Petey091

I think one of the problems with scouts and fires is that in today's world our scouts just don't use matches on a daily basis anymore. In my Grandmother home to use the stove you had to light a match. Each room had a gas heater and to stay warm you had to light a match. My father smoked a pipe so we had matches laying around the house. To light the charcoal grill you had to use a match. Today's kids have become so bubble wrapped that a match is foreign to them. I can't tell you how many times I have watched a scout use up a box of matches trying to light a camp stove.

So this last weekend my troop did twenty six miles on the AT from the Pine Knob shelter in Maryland to Harper's Ferry, West Virginia as a Philmont Shakedown. Five scouts with five adults went on the trip. My dry pack weight was at fifteen pounds. When I added four liters of water, crew gear and food it kicked my weight up to 36 pounds. We used Philmonts meal recipes and purchased the same food they use. The caloric intake was about 3000 calories a day. We had plenty food but I could see that at Philmont and being at altitude you could still feel hungry. Dividing up crew gear wasn't problem, we just made ten piles of gear and tried to make sure the weight was about the same. The hard part was getting the boys to think about multitasking in the morning and evening at camp. They had a duty roster so that helped. I am going to make a small cheat sheet for the crew leader next time so he will have a list of priorities to work from when we pull into camp.The AT in Maryland is all walking on rocks. The boys did well and seemed to enjoy the trip but we were all happy to cross the bridge over to Harper's Ferry.

I will post a trip report here when we are done Monday. Philfood tends to be off the shelf items packaged for two scouts per package per day. Dinner is prepared using the patrol method. During last month's trip were pushing our pace pretty hard and it was warm and we had a scout trip and pass out. For breakfast all we had for breakfast was a packet of oatmeal and a granola bar each so about 300 calories. So we did some research and found that Philmont usually provides about 800 calories for breakfast and about 900 each for lunch and dinner. The food is not light or compact.

Total scouts and advisor who are going to Philmont is 21 but for this trip just five adults and five scouts. The ages are 13 through 16 years of age. We downloaded Philmonts menu and try our best to match them so we have the same calorie count as they will have at Philmont. Most of the scouts understand the principles of lightweight backpacking. On the last trip my son's dry weight pack was 15 pounds. With water, food and crew gear it was 25 pounds at most.

I am not an OA member but my son is. Has the OA lost its luster? I say it's a question of perspective. When troops turn the elections into popularity contests and the scout who get elected doesn't have solid scout skills then yes it has lost its luster. My troop for some reason had a bad view of the OA and has only held elections the past several years. The scouts that were elected were solid scouts who all have been successful PL's. So from our scout level view OA means your a solid scout. My son said that there were several scouts from the same troop at his ordeal who did not know how to set up the tents they brought. So, I think its just a question of how you look at it. It seems that all lodges and chapters have a problem with communicating to it's members.

I am spending this weekend with scouts on the AT doing a Philmont Shakedown trip. We are going South from the Pine Knob shelter in Maryland to Harper's Ferry,WV. It's about 26 miles over three days since there is no school on Monday. For some on the trip this will finish the Maryland section of the AT. Ferrying cars is not a big deal. We will drop one at the Harper's Ferry National Park visitors center and pay a fee of $10. Stow a cooler with cold drinks and snacks in the drop vehicle so when we get to it the boys can relax while we go and get the cars.

My troop will be sending two crews to Philmont in 2017. I have been asked to look into creating a contract that would spell out what our expectations are for the scouts attending the trip. The contract would include things like the number of mandatory shakedowns that must be attended and participation as a crew member. I was wondering if any other troop does this and what type of things you include? Would you be willing to send me a copy?

To those who are thinking of carrying pepper spray let me give you some advise. I have carried it most of my career. Understand it is wind dependent and in every case that I have seen it used everyone even the person spraying it gets a dose. If you are going to carry it buy several and practice using it. That way you will learn how it functions but also the effect the spray will have on you and how to decon yourself.

Thanks for the replies. I have no problem with it being a troop policy. The problem was I was told it was BSA policy and I could not find were that was stated. I just didn't want to be the guy who states that it was BSA policy and it is not. We had a big influx of new scouts and another scouter was telling them it was BSA policy that they needed to wear closed toe shoes.

I need some help. I know that many troops prohibit open toe shoes for troop activity and I can understand why. I have been told that this is a national BSA Policy but I can not find any mention of it in the guide to safe scouting. Am I just missing it or is it listed in some other location? I agree its a good idea but I don't want to look like a fool and site it as BSA Policy and it not be.

I believe the first thing you need to do if you can identify the purchasers is to deliver the product to them. Do not let the mother have the product. The popcorn was sold under the banner of the BSA and we , no matter who's fault it is ,need to provide the popcorn or return the funds to the customer. You also need to ask the parent to file a theft report and give you the case number. Then just move forward from there. You're not going to get the funds from her so don't try.

I grew up in this area and know it well. You have to understand that back in 1975 the Lyons sisters disappeared while walking to a local mall. This case remains unsolved and has recently been back in the local news due to some new leeds. So people in this area are sort of a little more aware of unattended children also the police district station is just around the corner. I do believe that in general our society has become overly protective of our children. So I will leave you with this video. http://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=C-VacaaN75o

Every Tuesday evening I stand with a group of adults and young men and we commit ourselves to the Scout Oath and Law. This Cubmaster is willfully lying and falsifying forms. His intention might be good but he is not being true to the oath or law. He needs to be removed and the the pack needs to take steps to get back on track. If you have a good program the kids will come.

After every den meeting I would send an email to the den explaining what we covered and asked parents of absent scouts to complete the missed stuff at home. We also used scout track so the parents were able to sign off themselves. Once I had covered all the achievements I would send an email telling the parents of finishing the rank requirements and telling them that any missed achievements were their responsibility to complete. Two weeks before advancement I would send another email and then again several days before the advancement deadline. Did I have some upset parents when their scout was not recognized for earning a rank yes. I have a busy job. I am a parent to two children and a den leader. I will not brow beat parents to do their part.

There is a book amazon sells called Soap Carving -for children of all ages. The book has plenty of patterns and it also shows how to make carving knives and other tool out of popsicle sticks. When I did it I spent an evening making a set of tools for each of my cubs. At the meeting I had the cubs do all the carving while seated on a large blue tarp. When we were done I just rolled the tarp up and took it outside to shake out the soap chips.

Most grade schools do some sort of morning anouncments over the PA system. Ask the school to recognize them that way.

I have spent most of my adult life interviewing and taking written statements. I have read your past 33 post and can say that you are not being honest in what you write. To be put on any type of registry for sex offenders or child abusers there has to be a conviction. This is to give the person due process. You say the investigation into your claim of abuse was dropped so how can he be on a register as a child abuser? You claim to be an attorney who has been a city attorney, represented fortune 100 companies and as an attorney for abused and neglected children. In some post you write as if you are third party to these events and ask for advise, and make statement like my sons scoutmaster is having inappropriate affairs with other adult leaders. Then in the next post you reveal that the scoutmaster is your Ex and father of your son. If you are an attorney then you know that these types of half truth statements are deceptive and puts your honesty in question. We only have your side of the story. You say that you are doing all this to protect you son from your Ex and to keep him in scouting. From reading what you have posted it is pretty clear that your just trying to get another stab in. You are willing to subpoena scouts , disrupt troops just so you can get that pound of flesh. If you are an attorney then this bit of advise I am going to give you should be familiar to you. You have a fool for a client.

I have a son who just became a Tiger. I am married but understand shift work. My wife also works rotating shifts. If I can't take my son she does. Also I have my father in line to back us both up. I does not have to be the same person to take the tiger to each meeting/activity. It's a shame that some organizations become exclusive on membership. When that happen maybe we should follow the advise of Groucho Marx. "Please accept my resignation. I don't want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member.