To Camp or Not?

[skeptic 993]

Thanks for the comments, both pro and con. Having spent years in the weather service, and lived in So Cal most of my life, I am very familiar with the possible repercussions of making a poor decision. It is one thing to be out and get hit by a storm, and being prepared to deal with it; another thing to go in the storm, especially when it is forecast to be as strong as this one. I also have a very small group with only a couple of adults regularly helping; one has MS, and one is just slightly younger than me, and I am pushing 70. My SPL was not at the meeting due to homework issues, and he also is in track, so would not have gone anyway; but I see the point regarding putting it in front of the scouts, just the same. I will make a point to not make a unilateral decision without at least talking to them about it in more than a cursory manner with my opinion.

 

I do know that the parents are relieved they do not have to deal with it; they have already said as much. So, I am comfortable with it, especially with the recent updates. Still, it is another reason to find additional "younger" leaders, and willing parents.

[Scoutfish 16]

Safety being the first and foremost concern....The next thing I'd consider to be important is wether anybody will have a good time or not.

 

If it's going to be miserable, tiresome and just a pain in the ass to be camping in ...whatever the conditions were that you end up with - snow, flood, gale winds, sleet, etc...- then that is something to consider too.

 

Especially if you are not packed for it. If you spend your entire camping trip stuck in your tent bailing water out of the tent, and everything is wet because iof a foot of water on the ground....well, I bet this is the first thought a scout has when he skips out on the next campout.

 

No, not all campouts are going to be rosy perfect, But there is a point when you just admit that this particulat excursion is gona suck, so lets just stay home and pick another weekend.

 

Maybe you can meet up in the nice, warm, dry CO and practive your first aid skills or CPR.

[TAHAWK 1420]

My first Scout campout was in the desert at a place called Deep Creek (and it had a creek, although disappointingly shallow).

 

Noting a significant wind and the ease with which tent stakes went into the sand, I piled rocks on the tent's "sod cloth" (q.v.). This got a lot of laughs from the older Scouts.

 

That night, an unpredicted thunderstorm brought heavy rain and 75 mph winds. This was not good for tents staked into sand, so down they went and, in some cases, off they went. A couple of the adult pop-up tents were never found. Trailers were flipped over.

 

Ten other Scouts ended up with me and my tent-mate in our "2-man" "Explorer" tent. Think Gerbils.

 

After the hyperventilating stopped, those Scouts present thought it was a great adventure. Ahh! The smell of the air the next morning. The soaked and hollow-eyed adults with their 1000-yard stares!!!

 

For years, you were a member of a special club if you had survived the Deep Creek Hurricane. "You think THIS is windy. Why let me tell you . . . ."

 

Disaster survived has its own allure.

 

Which is why this is an adult call.

 

 

[Eagle92 110]

I'm not going to second guess you on this. You know your scouts, their abilities, and the forecast. If you are uncomfortable, DO NOT DO IT!

 

But I do admit, the three most memorable trips have involved bad weather.