How Many Scouts to a Tent?

[AntelopeDud]

kb6jra - Wow, you don't let kids sleep in tents until they get to First Class? Man, I thought our Scoutmaster was tough on the boys.

[prairie]

Didn't know I was such a rebel, half the campouts of my scouting youth I pitched and went to sleep in 1 of 6 two man troop tents, I seemed to be the designated odd man out.

My only gripe was waking up to find one or two soggy boys had moved in when the rain made their tent fall.

 

I figure if the solo tenter sets up close between several two man tenters the saftey issues are covered.

 

Hope nobody objects to me as a Scouter wanting to sleep in my own one man tent.(This message has been edited by prairie)

[anarchist]

a tenting I will go, a tenting I will go....

 

only policy on tenting I can recall is BSA (a long while ago) had a size policy for long temp camping...("x sq. ft. per boy) and THAT was probably to keep the guys from getting on each others nerves ...

 

You are definitely "spot on" when dealing with 40/50 scouts wanting to tent alone and some (many? most?) camping sites simply not being big enough for that. We have been at many national park sites where the youth group camping sites are rated for 20-25 campers and if you can get ten tents set up you feel like your camping on top of each other...let alone having space for 20 tents...

 

We generally sleep two boys to a 2 man Timberline XT and three boys in 4 man Timberline XT's. We have a great number of (troop tents) - two mans, and 7 -four man tents to handle the odd number of scouts on our campouts.

 

We also practice the buddy system from the day they bridge into the troop at all activities. Your tent-mates are/is your buddy(s) for the event. I've always thought that when things make sense...you don't need a BSA regulation....

 

Our primary reasoning for "two to a tent" is the ol' "middle of the night nature call" which for many of our camps could result in a dip in the lake or river if a scout is not quite awake or becomes disoriented...troop policy is "ya wake up, ya get your buddy up to take the trip with you..."

 

We allow our SPL or acting SPL to sleep alone if he/they so desire (perk of office?) Since they are not part of any patrols...

 

Adults sleep, generally, one to a tent and snoring scouters usually move out to "the edges" to scare off the bears.

Anarchist

[prairie]

"Adults sleep, generally, one to a tent and snoring scouters usually move out to "the edges" to scare off the bears."

Anarchist

 

The things we do for the program!

I still remember way back when on a Klondike a trio of snoring scoutmasters, their harmony needed some help, but musta worked cause we never saw one bear, no lions or tigers either.

[Gonzo1]

In general, I believe only 2 boys per tent max. If a scout wants to sleep alone, fine, particularly older boys. My 11 year old usually sleeps alone.

 

I think the idea of more than 2 should be discouraged for reasons mentioned above, mainly staying up late. Cabin tents for scouts? Um, no!. Timberlines, or something similar. My son and I use Uereka tetragon 7, rated for 3 people, sleeps 2 perfectly, waterproof and lighteight.

 

 

[prairie]

Joggled my memory there, the year our troop had open front shelters at summer camp, 3 to a shelter and they chatted way into the night. Infact I remember more mischief that year than any other.

[OldGreyEagle]

The troop of my youth had a 16x16 army surplus tent and two 16ft diameter "canadian bells". Most times we all slept in the 16x16, sometimes the oldest patrol in one of the belles. There was no problem as our Scoutmaster said "when the lights goes out, the mouth goes shut" and there was no issue with noise

[Beavah]

troop policy is "ya wake up, ya get your buddy up to take the trip with you..."

 

Yeh gotta be kiddin' me.

 

Now there's a policy lookin' for a problem.

[anarchist]

prairie,

 

yeh, snorin not only keeps the lions, tigers and bears away but we haven't seen any elephants, dragons or school teachers neither...

 

We used to have an absolutely wonderful scouter who had all kinds of breathing snoring issues...Everyone would wait to see where he would pitch his tent and then try to park as far from him as possible...then at night most of us alternated between wondering when the "Kodiak bear fight" would end ....or during numerous silences wondering if he would take another breath....(breathe steve breathe!)

 

 

and Beavah in many of the areas we camp having a ten or eleven year old wandering around alone- say three o'clock in the AM is cause enough to require a "buddy" be alerted... and be "helpful"...Sorry you feel it's an issue...not every new scout has your obvious good sense of direction...or is wide awake at three...and all it takes is one very long night wandering a lake shoreline praying and looking for a young lad- to make you a believer...

anarchist

[OldGreyEagle]

Gee anarchist, I don't see why you are so concerned about a lack of sense of direction in 10-11 year olds, I thought you wanted to toughen them up, make them men and nothing will sharpen up a sense of direction quite like being lost for a few hours or so. Being so concerned about their health and safety make me wonder if you are "sensitive" ?

[anarchist]

Come on OGE,

 

You "know" me better than that...sensitive, never! Its purely practical...too much paperwork if you lose one of the little buggers...though can be quite a prank...(touche'?)

 

;>)

 

Anarchist

[prairie]

First night, wait till they are about to go to bed, then tell them they need to walk to the latrine and back on their lonesome while you wait for them, Once they have made the trip in the dark they shouldnt get lost the next time, let them know there is time to use said latrine too. Maybe put one of those red safety blinkers in it for easy location. I still can get turned around in the dark if I'm not carefull.

[anarchist]

 

 

lights sounds good ...but some hikes and (in the older days)on some river trips...no 'trines! Just a hand trowel and miles and miles of national forest (etc).

 

Spent a late,late night and several early morning hours my first really big hike in scouting (years and years ago)... Combing the shore of a large southern lake looking for a little girl who wandered away from her parent's tent at the park campground. She "left" in the middle of the night... and even as a young scout it impressed me how easy it was for a kid to get turned around... and after she was found how far a young kid can walk in a few hours...in the dark.

 

More recently at a district camporee I had a young scout start unzipping my tent vestibule at 'bout 2 in the AM...He thought it was his tent...and he wasn't even in our troop... The Latrine even had a yard light...though it was about 300 yards from our troop's camp site...boy was simply half awake and "turned around". His troop was camped within 300 feet of the facility's heads...

 

"buddy's" just make more sense to me.

 

Anarchist

[scoutldr]

"We used to have an absolutely wonderful scouter who had all kinds of breathing snoring issues...Everyone would wait to see where he would pitch his tent and then try to park as far from him as possible...then at night most of us alternated between wondering when the "Kodiak bear fight" would end ....or during numerous silences wondering if he would take another breath....(breathe steve breathe!)"

 

This is a classic description of sleep apnea, a serious condition that can result in stroke or sudden death in the middle of the night. Not something that you want a bunch of 12 year olds to wake up to! I was diagnosed and now sleep with a CPAP machine, which limits my camping activity to areas in reach of an electrical outlet. I also wear ear plugs to drown out those who are too macho to sleep with a machine. I once spent a miserable night sitting in front of the fire listening to the cacophony echoing through the woods.

 

Our troop is small, and everyone supplies their own equipment. Scouts arrange their own tenting buddies and if they choose to sleep alone, they are allowed. We have a 14 year old who is 6 foot 4, weighs close to 300 and has size 14 feet. He gets to sleep alone! I can see the issues with a mega-troop and space limitations, but for most troops, it's not an issue. Rowdiness is handled appropriately. Some people just like to make rules where no problem exists!

 

[BrentAllen]

I can't believe the lack of safety I'm reading here! The "Troop of No Pranks Program Guide" clearly states that if a "child" needs to go to the latrine during the night, he must call out loudly until 2 adults (YP) arrive to escort him. Once they make sure he has on a jacket and shoes and any other proper clothing, they escort him to the latrine, walking on either side of him with bright flashlights illuminating the ground, making sure he doesn't trip. At the latrine, one of the adults takes a stick and rattles it around the hole to make sure there aren't any creepy-crawlies close by, while the other adult stands at the door with the "child" so he doesn't get scared of being alone in the dark. The adult then runs off the proper amount of toilet paper and hands it to the "child" as he enters the latrine. Both adults wait outside, singing "Camptown Races", while the "child" takes care of business, so that he doesn't think they left him, and get scared.

Once the "child" has completed his business, he is escorted by the adults to the handwashing station, and watched closely by both adults to make sure he uses enough soap, and that he dries his hands - you don't want him to catch cold!

After escorting him back to his tent, the adults make sure he gets back into his sleeping bag and gets it zipped up properly. The adults zip up his tent nice and tight so no bugs can enter. The adults sit outside the tent and softly sing "Kumbaya" until the "child" falls asleep. He might get scared and have nightmares, otherwise. Once asleep, the adults can return to their post of watching over camp, until their 2 hour shift is up and the next two adults relieve them.