Most Scout leaders give the Scouts a pack list or checklist to be used for an outing. I had developed a checklist that I thought covered everything needed, but was stripped down enough that the boys were not carrying more that they should, given their own weight and build. I still use this checklist today. Well, checklists are only so good.
When I was a new Scoutmaster, we had planned a November overnight outing to a rustic cabin at Camp Parsons, a Boy Scout camp on Hood Canal in Washington State. It was to be a diversion from our customary backpacking outings. The group was small and the cabin was less than a quarter mile walk from the cars, so we didn't worry about a pack check. This was the first outing for one of the boys, and while the three bags he pulled out of the vehicle when we arrived caught my attention, the other boys helped him carry them to the cabin, so I wasn't too worried.
When it came time to unpack and lay out the sleeping bags, I found out what was in his three duffels. His dear mother had used "the checklist" to help him get ready, and though everyone had used the same list, he had far more than the others. His footwear alone included regular sneakers (on his feet), rubber boots (for the beach?), new hiking boots, and moon boots worthy of Napoleon Dynamite. When he pulled out a new cheap plastic tent for emergency shelter, despite the fact that we were staying in a cabin, it was hard not to laugh. A sitcom couldn't have written a script any better than the entertainment this poor boy provided for us two adults that night. It was not his fault - his mother was just following the "checklist."
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- Introduction
- The Lightweight Lesson
- Careful with Weight Limits
- The Checklist
- Items to Show Up In
- Essential Hiking Gear3
- Backpack
- Sleeping Bag
- Sleeping Pads
- Other Stuff
- Kitchen
- Personal
# WORDS: 4860
# PHOTOS: 10
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Discussion
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Religion flaming is delicious troll food, and its Mauro's first post, this usually means that Mauro is a troll (I might be wrong). My advice to the pious is avoiding internal combustion, and thinking before feeding a troll.
I did the vast majority of my youthful backpack trips with my church youth group. We brought hard-back bibles, both testaments. A simple idea like xeroxing the part you intended to study would have helped us a lot. Sometimes it is the simplest ideas like not bringing a full 16oz bottle of sunblock or 8oz tube of toothpaste that are the ones that cascade into transforming a too heavy pack into something tolerable.
Thanks Tad, this is great stuff. I'm hoping to get out with my almost-9-year-old on a few short trips this summer, both hiking and bike-packing.
I'm in Seattle. There must be local Scout troops. Any suggestions about how to find a compatible group?
Rob in Seattle
Rob, the council would be a good place to start when looking for a troop, they can give you a list of the troops in your area.
If you are in Seattle or its suburbs, you will be in the Chief Seattle Council, (206) 725-5200, http://www.seattlebsa.org/
Trying to find a troop that is compatible is like shopping for a new car, do a few test drives and see which one feels right. Yes, some cost more than others (troop dues and stuff) but unlike cars the cost of participation has nothing to do with the quality of the program. Just ask a lot of questions.
Thanks for reading the article.
https://beascout.scouting.org/
Click the Boy Scouts tab, punch in your zip code and click GO.
Rich
SM Troop 154 Golden's Bridge, NY
I also did some of my early camping with church groups and it was a very positive experience – great memories. I do however, think that specifying religious reading materials, rather than reading materials in general, to be a bad idea. I'd prefer to see us calling attention to the things that we have in common, that bring us together, rather than to be highlighting our differences. If we encourage kids to bring reading materials, and some bring religious materials, great. It may even turn into a teaching moment, but it should be a teaching moment that promotes the understanding and respect of all religious beliefs, not an opportunity for the leader to advocate for his/her own beliefs.
I just volunteered to help local boy scouts with backpacking. I was wondering how I was going to tell them that "being prepared" doesn't mean taking everything sold at Academy… I will reference your posts for help!
between Michael and Tad's efforts to educate, in very simple terms that are easily digested by parents, scouts, and most important, the philosophy of Scouting, the future is in good hands. when i was a scout, well, weight wasn't considered – if you had room in the pack, you didn't have enough stuff :)
thanks so much for the timely article and paper, my oldest has just made the jump from Cubs to Boy Scouts. i am lucky in that the troop my son has joined very much is into a lightweight mindset, the issue then becomes helping to educate the parents.
my son's after school task today is to read parts one and two for a trip his is taking this weekend.
thanks again for helping to educate and remove that age old stigmata that prepared means packing it all in. prepared doesn't mean gear, it means so much more.
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