CA_Scouter

I am a San Francisco native, though I live in the foothills now, but am down in SF every week on business. I can help you out on the SF part also, if you haven't already made arrangements. At least I can tell you where the good eats are! Feel free to PM me and we can discuss offline via email.

It really depends where you are coming in from... if from down south ( Fresno area ), you are probably coming in via Hwy 41 I would think... I know of some campsites off Hwy 120, but that's the opposite side of the park. Let me dig out some of my books and I'll try to get back to you ( I'm out of town at the moment ).

The gerbils or the lamb? :-)

All excellent management techniques! Wy-- right on with Weird Al - my son knows that ones off limites. Ya, Greenday is ok... but just ok.. I have a 'no screamies' rule.. any of that and my son gets the TTSO look. ( I'll leave it to you to figure out what those letters represent ). OGE - I was listening to the radio the other day, and hit Aqualung and blasted it... now I've got to go get the CD to add to my classics collection. I'll add it to my 'country' collection. :-) Most of my scouts are pretty good about music, we compromise mostly, some of their music, some of mine ( Clapton, McCartney, Metallica, Neil Young, Beatles and some newer stuff ). Everyone seems to be happy...

Same here.. troop meeting, I have 5 Scoutmaster Conferences to do tonight, so I can't bug out early. When I signed on as SM, I asked the CC to not schedule the April Court of Honor until later in the month, so I could watch the Championship Game. She said OK - how 'bout that! btw - my nephew attended UCLA and we went to visit him but I didn't get to see Pauly Pavilion.. darn doors were locked! Hopefully it will go to double OT and I'll catch the last five minutes!!!!

I've got a lightweight Marmot jacket, GoreTex, that I got from REI on sale for under $100. I got a pair of plain GoreTex pants from Cabelas for about $50-60. Cabelas has a very good selection of gear of their own label that is 20-40% cheaper than the name brand stuff and just as good. Also watch REI's web bargain area, lots of stuff goes on sale there for very good discounts... When you consider cost, you may find that over a certain time span that with the rips, tears, re-treatment, and especially performance... of your nylon stuff you could have very well spent an equivalent amount on high quality goretex gear...

EUREKA!

I have a 3 yr old REI Half Dome model, and the main thing that makes it waterproof is the rain fly. If your fly does not extend out to cover your entire tent, then you're hosed... This tent also has the 'bathtub' type floor, which makes it waterproof up around 5-6 inches on the sides of the tent. During our campout last weekend, we had rain from about 9pm Friday night until noon Saturday, and I was completely dry the entire time. I did have one leak, however, and that was the nylon webbing on the fly - the outer area of the webbing got soaked and came through the seam to the insides of the fly, where it dripped on me about once an hour. I repositioned my head so I wouldn't get one in the eye every 60 minutes.. :-) I think most of these ideas work great, though if you are lucky enough to have a higher quality tent, these ideas aren't needed quite as much. I was very lucky on this buy... REI had it on their clearance web site for only 75 bucks... usually they run close to 200...

We have a week long trip planned through Yosemite, from Tuolumne Meadows down to the valley, with a side trip to Half Dome. We actually have two groups going on different treks at the same time, and it looks like we'll hook up on the last night before we hit the valley. I've got the guys totally ramped up/stoked for this ( see, I can speak at least SOME teenager! ). We also have two shorter BP trips in June and Sept as well. Thanks Yall. Peace. See ya Dude.

Echoing John-in-KC 1) Adults are responsible for their own equipment, period. 2) Adults are their own patrol, handle their own food, duty rosters, etc. 3) Adults mucking around with the patrols get the boot from the SM ( me! ). No, not really 'the boot', just a gentle touch on the shoulder and a gentle reminder that the stun gun will be used the next time... :-) Adults attending campouts pay all the required fees, campsite, food, gas whatever... we are trying to look like a patrol, so we try to work it the same as the Scouts do. Finally, adults are on their own on campouts - no special programs or such - we expect them to jump in when asked, and they always do. Otherwise, they can grab a book and observe, the point being, the campouts are all about the Scouts.

I personally have both a Whisperlite and a Simmerlite, though the Simmerlite I bought for its 'simmering' capabilities, but it doesn't seem much different from the Whisperlite. I just ran across a new product from Jetboil, which they call a 'Group Cooking System', which includes the stove, stablizer for the canister, and a 1.5 liter pot. It looks super stable and I think it would be great for patrol usage. They should be on the market by the end of the month. But I have a question... I've seen references to white gas stoves, but I've seen so much literature discouraging that for scouts. I don't have a G2SS handy at the moment, so is this another BSA urban legend - no white gas for scouts?

We only use 'lashings' now when the adults interfere with the boy leadership. harhar... :-)

I'm on a mission. I've got approval to purchase new backpacking stoves for our troop, and I'm looking for suggestions from those with some of the newer equipment. Also - REI and Campmor offer discounts for scout troops, but do you know of any other retailers that do ( specifically for stoves ) ?

Don't you think its amazing how many posts you see on this forum when you figure that we only spend roughly and hour a week doing this? Har-har... yea RIGHT! I'm trying to figure out how much time I really DO dedicate to my troop... let's see... 1. Check scouter.com every morning and various times throughout the day 2. Review program to be sure we are on track 3. Work with Committee Chair on various things 4. Look for Scoutmaster Minutes to share 5. Work with ASM's to keep the scouts on track 6. Troop meetings once a week 7. Scoutmaster meetings once a month 8. Campouts once a month 9. Advise my Eagle candidate on his project I'm probably looking at 6-10 hours avg a week here. I guess the most time I spend on Scouting is just THINKING about it. Its constant... I'm always thinking of how we can improve the program, how I can get my scouts to do more boy-led stuff, places we can go, equipment we can get, inventive and fun stuff we can do, etc... Here's a good story... I was at REI last weekend and they had a 'used and unclaimed gear' sale. I walk back there and they are selling boots for 83 cents a pair! Yes, you read correctly. I got 7 pair of boots ( all in good condition ) to bring back to the troop for our equipment locker. I was so excited that I totally forgot the reason I was there was to buy new boots for myself! What a sicko, eh? So how long is your 'hour per week' ?

Similar to GWD and ASM59, we are trying to install the 'scout run' method into our troop. Its also been a struggle, and 'baby steps' is an accurate characterization. We have 16 scouts, but we fortunately do not lack for adult participation, in fact, I regularly have 5-6 extra members of the Rocking Chair Patrol on every campout, backpack trips included! Most every parent, and sometimes both, are registered Committee members. The Committee and parents back my vision for a scout-run troop ( though I sense a little resistance from one particular member ) and the scouts are starting to get with the program. They are starting to run skill bases, make decisions on planning, and best of all, they are starting to volunteer without being prodded by an ASM. But again, patience is the key. An my patience has been tried many times through this process. I like the 'Guardian of the Vision' title. Its a good phrase to keep me (us) motivated.

t158sm, I feel your pain. I lost a scout in January of this year, he was hit by a car while trying to cross the street in a dimly lit area. He was an active member of our troop, and though not a poster child for Scouting, he was well liked by the scouts. His loss was very difficult for our troop. We got together with his school principal, and we planted a tree in his honor, with a small bronze sign commemorating his life. Also, our current Eagle candidate is dedicating his project to our fallen Scout. These small remembrances help to ease the pain and provide closure to the event. I'm very sorry to hear of yet another loss for your troop. My prayers are with you. CA_Scouter

Currently a Software Developer/Architect for a newswire agency. Previous jobs - PC Board Design Engineer for a major Navy defense contractor, design/drafter for an eletronics firm, book warehouseman at SFO, package/pickup guy at Monkey Wards. In high school, I worked with my Dad refinishing navigation instruments - azimuth circles, sextants, etc... interesting tools which I doubt are in use much anymore...

I echo Beavah's comments. You are putting the rest of your troop at risk by permitting a known drug user to attend your campouts. What if he has some sort of reaction, an outburst of some sort, picks a fight, etc... who knows what could happen? I realize that its a bunch of 'what ifs', but you don't sacrifice the safety of the group for one kid. I personally would not permit this situation in my troop. I would discuss this with the commitee and get their support. Additionally, I would not permit the scout to attend meetings without a parent present. It seems this parent may be trying to pass the kid off to the troop so they don't have to deal with him. Sorry you have to deal with this...

SM by far. ASM was good, but I had to follow the previous SM's plan, and Camping Chair, was, well, just sitting in a chair.. :-) As SM, I get to work closely with the both the Scouts and the Committee, so I have a lot of influence on how the program is run. Besides, its just... FUN!

'Scouts' and 'Gentlemen' - I never call them 'boys', and I explain to them why I use those terms... I have certain expectations of them as Scouts, and expect them to behave as gentlemen at all times. 'Young Men' is also a term that I'll use from time to time...

?

We adults always eat on our own. We have one who is a professional chef, and a couple of amateur chef-wanna-be's, so we are always cooking up something spectacular and trying to one-up each other. Sometimes the boys wander over, but the electric fence keeps them away most of the time. :-) We try to inspire by example, and we try to move them away from junky stuff, but we don't always succeed. We did have a patrol cook-off last year, where they were judged on taste, presentation, and manners, and we had a lot of fun with it ( but we adults made cioppino on our own anyway that time.. ).

Probably obvious thing to do, but its worth mentioning again. We encourage the scouts who grow out of their boots ( and other clothing ) to donate them to the troop so other scouts can use them. And so on, and so on....

I too am a big proponent of liner socks. Absolutely essential in my opinion. A good sole ( as previously mentioned ) with a decent shank is needed to protect the soles of your feet from the rough terrain. Used to be you could get steel shanks, but most mfrs are using stiff nylon shanks now in order to reduce the weight. You need to have a little room in your boot also - as you hike your feet will swell, and you don't want the back of the boot to run against your heal. A good rule of thumb is that you should be able to slide your index finger (snugly) between your heel and the back of the boot ( would that make it a 'good rule of finger' ? ) Finally, make sure you clip your toenails the day before the hike. :-)

Hmmm, ok, tasteless joke time... I read that after the Cheney hunting incident where he accidentally shot the lawyer, his approval rating went up to 92%. What do you get when you cross a lawyer with a bad politician? Chelsea. An old one... why don't sharks eat lawyers? Professional courtesy.