Stosh

The relationship between the Pl's and SPL and authority is a bit different for me. In my troop the highest level of authority is held by the Pl. They are responsible for their patrol. The SPL is his first level of assistance, not authority. The SPL is the PL to the PL'S. He helps the Pl's be successful with their patrols. He has no say-so over anything within the patrols. Stosh

Why is that? For a weekend trek, one can get by on surprising few items. There's no reason a boy that small can't do a weekend backpacking trek. Stosh

The fit of the pack is not as important as the weight carried. There are no backpacks that will fit some of the smaller Webelos boys. It doesn't make any difference whether it's military or civilian. The whole idea is NOT ALL PACKS NEED TO BE COMPLETELY FILLED. Just because one has the room doesn't mean it has to be filled. When I went to Philmont I only filled my pack half full. That way when the food rations and camp gear were handed around, I had plenty of room and even then did not fill it completely. My Yucca Packs are smallish, but will handle a weekend outing easily. They have non-padded shoulder straps, no waist belt, and when I do over-pack it etc. I simply add tump line and I'm fine. I do the same for the huge duffel bags that have the non-padded shoulder straps and no waist belt, too. Learn what works and then use it and teach it. I did a 50 miler in the BWCA and each canoe had 3 people and 4 military duffels. One duffel for each person and one duffel for camp gear. At every portage the boys would hop out, grab a duffel for their back and another for the front and off down the path they would go leaving me with the canoe. About half way through the trek they started double portaging everything. It was near the end of the trek that they realized that 2-60# duffels totaled 120#. And if they didn't want to carry that weight they could carry the lighter load twice as far. What they failed to realize is that 80# of canoe might be bulky and a bit unwieldy, in the long run it was the easiest. Of course I taught them that on the last day of the trek when we were loading up to go home. My motto: "Age and treachery will win out over youth and exuberance any day". If one's new boys quit camping because their packs don't fit are basically just looking for an excuse to quit anyway. Stosh Oh, by the way, I was 4' 11" 98# when I entered high school. That is smaller than most Webelos II boys. I did just fine with my Yucca pack with no waist belt even for the week of summer camp. I did not get a framed backpack with belt until I was an adult. I like the ALICE because it is smaller than my regular backpack.

And when they rediscover the tump line it'll even be better yet. Stosh

Old Timer alert.... When I went to scout camp there were no MB's offered. We spent our time at open swim, open shoot, open this or that, but generally just hung out and had a great time. We even had time to make camp gadgets every year and we all cooked in the site so that took up some time as well. I do remember a lot of time spent in a canoe fishing with buddies. If one is there to relax and enjoy the out-of-doors, maybe a little less regimen might be a good thing. In our hectic society of gotta be here, then there, and then back over here again, I don't know if relaxation is an option. Stosh

Qwazse, this is the problem when Venturing and Scouting really are not two independent units. They tend to be nothing more than Venture Patrols with girls. The problems of an adult led troop creep over into an adult led crew as well. Until the units become truly independent of each other, the problems will continue. I doubt very much if my crew knew I was a troop leader and I knew my troop never knew of my Venturing unit. One has to give 100% to each of the units when they are working with them. A Crew that has to first check the local Troop calendar to know when to plan their activities will never have time to focus solely on their unit. I would bet good money that a crew and troop with the same CO and leadership will enjoy the crew for 1 maybe 2 years but the crew will disappear long before year 5. One cannot serve two masters at the same time. Stosh

I'm somewhat of a packrat. My camp kitchen is a plastic bin that slides nicely into the standard Yucca Pack of the 60's. I have a green pup tent, but it's got the nice vestibules on both ends. My WW II steel mess kit is still my primary mess kit for cooking. Went through a lot of the aluminum ones but the steel really holds up nicely. My A.L.I.C.E. still is one of my favorite weekenders in that the extra pouches all over the place segments everything out nicely. Don't have to dig for anything. My favorite piece is the 3 compartment hot/cold insulated field container. I usually put ice in the middle container and food in the two sides. Nothing gets soggy and when the ice melts, take out the center container, dump it and put in fresh ice, all without disturbing anything. I usually have at least one piece of military surplus on every outing. The only time I consciously avoided it was the Philmont trek where weigh was a major factor. I canoe/sandbar with the boys, but the Mrs. and I always do just kayaks. Canoes are like car camping and kayak is like backpacking. I have a freighter canoe that can handle 750# over the standard 350# of most 17' canoes. Kayaking is like packing for Philmont, there's just not much room in those things, and one doesn't ever want to get one top-heavy by overloading the deck. Stosh

Army/Navy surplus was big from WWII on until maybe the 70's. I bought a lot of surplus stuff when I was in Boy Scouts. I just picked up a huge quantify of military tents, packs and sleeping bags. All free because the military does not sell surplus anymore, they just throw it away. Back in the 70's they changed the rules and said vendors needed to be licensed to sell surplus. Kinda like double dipping on the vendors. They refused to buy the licenses and so the only thing left to do is just throw the stuff away, or in my case, just have a pick up truck and trailer really near where they are throwing it away and if they don't have to walk as far, they'll throw it in your truck/trailer. Stop by Cabela's home decor section sometime and ask yourself what's that got to do with hunting, fishing, camping, or anything at all outdoors other than to decorate the INSIDE of your house to be cool. Then go to the state parks and local campgrounds and count the number of campers who do not have a 5th wheel or RV with pull outs. I do have to admit that kayaking is making a bit of a comeback, but it is usually just recreational day activity. In order to sandbar camp on the rivers around here, one needs a houseboat.r Getting away from it all today means one takes it with them. Stosh

This is why one would spell out on the signup sheet what is needed. I don't volunteer for anything I don't know anything about. Blue Gold Banquet 2014 Chairman ___________________________ Program _____________________________ (Line up the entertainment) Cost: $100 Pledges:________________________ ________________________ Table Decorations:_____________________________ Cost: $25 Pledge _________________________ Food Coordinator:______________________________ Table Setup:______________________________________ Cleanup:_______________________________________ Have everyone get a chance to sign up and if they don't, one can assume that that part of the activity isn't going to get done and to save everyone a lot of hassle and headache, just cancel it right at the beginning. Stosh

Not so bizarre, in this day and age of everyone looking out for themselves and getting what they want, it's a normal action to take. Stosh

Kinda chauvanistic here. I know a lot of women who can do more heavy lifting in the woods than most men today. When I took my glamor daughter to the BWCA, she hauled her fair share of the gear on the portages, managed to find pink trees as needed and when she got old enough told me she absolutely hates camping and if it wasn't for the fact that it was just her and me doing something together she would never have done it. On the other hand she also thanks me for showing her just how tough she can be when designer shoes don't work well and the fingernail polish wears off. It's always easier to bail out and complain than it is to roll up one's sleeves and make things right. Again with the chauvinism. My wife grew up in a large metropolitan city, then moved to Alaska to work for the US Forestry Service. Raised 4 kids, 3 girls and a boy and they all paid their way through college with commercial salmon fishing off the coast of Alaska. I was told this morning at breakfast she won't be there to fix my supper tonight in that she's going kayaking with a group of ladies after work. Oh, by the way, the age range for this group of kayaking ladies is 45-72. This is the second time this week she's been out with the group. I don't care if one is male or female, there are those who enjoy nature and those that don't. Getting adults involved on the non-nature side of the programing in Cub Scouts only to have them migrate over to Boy Scouts is not beneficial to the outdoor programing. By the way, I'd take my wife as an ASM any day over 90% of the men out there that spend their whole day glued to a computer screen in some office cubicle. Ever wonder about the changes over the past 50 years? Think back to the old Army/Navy surplus stores. What percentage of the merchandise was camping gear and how much was designer clothing? Now fast forward today and ask yourself the same question as you stand in the aisle of any Cabelas, Gander Mountain or other sporting good store and observe the % dedicated to camping. Better yet, see if you can even find a true Army/Navy surplus store anymore. Unless today's parents were themselves scouts, they probably had very little if any camping/outdoors experience and even then the camping could have involved 5th wheel trailers or Class-A motorhomes. The problem is not the program, it's the green-horns trying to run it. If one is not pre-disposed to the outdoors, don't let them run the program, find someone who has done it so they can do it for your boys. Stosh

For a plant that has been cultivated for over 5,000 years, I'm thinking the US Gov't is going to need to step it up if it's going to eradicate it. Another Government money pit.... Stosh

Not to worry about it. Someday he'll learn the rule about it and may take it off, maybe not. But with all the boys out there NOT in appropriate uniforms, it'll probably get lost in the crowd and no one will ever notice. If he becomes Chaplain's Aide, he might put it on this POR patch as a device as well. Again, most people won't notice. If they do notice, they might even say something nice about it.... There's always scouts that are friendly out there.... Stosh

I once ran across a program that covers a year's planning, staffing of the committee, chair person of the committe and a budget for the event. If one pulls it off (and yes it does work very well) it can mean a stress free year for everyone. Go back and dig out all the activities you have done the past 2 years. Then make a one page sheet with the title of the event on top. Put a date on it, i.e. January 2015 for one sheet, February 2015 for another. You can double up if you wish and have two events in the same month. Then have a place for a chairperson to put their name in to coordinate the event. Fix a dollar amount to cover the cost of the event, and a place for what if any programming is going to take place, and a few lines for people to sign up as committee members for the event. Then post them on the wall the first and second meeting of the year. If by the end of the second meeting all the sheets are not filled in completely and money pledged to the budget, and people haven't signed up to work, then take those and toss them. There's not enough interest in making sure the event will be successful. All those that are filled out. Compile into a calendar booklet and send to each household so that everyone knows when they have signed up, how much they have pledged in costs, and when all the events are going to be held for the year. This way people sign up for what they want and are not going to get hounded throughout the year to help out. They only need to help where they indicated they would. If there are not enough events to fill the year, then maybe next year when you put the sheets on the wall, people will take you serious about insuring a good quality program and they might be a bit more serious with their time, talent and money when asked. The downside to the program? If people get upset about it, they won't ask you to continue with being a CM and they can go back to the old way of running around at the last minute frantically begging for help on the events. Either way, the stress will magically disappear either way for the CM. Stosh

I don't see any major shift in policy at this point. What are they going to shift to? They don't require a uniform now, and like Cub and Boy Scouts, the uniform is not required. Even if they did "require" a uniform, those that want it will get it, those that don't, won't, just like it's been for the past 15 years. Stosh

Hmmm, good police PR! Iowa Gold is still highly regarded in the "industry". It's the wild stuff from Iowa which during the World Wars was prime area for growing hemp for rope. It grows wild all over the place. I even saw it in elderly ladies flower gardens growing wild. They eventually pulled out the weeds and no one was none the wiser. Aerial enforcement is now used to find the MJ patches in the middle of Iowa cornfields and it wasn't that long ago law enforcement pulled up plants being cultivated in an Iowa state park. Maybe the headaches come from the railroads who spray massive amounts of herbicides on their right-of-ways to deter the wild variety. For a long time ditches were mowed, but not so much once the price of gas went up so the crops are coming back on a more regular basis. Stosh

I was a Crew Advisor for 12 years and was the only one in the group to have a green uniform. I wore it only when I was at district or council activities. None of the other adults wore them, nor the youth. Stosh

I still like the old community strips. No one really cares what council you're in, they want to know the town/state where you're from. I suppose thought, it would cut into the profitability of selling tons of different council patches for every little occasion that comes along. It would not help out with patch trading either. When was it that profitability won out over practicality? By the way, been in Scouting for 40 years and have never heard of a district patch until now. Stosh

This is good to know. One would not want to get chastised by the Uniform Police for not wearing your Uniform Police Badge correctly. Stoshv

If one were to be able to recognize it readily, one would notice it's all over the place. Law enforcement has been trying to eradicate it from the landscape for years. One does not have to do anything but look for the wild stuff if one doesn't want to spend the time cultivating it in pots. Once the scout figures out his plant identification, then he can move up to the mushrooms. Stosh

Even when a camp offers winter opportunities for cabin camping, seldom are they rented by the patrol. The whole troop rents a cabin and whether it's the mess hall or small kitchen in a smaller building, it ends up with patrols taking turns feeding the troop out of the one kitchen. I have seen units with kitchen/trailer combos that do this year around. Stosh

The site my 4 boys and two adults had this summer could easily accommodate 6-7 patrols + 1 adult patrol and all be at least 300' apart. We had our choice of meadow, woods, and deep woods for our tent sites. Extra porta-johns were brought in as we were leaving and I'm thinking that the site could have gone 150 boys easily if one were to throw out the 300' rule. Let's just say, the meadow alone was big enough to just about accommodate a football field. The next site over, separated by a thick barrier of trees could probably accommodate 2/3's of our site, but maybe not because it wasn't as flat. Stosh