Tampa Turtle

I think it resonates with *some* boys but is not just the overwhelming cultural influence it once was. There is still a lot of fun stuff in it...I think that is why "mountain man" activities are popular because of the novelty. When I was a kid growing up in the late 60's/70's I hated all the cowboy and indian stuff. It seemed so ancient and the space and jet stuff--that was cool. I am not the only one; I think that is where the Woody/Buzz Lightyear thing came from. Now I enjoy watching some of the old shows and movies --most of them are morality plays anyway. Funny to watch the Italian guys play Indians in Daniel Boone. I read "Cracker Westerns" set in Florida now. But who knows? It could come back, probably with an updated historical twist. At Woodruff SR they talked about the shame of the Trail of Tears. Colonists and indigenous peoples clashed all over the planet. Before that tribes warred on other tribes. There is a scout lesson there somewhere.

I also believe this generation does not have the emotional attachment to indian/frontier motifs as a while back. It has been a long time since coonskin hats were big sellers.

I have used some of those boards and admit they are pretty nifty...however I have no idea if they are easier/harder to maintain or more/less vulnerable to bad stuff. I am just an end user and grateful if it works, don't have to think too much about it, and don't have to pay for it somehow. But good comments. I think the strong points of the current setup is it seems pretty stable and search works pretty well. Weak points are it is harder to follow new posts on a thread and keep a sort preference. But what do I know. Years ago I chucked my early-adopter PDA for 3x5 cards.

Kudu, amen. While I have to cajole the boys to finish up their MB work (which is getting more and more like school between camp and MB academies) we have a 20 miler multi-day hiking campout. I never so many boys fuss over planning what to carry, eat, etc. Such passion!

I for one really enjoy the "bad idea T-shirt" ads. Though I never click as it may be a bad idea. The fulsome pulchritude is a unexpected pick-me-up.

Yeah the forum is a little dated but seems to work with the IE and Chrome browsers I use. Main thing it works, it is free, and is an excellent resource. I would not look a gift horse in the mouth...

OGE Thanks I didn't know that.

Yes the neglected spouse has killed more than one good Scoutmaster in our household. Also job changes (A SM benefits from a flexible work schedule).

I am a walker; it keeps me from being a big fat Turtle, manages my Diabetes, and is part of my job. Colin Fletchers Hiking Bible is called "The Complete Walker" so you have a point. Nothing wrong with doing a lot of longer walks for training. However carrying a pack and walking on uneven surfaces makes hiking different than urban walking. I find that in those conditions I work different muscles and need practice from turning my ankle and working with a higher center of gravity. I would argue that it just seems more like an adventure when you are carrying everything on your back and you are a day's walk from support. You are committed. Again I love your ideas of "urban hikes". You see all sorts of things you never see in a car. A bit dangerous here (we are usually #1 or #2 for pedestrian deaths...have to compete with cars). When I travel I do that exclusively.

We go to Clearwater Beach, etc and do training hikes there in the winter. Often the older boys enjoys the "scenery" (and the occasional calls of "oo Boy Scouts!") and the younger boys the various dead sea critters. Whatever works. I am always surprised by how some boys are better hikers than I would have predicted.

I think Scoutcraft competitions can be fun. Pioneering too, you know lashing up stuff. Disaster drills + first aid contest. See if you can hook up with any hobby clubs to help on activities and MB offerings. We literally stumbled on a RC club on a campout which had a program for getting young guys into the hobby (these were 6 foot long planes). They were willing to do demos and assist in teaching the Aviation MB.

In the Pack where this sort of thing happened it was the "raid of the pissed off mom's" one Sunday morning that put an end to the Good Ol Boys camping and drinking club.

Let him get started. Let him hike his own hike. My youngest got religion pretty quick after a couple practice hikes. Now he packs light, thinks carefully about each item, and makes sure he has water, socks, etc.

Cambridge, Actually I knew that. The first time I heard "I'm a belt and suspender's man" was at Architecture school talking about the NYC Citicorp building (the slanty roof one). It was built with a huge concrete dampening slab on wheels on the top to reduce sway. This was so to save on additional bracing. They ended up keeping the damper and bracing hence "belts and suspenders". Story may not be true but that is what I heard. I think it was a more common expression in the US a couple generations ago. I like "Belts and Braces" better; maybe it is the Alliteration.

First of all, good luck on your fight. Personally I have none, no tats or piercings. My wife neither; I always joke that will be helpful when they search for her body. Almost all the rest of the scout moms seem to have a "tramp stamp" prominently displayed.

Every once in a while a new dad imbibes and occasionally we are reminded why it is not allowed; sometimes we have to keep his boy from being embarrassed. In most cases a discrete word over Troop norms my the SM afterwards clears it up. No one loses face and 9 times out of 10 the dad comes back and is a helper. That said it is mighty mighty tempting after a long day herding boys...

Start with school. I walk home everyday; it is a nice "spacer" before home. As for you, yeah like I said it took me a year of work to get in shape to do more than 5. And I ain't fast...I'm not called the turtle for nothing. It is a wonder that I finish at all. Basement is right, 1 liter soda bottles work great. Maybe get him a cheap pedometer? Have him start counting steps. He'll know when he is ready to start with a pack.

While I too use a soda bottle a 32oz Nalgene is about 5.5oz. IMHO Urban hikes are a nice warm-up but not as challenging as the real deal. Use them for training but do not shortcut the outing in scouting.

Miami has the Dolphins, the greatest football team. We take the ball from goal to goal like no one's ever seen. We're in the air; we're on the ground; we're always in control, And when you say Miami, you're talking Super Bowl; 'Cause we're the Miami Dolphins, Miami Dolphins, Miami Dolphins, number one! Yes, we're the Miami Dolphins, Miami Dolphins, Miami Dolphins, number one!

No forks!

How much does he weigh? Is the terrain easy? There are no places to fill up? Lets assume moderate terrain in nice weather. So he will do an average of 2 mph. So for a 10 mile hike that is 5 hours. Put in an hour for lunch, etc and say 6. I'd guess 60 to 80 oz of water. If it is strenuous or hot and wanta a safety margin 90 to 120oz. So 2-4 32oz Nalgene Bottles or 100oz Camelbak. If he carries 4 bottles including the weight of bottles he can be up to 10 pounds alone, just for water. Water is heavy. Add in a pack, some lunch, the "10 essentials" (compass, knife, etc)and you can get up to 16-20 pounds in a hurry. I would start with a lightweight daypack, a couple of Nalgenes, and 5 miles. If you can practice along a trail with stops every few miles that is great. When I walked in England it seemed there was a village every 2 miles or so. So you didn't need to carry so much. Water is a big limiter for us. We have unpolluted water sources left and the other Scouters are leary about filtering. So we may cache water along the way or do loop hikes or campsite to campsite hike.

I don't do facebook so I do not have all the facts. I leave it to the SM and trust if they are such a good Troop, SM, and SPL a reasonable outcome will result despite the DE and the parents. Agree this is a SM-Scout issue. I had an issue with a Mom who almost led a huge revolt over bad language by some scouts. What a morass! I over-reacted but the SM wisely choose to ignore it and make general comments to boys about being Clean. Since then I have learned her boy is one of the worst offenders when it comes to "corrupting" the newbies.

We are planning a hiking trip there in a few weeks. Was looking for comments/advice. Is west of Tally.

Who is "you people". Never a good way to phrase it, ask Ross Perot. I agree that the issue is steamrolling before the boy comes back to explain anything.

Oh yeah! I recall doing a rafting trip at Summer Camp with son#1 then 11. The rapids were a little scary and I hear him say "well we are some F#ed F#ing F#ers!" I yell "watch your language!" he says "If I am about to die I should get special dispensation" I didn't know he knew "dispensation".