Camping Merit Badge

[rdn51]

For the camping merit badge, the requirements for 9a. state: "Camp a total of at least 20 days and nights. You may use a week of long-term camp toward this requirement. Sleep each night under the sky or in a tent you have pitched (long-term camp excluded)".

 

Does this mean that if my son spent 5 days/nights at summer camp last year (tent camping) and 6 days/nights tent camping this year he can count 7 days/nights of camping from both trips for the camping merit badge? One of our scoutmasters said that he cannot count any of the 5 days/nights done his first year because he had not yet pulled the blue card for the camping badge. Is this true?

 

[EagleInKY]

As the requirement clearly states, you may use a week (some debate whether this is 5,6 or 7), of a long-term camp. So, if your son has 5 nights in a long-term camp, he has to get the other 15 days through short-term camps. Since short-term camps are typically 1 or 2 nights, this means another 8-10 campouts more than likely.

 

As for the blue card deal. Normally, work completed prior to the blue card handed out is not allowed to count toward a merit badge. However, with camping and hiking, MB Counselors usually accept previous work, as long as it was done after he became a Boy Scout. I know there are some "by-the-bookers" that won't do this, but I believe the vast majority will.

[Lynda J]

What we do is when a boy comes into the troop we start them a blue card for Camping. This way every camping trip we go on counts.

[nldscout]

Your SM needs a reality check on this one. Why would you not count days camped as a boy scout?

 

 

[evmori]

This is up to the MB counselor. The starting point can be from when the SM signs the MB card for the Scout to begin working on the MB or from the time he joined Boy Scouts. It is up to the counselor, not the SM, unless they are the same person.

 

Ed Mori

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[DonM]

If he camped 5 days/nights at summer camp (and it counts) and 6 days/nights on other scout campouts, that would be 11 days/nights and he has 9 to go.

 

As to counting camping before the merit badge was signed, I think the requirements are vague in that it is not clear that projects toward merit badges have to be started after the blue card is signed. In the Guide to Merit Badge Councelling, talking about the first meeting with the scout, it states:

 

"In your discussion of what is expected, you may want to start by finding out what the Scout already knows. Spend some time helping him learn the remaining requirements, or give guidance in completing projects."

 

This implies (to me anyway) that some projects may have been started. Doing initial campouts seems to fit here.

 

However, why do you want to count these first 5 day/nights? Unless the scout is 17 1/2, he should have many weekends of camping ahead. The merit badge should be an opportunity to learn about camping and to improve camping skills and put them into practice.

 

DonM