69RoadRunner

7 hours ago, TMSM said:

Nice video you got some great shots. It would great if you added the lake name each time you were somewhere new. This would be of a great help to someone who liked where  you went and wanted to see which lake you paddled through. 

I always do a long version and a short version of my videos - here is my short version from our BWAC trip this year - 

 

That video production is far better.  

But you guys cheated and did a shuttle boat.   

I finally figured out how to combine GPX files from the rowing activities I tracked on my Garmin watch.  So this is the route we did.

25 minutes ago, TMSM said:

Nice video you got some great shots. It would great if you added the lake name each time you were somewhere new. This would be of a great help to someone who liked where  you went and wanted to see which lake you paddled through. 

I always do a long version and a short version of my videos - here is my short version from our BWAC trip this year - 

 

 

Thanks. I actually didn't keep track of that. I perhaps tried a little too hard to just be along for the ride and let the scouts/interpreter run the show. 

My editing skills aren't the greatest, but I put this together of our NT trip. I wish I'd captured more, but this gives a good idea of what it's like.

There are a few stills, particularly at the start, but it's mostly GoPro videos from the camera on a headstrap.

The cold showers were one of the very few things our troop noted as a negative when they went for the first time this year. Lack of shade and the extreme distance between activities were the others.  They very much want to go back next year.

5 hours ago, Double Eagle said:

How about the voyageur sash or plaid items?  Fortunate enough to grow up on the Michigan/Canada border, we all had a sash at one time or another.  Mine is not the blue or traditional red, but a tan plaid.  I couldn't get into the stocking cap mode.  I see the NT doesn't carry them anymore or is out of stock.  Personally, I think the sash goes with NT as the Black bull goes with Philmont.  And how about the red or green plaid items.  For those scouts that are first timers, they may want to look around and buy before paying a lot.

We only had a half hour in the store, and I got there later than the rest of the group as I had to take care of something. I wasn't looking for those types of items, just hats and shirts. I don't recall anything like that, but that doesn't mean they weren't there.

If you're looking for exercises to do, here's what I'd suggest. Obviously getting out in a canoe is great, but most people can't do this multiple times per week.

The rowing machine is good cardio. It doesn't exactly mimic canoe paddling, but it is good.

Shoulder press. You'll be lifting heavy stuff and carrying heavy stuff.

Weighted walking lunges. Sometimes we had 2 people carry the (mostly) empty canoes on short portages. This will get you used to holding heavy weights and strengthen the legs.

Core exercises benefit most activity. Planks, crunches, etc.

If you're at a gym, use the row machine. I'm not talking about the cardio row machine, I mean the weights. You can also do bent over rows with dumbbells or a barbell, but keep good form.

Lose weight. I failed this during the pandemic. Fortunately, I wasn't overweight much to start.

This isn't a trip if you have back issues. With 3 gray whales, equipment bag, food bag and 3 canoes, you can't put all the burden on the scouts, even with a full crew.

27 minutes ago, TMSM said:

We did a DIY 2020 trek in the Boundary Waters this year. Being from Chicago area many of us had been before so easy to guide the scouts on building a plan, menu and route.

• Less bugs than usual this year. 90% less on Knife lake and very enjoyable.
• Cost ws $300 per scout including gas, food and Kevlar canoe
• I am not sure what we missed by not having an interpreter with us
• 4 of us hammocked but might have been able to do 1 more - no way we could have done more than 5
• scouts baked a cake, corn bread and brownies using white gas stove - they didnt share but heard it was good
• Northern Tier store was only open to crews - no outsiders
• met quite a few troops on portages - all great people
• some crews were faster than others at portages - thanks to those that let us jump ahead

We were only given a 30 minute window to shop in the store. We wanted to take our interpreter out for dinner when we returned but we were told if we left we could not come back in.

1 hour ago, Canoeon said:

I agree with liquid gas stoves. Normally I use a JetBoil stove. 

The challenge is that disposable canisters can be wasteful, expensive, and difficult to manage on a large scale. In addition to the partially full canisters, no one wants to take out on their trip, that you have to dispose of. However, I would still recommend you provide feedback to Northern Tier.

There is also the program component, which it sounds like your Interpreter did not do. Many crews bake a cake and other items on the trail. This requires a stove that simmers well. (Stoves like the MSR Dragonfly simmer well, a challenge with many canister stoves.) 

For water treatment, most programs for large groups have gone to gravity bag filters. You fill the bag when you get to camp and hang it on a tree. Individuals take turns filling their water bottles. No need to deal with hand filters along with the risk of cross-contamination. Depending on the sediment in the water, you could go through two filters on a trip.  When not at camp, most chemical treatment tablets such as chlorine dioxide and sodium dichloroisocyanurate (inexpensive) are fine for the area.

I would disagree on the rain pants. You had some very nice weather. However, the weather can be unpredictable and harsh, turning to the 50’s and downpour for days. It’s a very small amount of additional weight. 

There are canister stoves that simmer well. Our remote canister stoves do. We did make the desserts (pudding, brownies, cake) with varying degrees of success.

We had the dromedary bags. The tablets at Philmont were better than the Polar Pure at NT. You can backflush the Sawyer Squeeze. People take them on through hikes of the Appalachian Trail, so they should be good for a week.

True, take the pants, particularly if the weather will be cold and rainy.

I'll add thoughts as they return to my brain.

If you get to a campsite, and there's no grumper or fire grate, you're in Canada.  DAMHIK

My Railriders Eco Mesh pants worked very well. They don't zip off into shorts but have a long zipper along each leg that when unzipped has mesh that keeps bugs out but allows air in and water to drain out. They also come treated with Insect Shield.

Fozzils Bowlz are great for both Philmont and NT. We bought them as crew gear. They're light, cheap, compact and when you unsnap them, easy to lick clean. We found for bsoth Philmont and NT, treating both bowls and spoons as crew gear makes it easy to keep track of them. No waiting for scouts to pull them out of their packs. They get cleaned as crew gear anyway.

You'll be wet most of the day. There really isn't time to re-apply sunscreen, so long sleeve sun protection shirts, light long pants and a wide brim hat are important. Paddling gloves protect from sun and blisters.

If you didn't slip on rocks while getting out of your canoe at least once, did you really go to Northern Tier?

11 hours ago, fred8033 said:

Beautiful pictures.

How were the bugs?

Thanks! During the day, no problem at all. First and second nights not bad. Third and Fourth nights they came out to feast for about 1.5 - 2 hours.

Our troop went to Summit Merit Badge Camp June 18 - July 4. I don't know if anyone got tested, but we're required to report back to Summit if anyone gets sick. We have no reports.

There were only 270 people there that week with 700 the following week. There were no reported illnesses during the week our troop was there.

WV recently reinstated some restrictions. Some sound like if they were applied to Summit, then Summit would have to close. I've seen no updates on Summit's site since June, so I assume they're still operating.

I've been searching for news stories, and I'm not seeing anything indicating Summit has to close.

They did just postpone the 2021 Jamboree.

https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2020/07/14/bsa-postpones-2021-national-jamboree-because-of-covid-19-pandemic/

1 minute ago, InquisitiveScouter said:

I'm willing to bet your definition of "wilderness" and mine are very different...

OK, show of hands. How many people take flares out into the wilderness?  Maybe that's how some scouters have 75 pound packs at Philmont (I assumed it was dutch ovens).

To me, the MB should be based on stuff you'd typically take as part of the 10 essentials.  Stuff a scout would likely have.

15 hours ago, InquisitiveScouter said:

You should consider it...see G2SS, vehicle checklist.  Highly recommended...

MotorVehicleChklst_Update.pdf 92.61 kB · 0 downloads

You can be in a survival situation anywhere.

The merit badge is Wilderness Survival. You're not going to have flares or a flare gun in the wilderness.

While it technically meets the requirement, I think it would be better to steer the scout toward something they are more likely to have on them in the woods.

Not sure if the Guide to Safe Scouting covers shooting flare guns, but I'm going to say probably not a good idea.

Until this year, I only got the Mile Swim patch.  During pandemic, I managed to get the Social Distancing, Toilet Paper Gathering, Mask Wearing and Weight Gain merit badges.

22 minutes ago, qwazse said:

Here's what I did just now ...

Login and click the pancake menu for quick navigation. Click on My Dashboard.

My Dashboard shows my account, and under that my unit is listed right-justified. I click on that. It shows links to my adults and youth rosters, then Troop Reports, MB Counselor List, Print Blue Cards, and an announcement from my council that they updated the MB List. I click on MB Counselor List.

It brings up a bunch of filters. At the bottom in red is "search". Click that and the list is generated.

FWIW, nobody in my troop is on that list. I guess that's one more Email request I have to follow up.

Thank you! That is close to what I needed to do. I had to go to My Dashboard and then Administration to get the rest of the way.

Oddly, Scoutbook insists on giving me the mobile version of the site even on my laptop.

Like you, none of the counselors in my troop, including me, are in the report.

2 hours ago, qwazse said:

How it worked six months ago ...

https://discussions.scouting.org/t/editing-and-printing-merit-badge-counselor-lists/137508/2

I'm still not seeing where to find the MB Counselor list in Scoutbook.

2 hours ago, satl8 said:

Scoutbook should have it listed IF your council uploads the list into Scoutbook....

 

My Dashboard->

My Account->

My Positions->

At the bottom it should show all of your current positions and if registered as a MBC then they should all be listed out.

It's My Profile, then My Positions. I'm listed as a Scoutmaster and Merit Badge Counselor, but none of my merit badges are listed. I guess they didn't add them.

5 minutes ago, NealOnWheels said:

The council advancement committee is responsible for maintaining the council's merit badge list.  Start with them.  Perhaps you have a district representative?

Another option: Scoutmasters are supposed to have access to the list.  Ask a Scoutmaster.  They could tell you which ones you are approved to counsel.

Miracle Max: Beat it or I'll call the brute squad!

Fezzik: I'm on the brute squad.

Miracle Max: You ARE the brute squad.

I am the Scoutmaster. I'll check with our CC. She knows everything.

We only recently switched to Scoutbook, and I can only assume it was designed by sadists.  It is the most unintuitive pile o' poop I've used in a long time.  And yes, I tempered that to be more scoutlike. My actual thoughts are much harsher.

Where can I go to get a list of the merit badges BSA currently says I'm a counselor for? I've poked around my.scouting.org and scoutbook, and I can't find anything.

Supposedly, I can find counselors in my area on Scoutbook, too, but that's a mystery as well.  I'd appreciate some help.

Thanks!

31 minutes ago, Eagledad said:

We used pools all the time in the winter for swimming test. YMCA many of those times, but we used private pools as well. 

Swimming test at summer camp can be intimidating even in a pool. In fact, I think lakes are easier because they don't get so crowded. We've had scouts who are very comfortable in neighborhood pools panic at swimming test because it goes fast with a lot of scouts swimming at once. Typically they get retested the next day or two with no problem. We've also had a few non swimmers learn and get their "swimmer" ranking before they leave camp. We try to have a day at the pool so they can use their newly earned ranking and skill with all the other scouts.

My advice for the uncomfortable scout is to get him comfortable at least with jumping in the pool and floating on his back. Many young scouts have never jumped into a deep end of a pool before their first summer camp. And Strangely, I've seen more scouts fail the floating part of the test than the swimming. 

Barry

I've had several scouts, including my own son, who were much more afraid of open water than a swimming pool. It's tough when you can't see beyond the surface.

Doing a test under pressure can have the same result, I'm sure.  I try to tell them this isn't like a school test. You can keep trying until you succeed. There's no penalty for not succeeding the first time.  We just want you to be capable in the water so you're safe.

1 hour ago, qwazse said:

"Ambient temperature showers."

I'm told "ambient" if there were native polar bears in the area.