Tree house count as a camping night ?

[King Ding Dong]

We stayed in these a few couple of months ago on a climbing weekend and they contain wook bunks. Three walls, no electricity except for the adult house. There are one or two scouts who it could make a difference for OA or Camping MB. Not exactly pitching a tent or under the stars. http://scoutingmagazine.org/issues/1001/d-coolcamps.html

[qwazse]

Unless those are tarp roofs that the boys set up, they don't count.

[qwazse]

Just for the sake of muddy waters, everyone ...

 

What if the boys did set up a tent, but ran an extension cord from an outlet in a nearby pavilion so they could finish playing that video game that was interrupted because they had to get out of the car and set up camp?

[NJCubScouter]

So I guess the question is, is the three-walled treehouse more like a "cabin" or "sleeping under the stars."

 

I would probably have to go with "cabin." If a boy really needs those nights for Camping or OA, I don't know of any rule that says he can't put up a tent or tarp on the ground, or just put down a groundcloth and sleep under the stars if weather permits. When my son was a younger Scout we had a cabin camping trip in about 5-below weather in January with snow on the ground, and three of the older Scouts camped outside in a tent, just to be hotshots. They all came home alive, and I think the other Scouts were impressed. (Though not impressed enough to join them or to repeat that stunt on later cold-weather camping trips.)

[T2Eagle]

Three sided shelters are also often called Adirondacks. My summer camp growing up was Camp Ockanickon, most of my summer camps we stayed in these. One of our local council camps has a few sites with them, have used them once or twice, usually late fall when the bugs are gone.

 

My buddies and I used a couple on short overnight hikes on the AT when I was a penniless college student and didn't have a decent backpacking tent.

 

For camping merit badge these wouldn't count, the requirements are very specific that it's either a tent or the stars, but for OA it's less specific and you could probably count them.

[JoeBob]

Three sides enclosed, one side open to the stars?

 

I'm saying those nights count. Just because you're a little sideways to the stars, doesn't mean that you're not still under the stars.

 

[scoutergipper]

I wouldn't count an Adirondack night for the Camping Merit Badge, but I did have a Scout pitch a tent INSIDE an Adirondack one time, and I counted that for Camping MB. We also count every night Scouts spend on campouts for camping strips, which I suspect is a pretty common practice.

[qwazse]

Here's another one to consider: we have an all night climbing event 9pm to 6am at the cope course. No tents are pitched. If they sleep, it's usually by the fire or on a basketball court for an hour or so. Under the stars but not sleeping. Does it count?

[Papadaddy]

Interesting discussion. Are we about teaching kids how to camp, or how to invent ways to skirt the rules?

[blw2]

good point papadaddy.....

I wouldn't support it if it looks like its skirting the rules.

 

I'd have to read them to know for sure...... but wouldn't the intention of such a rule or guidline be to get the kids out of the house?

 

Was this kid sleeping in the security of a house?

 

Intuitively, i would say that a lot of cabins are basically a not-very-nice bedroom, sort of like having a sleepover at a buddy's house that lives on the wrong side of the tracks maybe....

 

But what I'm picturing is sleeping open air, certianly would = out of the house by my read. Not if there's a requirement for the scout to have pitched it himself though....

[JasonG172]

We have structures at Currier that we call Adirondacks. It is open at the front, closed side to side and back, It has 8 bunkbeds.

[Tampa Turtle]

I'd count as a camping night but not for tent requirements. Still pretty cool.

[jr56]

One open side....sounds like enough under the stars for me. We slept in shelters like that on Isle Royale while backpacking there.

[walk in the woods]

Kind of hard to tell from the picture but those look more like cabins to me than what I would consider a shelter so I'd probably say no for Camping MB (although for Camping MB I'd likely count something like a back country trail shelter). For the OA I believe the requirement just says 15 days and nights of Boy Scout camping in the previous two years. One week and only one week has to be a BSA sanctioned resident camp. As sad as it sounds there might be an argument that your tree-house camp would count towards OA eligibility.

 

http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/boyscouts/orderofthearrow.aspx

[jpstodwftexas]

Well If your Gonna Fine tooth the Rules...I would say that A Scout who sleeps under a Tarp Can not Count those nights either since he is not Sleeping under the Stars and the Tarp is Not a Tent.... just saying

 

Look at The New Swamp Base...Several places they sleep under Lean To's and at Some point sleep on a House Boat...I would say they are still camping.