is accepted by Sea Base. I contacted them ahead of time and they said it was and they were fine with it when we arrived. NOLS says they meet the ACA standards on their web site. https://www.nols.edu/en/coursefinder/courses/wilderness-first-aid-WFA/ I need to get some more folks in our troop WFA certified. NOLS will take ages 14 and up, IIRC, but REI NOLS WFA classes are 16 and up.

In our area, there are Rec Centers that offer the Swimming merit badge. This might not be available if you're in a less populated area. As mentioned above, if you have a YMCA, they might have someone registered to do that merit badge.

My WOD starts and ends with 16oz curls. 🍺 I sometimes do box jumps with a trainer. He has me do sets of 3 different exercises that work different body parts. After my first workout with him, which was after many years as a couch potato, I couldn't walk down 1 flight of stairs the next day. Now that workout would seem incredibly simple. Getting started is hard. Sticking with it is harder.

You lose much more weight from diet than from exercise. Exercise certainly helps, but is more important for strength and agility. As we age, functional exercises become more important than strength. Less weight makes pretty much everything easier. And stay the heck away from crossfit. Chiropractors and physical therapists love what it does for their business. Plus, you'll annoy everyone talking about crossfit. 😋 It's not inherently bad, but it's grown faster than the rate of qualified instructors.

I recently became SM after a few years as ASM. We're a smaller troop and I pretty much attended every event, anyway. I need to get better at delegating, but really I need to get better at convincing people to volunteer to do those delegated tasks. Right now, that seems to be the most challenging part of the job. If you don't take the job, is there someone else who could? In our case, there weren't many other options, not because others aren't qualified, they certainly are, but they had even less available time than I do. I've never really viewed myself as a leader, but I'm learn

I wear an old, faded jammer type suit under a looser boxer style suit to prevent chafing, particularly at the beach.

My Zpacks Arc Haul uses carbon fiber stays that you flex. The arc creates an air gap between the pack and your back to reduce back sweat. It's not perfect, but much better than other packs I've used. http://www.zpacks.com/backpacks/arc_haul.shtml