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What is the most difficult merit badge to earn?


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Going with Backpacking.  Troop started of with 20 scouts trying for the badge, with only two left at the end.  (The tallest and shortest scout) Yes, you can do it at Philmont, but not all scouts will get to attend.

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Going with Backpacking.  Troop started of with 20 scouts trying for the badge, with only two left at the end.  (The tallest and shortest scout) Yes, you can do it at Philmont, but not all scouts will get to attend.

That is about the attrition rate that I had when I offered the Cycling MB to my troop.  I think I had 25 attend the maintenance workshop and 2 ride the 50 mile ride.

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Going with Backpacking.  Troop started of with 20 scouts trying for the badge, with only two left at the end.  (The tallest and shortest scout) Yes, you can do it at Philmont, but not all scouts will get to attend.

 

 

That is about the attrition rate that I had when I offered the Cycling MB to my troop.  I think I had 25 attend the maintenance workshop and 2 ride the 50 mile ride.

 

 

Remember, there is no time limit.  I've got a lot of open MB's for backpacking.  Most have done the book requirements.   I've got 7 guys that have a 30 mile trip done.  A bunch that have a couple of 15 mile trips done.  I've got one that's completed it and that most likely is because he is my son and we did our own three day backpacking trip last year (one of the best adventures we've had!).

 

That being said, my son still needs the 50 mile bike ride to finish cycling.  Considering I'm probably going to be asked to do it with him, I've not objected when he has put it off to the spring.

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Remember, there is no time limit.  I've got a lot of open MB's for backpacking.  Most have done the book requirements.   I've got 7 guys that have a 30 mile trip done.  A bunch that have a couple of 15 mile trips done.  I've got one that's completed it and that most likely is because he is my son and we did our own three day backpacking trip last year (one of the best adventures we've had!).

 

That being said, my son still needs the 50 mile bike ride to finish cycling.  Considering I'm probably going to be asked to do it with him, I've not objected when he has put it off to the spring.

 

In order to get the RAGBRAI bike ride completed in a week, at least one of the days is always +100 miles.  Not bad for thousands of people to get in each year, some of which are grade school aged.  If planned accordingly, Cycling MB could be done in less than a week.

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In order to get the RAGBRAI bike ride completed in a week, at least one of the days is always +100 miles.  Not bad for thousands of people to get in each year, some of which are grade school aged.  If planned accordingly, Cycling MB could be done in less than a week.

 

Yeah, but if doing the 25 milers on two consecutive days is any indication, I'd be sore for four weeks if I did RAGBRAI.

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http://www.kcci.com/news/route-for-2015-ragbrai-announced/30907344

 

462 miles in 7 days?  But don't be discouraged only 8,500 people are allowed on the ride and are selected by lottery so there are a ton of people out there wanting to go on this trip.  It only costs $175 for the week.  25 miles on two consecutive days?.... Cupcake.  :)

 

Europe has a better bike hike, 11 days, 100 miles a day..... :)

all-bikes.jpg

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Going with Backpacking.  Troop started of with 20 scouts trying for the badge, with only two left at the end.  (The tallest and shortest scout) Yes, you can do it at Philmont, but not all scouts will get to attend.

 

 

That is about the attrition rate that I had when I offered the Cycling MB to my troop.  I think I had 25 attend the maintenance workshop and 2 ride the 50 mile ride.

 

I saw about the same attrition rate.

 

There were about 35 scouts at the troop meeting on riding safety and bike safety checks. 

 

10 scouts  participated various parts of the "Take a road test with your counselor..." requirement.  

 

15 scouts, about 8 adult leaders, and a couple of grand parents participated in various 10, 15, 25, 30, and 40 mile rides.  About half of the rides were organized by scouts and half by adults.  Six scouts decided they could benefit from some additional miles before setting out on the 50 mile, so they planned the additional 30 and 40 mile rides on their own.

 

4 scouts, 4 adult leaders, and two grand parents rode the 50 miler.

 

In the end, 4 scouts earned the Cycling Merit Badge and 4 adult leaders completed the League of American Bicyclists Traffic Skills 101 course.

 

There were several things that saddened me. 

Two scouts repeatedly expressed a desire to earn the badge, but never made the necessary appointments for the discuss/describe/show requirements.  They also missed the 50 mi ride.

One scout brought a BMX bike in very poor repair to a camp out / 15 mile bike ride.  Especially the seat could not be adjusted to the proper height .  He bonked after about 7 miles, had to take a truck ride back to the camp site. and did not go on any additional rides.

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It's been discontinued, in it original form anyway, but ...

 

Invention merit badge

  1. Invent and patent some useful article
  2. Show a working drawing or model of the same

 

 

  • Only 10 Scouts are known to have earned this badge.
  • This is the most rare merit badge. No copies of this merit badge are known to exist.
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It's been discontinued, in it original form anyway, but ...

 

Invention merit badge

  1. Invent and patent some useful article
  2. Show a working drawing or model of the same

 

 

  • Only 10 Scouts are known to have earned this badge.
  • This is the most rare merit badge. No copies of this merit badge are known to exist.

 

Considering that it takes 3+ years from application to approval for an uncontested patent, they would be unlikely to achieve that time line before turning 18.  I guess it's good that the requirements are different for Inventing MB.

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