A Forum for Scouts and Scouters

[Micheal Wallace]

I own that DVD and have watched it at least 4 times. Each time I want to improve weight or want to replace something heavy with something lighter I watch it. Maybe I can show it to everyone when we have our shakedown meeting in two weeks. Thanks for the idea!

[Jarold Mausolf]

As the scoutmaster of a troop in NW Missouri we have been back packing for a number of years with the scouts. It has come to the point where they take pride in being one of the few groups that pack into camporees and actually backpack on a regular basis. We may only backpack 1-2 miles but we hike into places that are not accessible by vehicle. We still do some "car camping" but the guys prefer to backpack. They like being away from other groups. At camporees we often get great camp sites because we can use spaces that do not require space to drive "big rigs" into.

We also do a "Backpack Iron Chef Cooking Contest" at least twice every year. This gets the scouts past prepacked meals and raman noodles. The scouts have to cook a backpack meal using backpack stoves in 45 minutes or less. They compete against the Backpack Iron Chef…me. I trash talk for weeks getting them to create new recipes that they can take on the trail. They are judged on Weight, Taste, Backability, Ease of use, effort and creativity. Sometimes I win sometimes I lose. There are prizes for top finishers. We have a scoring sheet that gives points for each catagory.

We have also made alcohol stoves at meetings and the scouts like to use these stoves as much or more than the "easy stoves".

Good luck. I am a health and wellness professional and I also have been known to shun scouts and especially adults into doing something more physical. I am 50 and can out hike all my scouts and younger adults. I use that to my benefit and theirs.

[Joe Kuster]

Not much extra info is really needed to enjoy devils den. The trails are well marked and there are lots of information stations to pick up trail maps that are up to date.

It's a nice area in all but the hottest months. If your scouts finish early have an extra day hike nearby planned.

Last time I took a group of kids down there we finished the trail and was back at the car in time to get dinner at one of the nearby cafes. It's a pretty easy going trail and fairly scenic views.

By the way, there are lots of Geocaches down there if memory serves.

[Scott McClure]

If I remember right, if you leave the park office and go upstream, you'll cross the creek than have a pretty good hike uphill. It's been a long while since I've hiked the Butterfield Trail but I don't know if I'd want to tackle that hill the first day and have it out of the way or put it off and have a big downhill finish. Either way, it's a great hike that I'm trying to get my troop to take on.

[Phil Barton]

Michael, how was your trip to Devil's Den? We've not taken the troop there in several years. Hope you had a great time.

By the way I had a bizarre experience on the BHT in 2005. 4 of us 40-something hikers were on an overnight trip. We basked in the warmth of a sunny, late October day. We made camp at a remote part of the trail at the junction of Blackburn Creek with Lee Creek. We were startled from a deep sleep when 4 off-road vehicles roared up into our camp. These yahoos had been driving down the creekbed. The folks in the vehicles had their lights on bright and were hollering a lot. But they didn't say anything to us. At least they were kind enough to not run over any tarps or tents. They drove all around over our campsite and eventually left the way they came. We certainly felt like they were in an altered state.

We talked to the USFS office a few days later. Driving up the creek wasn't legal of them to do. But the FS has no resources to stop that kind of thing. It left me with a funny feeling about ever taking boys back on that trail.

I have had lots of great hikes in Arkansas but that was a weird night.

[Joe Clement]

If the FS there is like the FS in northern New Mexico, the resource they are like most is initiative. Or maybe motivation.

[Author]

Posts