Chisos

We have usually done one meal as a pack; other meals are by family. Typically most of our pack campouts are "officially" one night but some families may camp two nights. We would just tell everyone which meal the pack is providing beforehand. Some dens or groups of families may plan to cook together; this would especially be a good idea for Webelos dens. Recent go-to Pack meal has been "bag omelettes" for breakfast. Or foil dinners. "Assembly-line" style cooking seems to work well. Is someone in your Pack BALOO trained? When I took that class we spent some time on meal ideas for big groups like this.

@@jjlash is exactly correct--don't just look at "what can the truck tow' but also consider the payload rating, and the combined weight rating.

This one just popped up on Scouting Magazine's FB feed today. It's not RMNP but looks nice.. http://scoutingmagazine.org/2016/08/plan-backpacking-trip-colorados-four-pass-loop/

If you're driving in from Miami, maybe spend a day at Pennekamp State Park (Key Largo). Also Theatre of the Seas in Islamorada is fun, but can get a little costly with the "add-ons" (swim with dolphins, stingrays, etc). If they want the Central FL theme park experience, and only have one day, I'd suggest Legoland in Winter Haven. If any of the boys or their younger siblings are in "Lego Club" their magazine has had BOGO coupons in the past. Depending on what your Sea Base itinerary is, maybe consider a party-boat fishing day--thought that may not be a "hit" if you're already planning on doing a lot of fishing on your expedition. Lots of fun touristy stuff in Key West if you want to drive down there then double back to Sea Base. Mel Fischer's treasure museum is always a hit, as are some of the "History of Key West" type of places.

Our Pack started with Scoutbook about three years ago, and it seem to work well for them. However our Troop had been on TroopWebHost for a while before that, and we are sticking with it for now. Both have their quirks but TroopWebHost does seem a lot more "customizable". I wish I had a clear picture on how Scoutbook is factoring in to the new BSA IT plan--I *think* the plan is that it will eventually replace Internet Advancement, and be the primary way to record everything--but at that point does every unit need to purchase a Scoutbook subscription? Or will there be non-subscription access for units that want to use it for advancement reporting, but not necessarily for other unit-management features (scheduling, communication, etc.)

Me too--the "first summer camp since I was a scout" part. And I'm agreeing with exactly everything you were saying--esp. the part about hardly any time for swimming. Waterfront / boats were may times "MB only"...only an hour or two for free swim here and there, many boys could never fit it in their schedule. I got around it by singing up for both aquatics supervision courses. By the end of the second one I was ready to get out of the lake!

I agree with what other have been saying--there should be more to summer camp than earning merit badges. I'd really like it if there would be less "class times"--maybe slots for MB's in the morning, but none in the afternoons--save that for troop activities, free time, etc. A big part of the problem is that some--or maybe many--equate "lots of merit badges" as "getting your money's worth" from summer camp.

First thought: that hat rocks, go for it. Second thought: The "Uniform Inspection Sheet" says the troop should be uniform in their choice of headgear--it doesn't say official. So if your troop wanted to adopt that hat, go for it. Plenty of troops use custom printed caps and such instead of the "official" BSA caps, so using a different hat is fine.

Like others said I don't think he can be registered as both a Cub and Boy Scout. But since it sounds like he already knows what troop he'll be joining, could he just "visit" until finishing AoL? 5th grade scouts are supposed to be visiting troop meetings, going on campouts with a troop anyway. Only (minor) drawback is that he could not start on Boy Scout advancement yet--but since the new "Scouting Adventure" pin and Boy Scout rank are pretty much the same thing, he'd probably qualify for his scout rank a few minutes after his transfer application hits the council registrar's desk.

El Rancho Cima is in the hill county west of San Marcos, and that area is booming with development. But, it was heavily damaged in the floods in May 2015, so the additional rebuilding cost may have been part of the decision to sell. Sad to see it go, it was my favorite camp as a kid.

You can already choose "Boy Scouts of America" as an Amazon Smile beneficiary.

Our 4 crossovers all had AOL, so Scout did not take long. The two that went to summer camp have a lot of T-2-1 req's done, but there are some holes in each one. Some of the holes are due to them not realizing something is a requirement, thus not getting it signed off, or from not following up on things they've started. I'll give them "gentle reminders" to look over requirements, but I'm not going to sit down with the and go over it line by line to see what's done and what's not.

Well, I'm off to summer camp in a week. I'll be the first one for me in 23 years. (Well, not counting Cub Scout resident camp last summer. Ha!). And like you I went and signed up for both Aquatics Supervision courses. Someone has to do it! But, I *will* find time, some time during the week, to Nap on Safely.

I agree with you 100% about the "forced volunteerism". Several years back I worked with our Confirmation year students (CCD)...while many did enjoy service to others, there were some that saw it as just a hoop--or said "the heck with it" and chose not to get confirmed at all.

David, to be quite honest I was shocked to see this, particularly the refusal to approve an Eagle project pre-Confirmation. I'm the CC of a Catholic-sponsored Troop, and am familiar with the "service hours for confirmation" idea, but--do you see an issue with a policy such as this as discouraging youth from community service, unless it is directly credited to a Confirmation requirement? What age does your diocese confirm? In mine it's 11th grade--a policy such as this would in effect prevent some boys from achieving Eagle, as they may be already 18 by then.

Maybe look into Woodruff Scout Reservation in northern Georgia, or Camp Daniel Boone in western North Carolina. Both have traditional "base camps" and optional off-site Whitewater programs for older scouts.

From what I've observed those numbers don't seem out of the ordinary. I wonder if many just see that time as a good "jumping off point". We have a pretty tightly linked Pack and Troop (same CO, unit numbers, several shared leaders, etc.). Our troop rarely gets boys from other packs, but does pick up some who were not in cubs form time to time. We've tried to downplay the whole "end of the Cub Scout road" aspect of crossover--end result is that most boys do cross from the pack to the troop, but we still lose a similar number after a few months.

I just tried to check and see if I could get it to work...as of now, my.scouting.org is down for maintenance, and myscouting.org (the old portal) gave me an error message. It looks like they're up to something...

Like others who have posted here, our council is one that has been "selected" to pilot Lions this fall. Packs have to apply, get approval, etc. One thing that caught my eye was that Lions are not supposed to be camping...so if we have a pack campout, are they not supposed to be invited? Especially if they have an older sibling going...I guess we'd say sure, you can come on the Pack family campout if you want, it's just not an "official" Lion activity. Our pack is still on the fence on if we want to ask to try it this fall or not. We do see "competition" from beginning youth sports in Kindergarten (at least in the Spring). But, I can also see the problem with burnout of both scouts and parents/leaders. I agree with @@meyerc13 that it does look a lot like when Tiger Cubs was rolled out in the '80s.

Cool. I've also been looking at the Alps Red Tail 4900. I've got a couple other Alps products and have been pleased with them. Those Alps Solitude packs look nice. I've also been looking at the Alps Red Rock and Outdoor Products Dragonfly (for my son). Both are external frame--I was thinking they'd be more adjustable for a growing Scout. The Dragonfly was recommended on the scoutmastercg.com site.

Well, I can't offer advice, but how do you like the Alps packs? I've been looking at a couple of those (for me and son).

There is not a requirement to have a rank completed by B&G in February. At one adventure a month, unless the boys got some done in the previous summer, it is tough. The usual program year is June 1-May 31 for Cub Scouts, so they have until May to finish their rank requirements. Stuff they do at Day/Resident Camp over the summer counts for the next rank. For the Webelos, they should try to get the Webelos Award done by the end of their 4th grade year, then maybe work on a couple of electives over the summer. It is a good idea, though not a hard and fast rule, to cross Arrow of Light den (aka "Webelos II") over to Boy Scouts in Feb or so, that way they can be in a troop for a couple of months before going to summer camp. However, they can continue to work on AoL until they finish 5th grade, or transfer membership to a Troop.

Yup. "Advancement, steps in. 10, 412-414."

It's in the new handbook, pages 413-414. Admittedly kind of hidden from the other Scout Rank stuff, which is in the first few pages.

I'm just curious eagle90, how flexible were you with dates/types of itineraries, etc. in your request?