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And please, for the love of all that is Scouting, make him pack his own gear!  You can go through the Scout Handbook checklist with him to guide him, but please make him pack it.

And starting today, after school & homework, have him gather at least about a third of his stuff  ... if he waits until the last minute (Friday after school) , there will be problems for both of you.

Windy and chilly in your area this weekend.  Lows in the high 20's.  Hats, gloves, and layers are a must.  Don't know if you two are used to those temps.  Is his sleeping bag good for that?  And a final trick...use a wide-mouth Nalgene filled with hot water as a hot water bottle in the bottom of the sleeping bag.  He'll literally be a bug in a rug 😜

And congratulations, Dad (?)!  Mine got his driver's license yesterday, and I bought him a celebratory milkshake (his favorite).  Celebrate those milestones!!  Have a short parent-son treat on Sunday when he returns home. 

Edited by InquisitiveScouter
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So,,.. that campout was cancelled.  It supposed to be in the upper 30 to low 40s all day Saturday with 30 mph winds and maybe getting down in the teens at night.  

The Troop has decided to make a trip to a local indoor city pool instead,  I have also made the decision to skip UoS and go with my kid.  

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On 1/12/2022 at 10:41 AM, InquisitiveScouter said:

And please, for the love of all that is Scouting, make him pack his own gear! 

Oh My God, that is so true

Had a Scout come to the leader area on an outing, his challenge was no sleeping bag.  We went to his tent, sleeping bag was in fact in the bottom of his pack.  His comment "I guess dad put it in"

Chatted with parents on Sunday on the importance of the Scouts packing their own gear, being responsible for their gear.  Assisting and guiding is great, but THEY need to OWN it!!

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25 minutes ago, Jameson76 said:

Oh My God, that is so true

Had a Scout come to the leader area on an outing, his challenge was no sleeping bag.  We went to his tent, sleeping bag was in fact in the bottom of his pack.  His comment "I guess dad put it in"

Chatted with parents on Sunday on the importance of the Scouts packing their own gear, being responsible for their gear.  Assisting and guiding is great, but THEY need to OWN it!!

I agree; however, parents need to know their kids and do a check for those who need it.  We had a scout attend a cold wet outing.  While in the 60s in the day, it dropped to low 40s and rain in the late afternoon.  He had shorts and shirt with no pants, sweatshirt, rain jacket, gloves, boots, anything.  He had his fishing pole (even though we were nowhere near a lake/pond/river/body of water other than puddles of rain).  It was pouring so much that it saturated all rain gear ... so we struggled to find enough dry/warm clothes for him (he was a large kid).  We told his parents, they said yep, will watch out in the future.  Next camp out (not as bad) once again not prepared.  So, we ended up having our PL check his pack for the next few campouts.

Edited by Eagle1993
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For my sons' first year of camping, I would check but not pack. Once I found a GREEN ham and cheese sandwich from the previous campout. That I did unpack .

IMHO for inexperienced scouts, the SPL/PL's should check packs before outing and at the next troop meeting after where packs should be clean, dry, empty or pre-packed with essential outdoor items.

My $0.02,

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Patrol leaders ought to be doing gear checks before setting out. There is a rank requirement to present oneself to your PL properly dressed and packed... this should be standard operating procedure NOT a 1-and-done requirement.

Prior to the 1st campout of the year(or even more often), the PL (or another scout) should be bringing in their pack to a patrol/troop meeting and demonstrate what and how to pack it. (This would fulfill a req for Communications mB). 

Scouting done right can fulfill requirements by just doing scouting right. Rank and mB requirements are not the program, but knowing them and how they complement each other helps ensure the program is a good one. 

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20 hours ago, 5thGenTexan said:

So,,.. that campout was cancelled.  It supposed to be in the upper 30 to low 40s all day Saturday with 30 mph winds and maybe getting down in the teens at night.  

The Troop has decided to make a trip to a local indoor city pool instead,  I have also made the decision to skip UoS and go with my kid.  

So, like what my troop was camping in last November. Truth be told, it was a little rough on the boys.

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2 hours ago, qwazse said:

So, like what my troop was camping in last November. Truth be told, it was a little rough on the boys.

My nephew recently moved to the mountains of Utah, he and his sons' first troop campout was in October --- snowy at 7000 feet.  His not so subtle message to me with the pictures he sent was "hey Uncle T2, you're not the toughest camper in the family any more. "

ETA, although I don't think where he is he'll ever again encounter the 35 degrees and raining that we often see here in the Midwest/Northeast, which I think is really the most miserable of conditions.  

Edited by T2Eagle
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Our training for parents is to make sure your son gathers everything and checks it off the checklist, and then make sure HE puts it in the pack.  Unless we're backpacking, I always keep some spare gear in my car.  Especially for newer scouts, one miserable experience can end their scouting career. 

Sixteen year olds who show up with nothing but a hoodie for a November campout get a lot less sympathy.  A scout is Helpful so I share what I have, but I don't have to wash my own dishes that weekend.

If we're backpacking we do at minimum a check for raingear and sufficient clothing layers before we get in the cars.

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