Blaze66

am I here

am I here

Did anyone else here see this article at Fox News? http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,119658,00.html Make sure you copy and paste the whole address, for some reason the post wouldn't include the whole thing in the link.(This message has been edited by Blaze66)

Ok,reluctantly, because I was so chastized during the original post of this thread I am back again. But this time only to give everyone an update on the status of our pack. No wait, Our CHARTER ORGANIZATION'S PACK! Just a little background to those who didn't catch the original post. I am with a pack that has three leaders who have been with the pack over 8 years and are ready to leave and no new leadership has come foward in the past few years to step in and keep the pack going. We went to our COR and he talked to the CO who did not have any advise or help for us. We then went to our DE, who basically said, you have a problem I will see what I can do to help you but it will have to wait till this capital fund raising deal is over with, I will get back to you. Still no word back from him and in fact I saw him over the weekend and gave him the same update I am about to give you and he had to think for like 5 minutes before he remembered me or what our problem was. Anyway back to the update... Finally last week we called a special meeting of all the parents in the pack. Just to show you how little the parents participate, we only had about half of the boys parents show up. None the less, I sat down with them and explained the situation that these three leaders were leaving and that if they wanted to keep the pack alive, it was their turn to step up to the plate. After about 10 minutes of sitting there in silence with everyone's mouth gapped open in disbelief, we actually had one mother to say she would become a den leader, and another to say she would consider being a tiger leader. So now all we need is one more to step in and we will have enough leaders to keep things rolling. One of our existing leaders who isnt leaving at this time said he would step up as CM. I left the meeting open ended, telling the parents that we would stay on through September to help them in anyway they needed and to get them through roundup.

I don't know how they hid them at that camporee, but finding geocaches is not as simple as you might think. I participate in geocaching as a sport. True some are relatively easy to find, but if you want a real challenge find the micro and mini caches! If you don't know alot about geocaching as a sport go to www.geocaching.com

I know it's too late to get in this year, we are going to put in for next year (2005) in July. We picked this camp for several reasons. First we liked the merit badge offerings. They have alot that weren't offered at some of the other camps close by. Second it's in the mountains. It's a whole lot cooler there in mid June that it is the other places we have been going. Anyway we have made up our mind to go there next summer, we just want some tips and pointers of how it is at camp.

Has anyone here been to Camp Old Indian in the Blue Ridge Council? We tried to get out troop in there this summer, but they were full the week we wanted to go, so we are shooting for next summer already. What I am trying to find out is some tips... best campsite, closest campsite to dinning hall, whats the food like, how was the staff to work with, etc...

When I say made up I mean more like what Shell is talking about. You have to twist someone's arm or you have to use one person with many hats. If you thought I ment we just pulled a name out of thin air and wrote it down, thats not the case. It's just we have so few people step up to the plate that we have to grab people from the back pew and twist their arm to get them to register in the first place, but usually they are only figure heads because if you have to twist someone's arm to do something they really aren't going to be good leaders. They are more followers... which is not what you want in scouting. But then again like I said you do what ever you have to do with what you have to make it work for the boys.

Great response foto! At least someone understands the reality of things and doesn't try to beat you to death with so called facts and figures that are of questionable origin. I know as bob says you have to list people to re charter every year, but who hasn't put people on their charter in two hat positions or grabbed someone out of the blue just for a name because you don't have anyone else. It's reality! So sure national is going to reflect that every pack and troop has a committie and cc and cor and co, but in reality they aren't always there! So you do what you have to do for the kids!

Yes we have mosquitoes too but what we use is Permethrin. Get some and treat all your camping gear including your clothing as directed. It works great for Mosquitos, Chiggers, Mites and Ticks. One treatment lasts two weeks in continuous use. If you use it, you won't need much deet.

I think you miss understand the question. The question is not how many miles a day can the boys do, ours have easily done anywhere from 8 to 14 miles a day. The question is does BSA policy limit daily mileage or suggest a daily mileage?

Most tents now days come with or you can buy seperately a "footprint" which is basically some really heavy nylon with a water proof coating. It is real light and usually fits exactly the size of your tent. That's what I use on all three of my tents. If you can't find one to fit, check out REI or Campmor. Sometimes you can find footprints or ground cloths for different tents on clearance. They might not fit your tent exactly but they are good alternatives. In a real pinch use 6 mil plastic. It doesn't fold or roll real well but it works.

eisely, I had that same problem with the first led head lamp I bought. I had a Petzl Tikka and I loved it, but the first time I really needed it for night time navigation, it was all but useless. SO when I got back home I bought a Petzl MYO. Best of both worlds. You get the halogen main light for navigation and wide area flood, and it has the three led task light for reading, cooking general around camp stuff. It's like American Express, I never leave home without it!

Ok here is one for all our scouting friends who love to quote BSA regulations. Where in BSA policy does it limit or suggest mileage per day, for hikes and backpacking trips? If there is a limit what is it?

If you have never tried it before let me give you a couple of pointers from experience. One make sure you have a good ground cloth. Just as in a tent, that vapor barrier between you and the ground is real important. Second, keep it simple. Either pitch your tarp using the old ridgeline between two trees with a stake on each corner or do the old army pup tent style with two staves. Once you have done it a few times then you can experiment with exotic tarp setups. These two will keep you fairly dry if you have a shower and will stand up in the wind with no problems. If you want some other ideas for pitching tarps go to this website. http://www.cloudwalkersatpage.com/page027.html Cloudwalker uses the Campmor trekkers tarp for these setups but I use a Kelty Noah's tarp. Oh yeah, people get into long discussions about what kind of tarp to use and how to pitch it. Those of us in the Tarp community are just as defensive about our tarps and setup as people with Tents! LOL Hope you have fun on your first try, who knows you might even be a convert after this trip! Let me know how it goes.