"Kids" and backpacks

[yellow_hammer]

uz2bnowl said,

 

"The size of the fight in the dog matters a lot too. One of the biggest muscle-bound Marines I know was also the biggest whiner when it came to carrying a pack and other heavy implements of war."

 

I noticed this phenomena in my younger days in Army Special Forces. Time after time I saw big guys fall out and quit while the wiry types kept on humping the same weight until the end. All the extra upper body weight might have had something to do with it but I'm convinced that it's the heart that matters. If you've got heart you can push yourself, if you don't you'll quit and do something easier.

 

I've also noticed that who you're with has something to do with whether you will quit. Guys who were isolated would throw in the towel quicker than those who were part of a team because they don't want to let their buddies down or don't want to be shamed in front of them.

 

As far as pack weight for boys goes - I don't think that you'll be going far enough or long enough to do any of them damage if they carry too much weight. The real danger is that you'll turn them off of backpacking with a bad experience. Truth is we have some couch potatoes that have trouble carrying their own body weight and some other new scouts that could carry 25% of their weight with little trouble. I would try to get them to go as light as possible but let them make a reasonable mistake, and learn from it. Carrying too much weight in things you don't need is not a mistake they will make very many times and it's probably a lesson learned best from experience.

[orennoah]

I found it. This is an email that I sent to parents after a particularly frustration backpack trip.

 

The Pernicious Perils of Parental Packing

 

This is a cautionary tale for parents who wish to pack their son's backpacks and for sons whose parents wish to pack their backpacks.

 

Probably the most important thing a Scout learns upon joining a Troop is personal responsibility. A major portion of this responsibility is to Be Prepared, especially with regard to having the proper personal gear. It is the Scout's responsibility to have what he needs for a trip. Not his parents', not his Scoutmaster's and not his fellow Scouts'.

 

So, what happens when a parent packs the Scout's backpack? A proper and efficient load? A well-trained and happy Scout? No.

 

What happens is that the Scout ends up with way too much stuff. His load is far too heavy and he has a miserable time carrying it all. When, after a Herculean effort, he finally makes it to the campsite, he has no idea where anything is in his pack. So, he has to rummage all through it to find whatever it is he is looking for. To make matters worse, there is so much stuff crammed into his pack, that it spills out everywhere. The result: a "gear explosion."

 

Even a casual observer can spot the tent occupied by a Scout with a parent-packed backpack. There is gear everywhere! Chances are, that gear is getting dirty and/or wet and getting lost, to boot. Within minutes, the Scout is unable to find anything and his frustration grows, as does the frustration of his tentmates and his patrol.

 

In the morning, the situation is worse. Now, the Scout has big problems finding all of his gear and, once that is solved, he can't figure out how to get all that gear back into that backpack. The result is even more frustration for the Scout and frustration for the entire Troop, as we wait for everyone to get their gear together so we can leave the campsite.

 

The simply rule is that every Scout needs to pack his own pack. Both at home and in the field.

 

There is a time honored saying in Scouting. "Never do anything for a boy that he can do himself, for you rob him of an opportunity to learn." This most certainly applies to packing one's backpack.

 

Of course a responsible parent is concerned that their Scout may forget to bring some necessary piece of gear. For the first few trips, it's OK to ask the Scout to go over the suggested packing list with you and have him confirm that he had already packed that item. That helps reinforce the lesson that the Scout needs to pack the necessary gear. But it must be done AFTER the Scout has done his best to pack his own pack. A parent should never do the packing for the Scout.

 

If a disagreement arises between the Scout and a parent about whether a certain piece of gear (usually another change of wardrobe!) needs to be taken, the Scout should be given the benefit of the doubt and the gear should stay home. Usually, the gear won't be missed. If it is, the Scout will know better next time. However, if the parent absolutely insists, the disputed gear should be placed in a bag and brought separately to the gathering place. There, the Troop leaders can advise on whether the Scout should add that gear to his pack.

 

Parents often greatly overestimate the need and desire of their Scout to change frequently into clean clothes on a campout. Heck, many a Scout has gone an entire week hardly any change of wardrobe!

 

If a parent absolutely insists on packing a backpack, there is an easy and mutually beneficial solution. The parent should pack his/her own backpack and join us on the trip as an adult leader! That way, the parent will see how the Troop functions on campouts and can watch, at a distance, their Scout's confidence and abilities grow.

 

If either Scouts or their parents have any questions about this, PLEASE let me know.

 

- Oren Noah

Scoutmaster

Troop 14

Sebastopol, CA

www.scouttroop14.org

[Trevorum]

Brent's post about the "shoebox" campout is great advice as preparation for backpacking. It's amazing how much fun the boys can have with minimal "stuff".

 

Ol' SemperParatus posted this "shoebox" campout idea a couple of years ago and our PLC latched on to the idea as a survival campout. We had a great campout (although another troop camping near us thought we were a bunch of homeless people, sleeping under plastic bags ...!) And just last night at our annual program planning, the boys voted to do this one again in '07.