my_three_sons

I finally got all of the awesome pictures from our Troop’strip to MOHAB(Montana High Adventure Base) sorted and wanted to share a few ofthem with everyone. This is our Troop’s second trek at MOHAB we went backpackingtwo years ago and loved it so much we went back this year with an even largercrew for packrafting. TheTheodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch is my favorite base camp of any HighAdventure camp I have attended. Thestaff was wonderful from the guides who spent a day and a half making sure ourcrew was prepared for the trial to the cook who prepared home-cooked meals forevery meal. The base camp had plenty todo from cornhole, horseshoes, sitting on the deck enjoying the view to using spotting scopes to try to view elk in the mountains. Even though we didn't hit any monster peaks the hiking was challenging partly due to the extra 15lb of packrafting gear and the trails are very minimalistic and I don't think there is a switchback in the entire Bob Marshall. We had a difficult hike to an alpine lake after a day on the water but climbing over all of the deadfalls was worth the views of the very picturesque, Castle Lake. The packrafting was the main draw for much of our crew and it didn't disappoint. There was a learning curve with many in our crew taking an impromptu bath during the week but by the end, we were all pretty comfortable on the water from passing along hand signs of danger to properly navigating a wall. If your troop is looking for an adventure that is a little out of the ordinary and away from the crowds of the big 3 adventure bases MOHAB is the place for your scouts. The first question asked from our scouts when we had a slideshow of our trek was "when are we going next?".

I am the Scoutmaster and was surprised that he went to the MB university since it was a few hours away so I was just asking about the meritbadge. I have had 3 sons complete the mb so I know its not the type of mb that 20 scouts knock out if 4 hours in a classroom without a bunch of prerequisites completed beforehand.

The scout needed another Eagle-required meritbadge to rank up to Star so I am sure this is part of the motivation to get this meritbadge. He didn't want to go to summer camp this year so all of the other scouts in his grade have already ranked up except for him. Yes, he seemed to think he did enough to earn the meritbadge but I don't think he fully understood all of the requirements. If this was a regular meritbadge I would let it go but we have a group of scouts that have been working on the Communications meritbadge for close to 3 months. The scouts made a list of who planned past COH and fire programs so it won't take them long to question why this scout received this meritbadge so rather than having one angry parent I might have a handful.

I recently had a scout go to a meritbadge weekend and returned with a signed blue card for the Communications meritbadge. The problem lies in that when talking to him he couldn't tell me what his 5 minutes speech was about when I asked who he interviewed for that requirement he looked at me like I was speaking another language. I know for a fact that he has never planned a troop court of honor, campfire program, or interfaith worship service. After talking with him more it's clear that he didn't complete all of the requirements. I suggested that we sit down with one of our committee members who are a registered comminutions MB counselor to figure out what he still needs to complete and work with him on finishing it. I got an angry email from his father stating that he has a signed card so he is done and won't be meeting with anyone about this meritbadge. He stated the Guide to Advancement - 7.0.4.6 Once It Is Earned, It’s Earned then I replied with it also states that "personally fulfilling the requirements as written" which clearly hasn't been done and by shortcutting meritbadge requirements he isn't doing his son any favors. I am not sure how to proceed with this scout and his parents?

We have always left a tip for our guides whenever we go on a trek since most of them are college students and these camps don't pay a high wage it more of a labor of love for the guides. Normally I ask everyone give $10-20 for adults and $5-$10 per scout if they feel the need to do so. We then have everyone sign a card with a short thank you and our youth trek leader presents it to our guide. Our last trek was awesome and most everyone gave more than normal so out guide ended up getting close to $300 which when he thanked us he was tearing up since he was a grad student who lived on very little so a not to accumulate a huge debit while finishing college. Its a small price to pay for someone who might have a life long influence on your scouts life.

I discussed it a few other scoutmasters at the call out ceremony and apparently he asked every troop but none of them took him up on it. Our chapter has been in disarray for a while the meetings are sporadic and differ on day of the week and time. Every year I try to get the members excited about the OA and they last 2 or 3 meetings before just fading away.

We had 3 scout eligible this spring and two were elected then a short time before the Call Out ceremony out Chapter adult leader call to tell me that he could put the third scout in since he can put in deserving scouts that don't get elected. I told him that I have never heard of that before and no the troops vote can stand but he replied that there weren't many scout elected for our chapter. Sometimes it feels like they want more Arrowmen just to have a larger audience to sell all of their OA swag to.

So what happens when you change the policy and this scout doesn't get elected? If you keep changing policies then why even have policies.

Our troop had a crew return from a backpacking trek with MOHAB. The Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch is a truly beautiful base camp with the best view of any high adventure base and the staff was all super friendly. Our guides, Stephen and Conner, were awesome with the scouts from the minute we walked in the door through training as well as along our trek and all the way to getting up at 6am to have breakfast with us before we headed home. Having completed a Philmont trek I though I was prepared for the hikes but some of these climbs were kicked my butt but every view was well worth it. The guides gave us an entry point and we hiked back to the basecamp but everything in between was planned by the scouts. The highlight for me was an extra two mile hike to spend the night a century old trappers cabin to top off an 18 mile day. The view sitting outside the cabin with a grass field in front of us leading up the mountains while cattle mooed away in the back ground as the sun went down was million dollar view that Hollywood would have a hard time capturing. The discussion on the ride home (when the scouts weren't sleeping) wasn't if we are coming back to try packrafting but if we are going for one or two weeks. To any troops looking at a High Adventure base, MOHAB definitely deserves to be on your list. This camp sitting on the edge of the Bob Marshall is a remarkable place the fact they don't more scouts visiting is a shame.

I do it the same way. 2 years is 24 months so the scouts they can stay with the same in May as it is in September.

We always created design categories since not everyone has the means or the know how to compete on speed. We gave out a certificate for each rank then a trophy for the winner in each category. We came out awards for best in show, blackest black, hand decorated, hand painted {my favorite}, scout theme, sports theme, military theme, American theme but if you just google cub scout pinewood derby themes there will be more than you can ever imagine.

Have you discussed this with his Scoutmaster? Some leaders will take it as a challenge to make sure your son have the greatest week of his life.

Point it our right away don't wait until another time also make it a big deal without making the scout embarrassed. A simple " Thanks Billy for helping the new scouts with knots tonight its great to see a scout step up without being asked" during a scoutmaster minute means more than you could ever know.