BALOO: how prepared does it make a leader

[evmori 11]

Marty,

I feel it would be better if there was a general course that covered everything everyone needs to know & then have breakout sessions for the specifics. It would probably be a two to three day course and could be done over three consecutive weekends. I feel there would be more attendees and better trained leaders.

 

Ed Mori

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[Twocubdad 665]

A couple of thoughts/observations:

 

First, I don't think it is correct to look at BALOO and WLOT as "basic" and "advanced" courses. In my opinion, BALOO is much better in terms of covering health and safety, BSA policy, planning, etc. WLOT short changes much of that information, but adds information on how to teach Outdoorsman, Naturalist, Geologist and Forester Webelos activity pins. I took WLOT first and learned things in BALOO that weren't covered in WLOT. If I were going to change anything, I would make BALOO the basic course with a suplemental course for the Webelos pins.

 

As has been said before, don't expect any course to make you Daniel Boone overnight. These courses are more about BSA procedures than camping skills.

 

But more to the point is that you don't have to be Daniel Boone to take Cubs camping. You need to be thinking "backyard" not "backcountry." Our pack has never camped anywhere that flush toilets and running water weren't within sight of the fire ring. Our camps always have a permanent emergency shelter and either an ice maker or refrigerator. You can usually pitch you tent immediately beside your car. This is camping only in the sense that we sleep in tents.

 

When I think about taking our pack camping, I think in terms of two problems: one is programming. We are essentially planning a 36-hour den meeting. In our pack the Cub Master and den leaders take the lead in this. The second problem is catering which is the responsibility of the outing committee (along with planning, reservations, transportation, etc.) This can vary greatly from pack to pack, but when we camp we typically have from 40 to 125 people to feed. We've had other threads about camp cooking for groups, so I won't repeat it here.

 

But the bottom line is this: when planning a Cub Scout camping trip, if you are worried about a clean water supply, having to poop in a cathole, and how to find your camp on a map, you're camping in the wrong place.

[Proud Eagle 13]

I must strongly insist on installing a door or curtain to block the line of site between the fire ring and flush toilet. This is after all family camping.

 

 

 

[fotoscout 15]

Strong visuals here !!

[Bob White 20]

Bear in mind that what is being said about WLOT is what WLOT was not what WLOT is now. The course has a newly released syllabus, only a month old, which can be done as a stand alone course or in conjunction with the SM/ASM Introduction to Outdoor Skills course. I think before you can determine if more changes need to be made you must first see what changes have been made.

[Blaze66 10]

WOW One time when I can finally totally agree with Bob! If your taking your Cubs camping to a place where you need map, compass or GPS then you have no business taking them camping no matter how much training you think you have. The most rugged our Cub campouts ever get is when the pack comes to my farm to camp and they have to use the home made porta potty/latrine!

One thing I do want to put my opinion in on is the training. One as we talked about before you do PACK FAMILY CAMPING. So that in mind you have all the dens and leaders in your pack there. SO, you have someone Baloo Trained and you should also have a Webelos leader who has taken WLOT. So all the bases should be covered as far as trained leaders being there. Second thing, I don't know about your pack families, but I only have one or two in our pack that are completely new to camping. Most of them have had camping experience before. Now true they might be lost if you took them into the backcountry, but were not doing that in the Pack! Most of them had all the camping gear they needed before they came into scouts and new how to use it. Also, it's not just about leaders kknowing how to do something, use your parents that aren't leaders as resources for camping. Sure they might not know all the BSA policies about camping, but they know how to camp and with a little instruction in the do's and dont's they can help you with some of your program and with assisting other less capable families with camping. Also it is a good idea for you as a leader to have some advanced First Aid and Safety training, but how many of us don't have parents in the pack that are EMT's or nurses? I know in our parents that normally go camping we have two nurses, one EMT and a Red Cross First Aid and CPR instructor! So know what resources you have in your own pack and use them! After all, it is Pack Family Camping and we are all the FAMILY in scouts and we have to look out for one another and help each other. Don't try to do it all on your own. When you do, you get stressed and strung out and then it will cause your pack and program to suffer.

[Blaze66 10]

One more thing, I know that every training you go too is different depending on the instructors. But I went to WLOT about four years ago and then a few years ago I went to OLS, In fact I was in the first class in our Council to go through the New OLS rigth after it was changed from SMF. Basically WLOT and OLS were the same. They had the same basic fundamentals of camping in each class. In WLOT we were split up into dens and had to do everything just as Webelos scouts for THREE days not one over nighter. We went in on a Friday afternoon and left Sunday afternoon. And in OLS we did the same thing only it was patrols instead of dens. The only differences between the two is the breakouts during the day. In WLOT you did activities dealing with Webelos activity pins and in OLS you did activities dealing with First Class Scout requirements. We still did campfire planning and had to come up with skits in both. We had to do our own camp site selections, tent pitching and cooking in both. WLOT and OLS are basically identical trainings in so far as they teach the same skills. Just one is more advanced than the other and is geared towards a different set of requirements for the boys.