Scouts camping on their own

[gwd-scouter]

Do any of you have experience with your Scouts camping on their own - patrol campout without adults?

 

Our four older Scouts (ages 14-17) want to take a backpack trip on their own. They want us to drop them off at one end of the trail on Friday or Saturday depending on the season and daylight hours. The younger Scouts and leaders would drive to the other end of the trail and camp. Older guys would hike and camp and meet up with us on Sunday.

 

I am amazed that these guys have come so far to have come up with this idea and want to do it on their own. I also know that this has never been done in our Troop and a couple of the parents may have serious misgivings.

 

Any experience among the forum members?

[Gold Winger]

Wow! What are you feeding those guys. I'd be overjoyed that they want to do it. I've spent five years trying to convince my son and his friends to just on a patrol outing without 50 adults in attendance.

 

We know that is is legal. "Patrol activitiesA Boy Scout patrol or Varsity Scout squad may hike or camp with other patrols or squads in the unit or, with the permission of their Scoutmaster and parents or guardians, may hike or camp on their own." From http://www.scouting.org/boyscouts/resources/18-954/

 

I'd let them go. Admonish them that this is a trial and future opportunities will depend on what happens on this hike. I don't know your boys but with some of my son's troop mates, I'd be worried about tents burning unless there was an adult around.

 

Be sure to go over their plans and gear. First aid. Whistles.Bail out. Only one cell phone for emergencies. Afterwards, contact the authorities to see if there were any complaints of Boy Scuts misbehaving. Also, make sure that they are readily identifyiable as Scouts and not just thugs with packs.

 

Good luck to all.

[Eagledad]

I love this scouting stuff.

 

I think you dont realize your gift as a SM. This is just the next step in the scouts growing maturity and independence and I dont think there is much to say or do for the scouts; they have been camping long enough to know what to do. So your job is find what you can do to ease the minds of the concerned adults, maybe even yours. We adults tend to limit our youths growing experiences by our fears. How can you ease the fears so the adults get out of the way of scouts growth. One idea is explain the adult's concerns to the scouts and ask them what they might do to ease them.

 

I just love reading post about your troop. I look forward to you becoming a adult trainer so you can pass your knowledge and skills on to other adults.

 

Barry

 

[acco40]

A few years ago, I let one of our patrols do a patrol outing. We were at a fairly large Scout camp and the majority of the troop camped at a particular sight. The older boys (who were 12 - 14, we were a young troop) camped at another site about one half mile away. We were out of earshot and made a late evening and early morning 'visit' butthe boys really like the idea.

 

Just his past month, I asked the same patrol (now 15 - 17 years in age) if they would like to do the same thing again. Yeah! was their response. I said, okay, what you need to give me is a plan that I can approve. Well that required effort and they put together a half-baked plan that was not SM approved. Live and learn.

[Beavah]

I'd say that should be well within the ability/maturity level of da ages you describe.

 

Only you can be a judge of their Scouting skills (navigation, LNT, backpacking ability, first aid skill, judgment).

 

Close the communication loop; make sure their plans are good and there's a plan for meet-up and "if bad happens". Quietly "pad" their arrival time a few hours so you give 'em some miscalculation time.

 

Then if you're comfortable, go for it. The payoff is about ten times what it is for an "adults present" campout.

 

One troop I work with, independent patrol hikin' and overnights are pretty common, even without "all old boys".

 

Beavah

 

[gwd-scouter]

GW-feeding them the notion that it's their troop, their plans, their experience.

 

While I'd love to take credit as a "gifted" SM, I must say that none of our Scouts' growth these past few years would have been possible without the support, help, and wisdom of the other adults in our Troop. They got on board early on about training the boys to lead their own troop, and then stepped back and trusted the Scouts to do what they've learned.

 

Knowing these four older Scouts (my son is one of them) and having watched them grow and mature over the years, I have confidence in their ability to hike and camp on their own. My hope is that by doing so, our younger Scouts will be inspired to improve their skills so that one day they will be the older Scouts heading out on their own.

 

 

[acco40]

As kind of a push them out of the nest tactic, when we did our annual planning in August 2007 for calendar year 2008, we left September open for a patrol outing. All the boys like the idea but don't necessarily want to do the upfront planning.

 

This gives them a direct incentive to do that planning.

[Troop185]

I like the idea of patrol camping without adults. However, one story I want to share happened about 20 years ago. Our troop was camping in a old girl scouts camp for the weekend in April. The older scouts were giving permission to camp by themselves - no adults. They move downstream along a river, about 1/2 mile from where the rest of the troop was camp at. The next day, the older scouts discovered a old refrigerator along the shore of the river with its door missing. They put the smallest of the scouts that were with them, inside the refrigerator and attempted to float him down the river. Unfortunately for the scout, the refrigerator did not make a very good boat. It filled with water and he got soak. The water was very, very cold. The scout got sick and this was how the adults learned of the adventure.

 

[GernBlansten]

Our SM and myself have been pushing our older scouts to do this. They think its a great idea but fail to deliver a plan. I doubt it would have the same effect if we plan it for them and drop them off with a pickup time.

[ozemu]

I am no longer the SM here but when I was Patrol camps were routine. At least two or three per year per Patrol. What they did depends on ability. There have been a bunch of other Patrol camps that involved adults being quite close.

 

These Scouts were aged 11-14 years as we max out at 15 over here and they go to Venturers.

 

This is what Scouts is really all about. For the more remote camps I talk through with the PL the various problems that might be encountered so they are prepared with a plan. I also speak to the Scouts involved about their responsibility in keeping the event safe. The PL and I also talk about the individual members and plan for their personality. This planning is invaluable for the self esteem and growth of the PL and also effects the Scouts involved. They grow 10 feet over night on the successful trip.

 

Things do go wrong sometimes - that is how we learn. Because we start young with these adult free camps they don't get too excited. In fact without adults around to fix things they are more careful and conservative than when we are there. Maybe that is because I paint really gorey pictures of what can be the result of things going wrong . I have done all of the trips they undertake previosly.

 

I also talk to the parents, particularly if their Scout is a goose or new. That way if things go astray they are warned and can emphasise some pre trip caution on the Scout. They may also pull their child if they are really worried. That is their right. It also tends to remove problem people from the event. I explain to all parents the risks etc in some detail.

 

Planning on paper is over rated. Kids don't operate that way. As long as the offical paperwork is done - half the time by me then the planning is entirely verbal. Pre-trip training is part of the planning really. As they develop the skills they also rehearse the scenario's that they will encouter.

 

Go for it.

 

 

[gwd-scouter]

Guys are still talking about their own trip. They want to do it in April when we have a backpack trip on the calendar. That trip is not a long distance hike, but rather a easy 1-2 mile hike in and 1-2 miles out. We do this trip every year so the younger guys can begin to get a feel for backpacking, but aren't overwhelmed with carrying their gear long distance. Older guys want something more challenging, they like the "real" backpacking trips we've done, but want to do it without adults.

 

So, they've picked out the trail - a trail they've hiked before so they are familiar with the area. They want to go up on Friday evening and set up their camp at one end of the trail. Adults and younger Scouts will drive to the other end. Older Scouts will break camp Saturday morning and hike and meet up with the rest of us on Saturday night. I can just imagine the faces of the younger Scouts when they see these guys walking into camp. Not to mention the look of pride and accomplishment from the older guys. Camp Saturday night together and then all come home on Sunday.

 

What really gets me about all this is that one of those older guys is my son. The son that HATED hiking just a couple of years ago.

 

 

[Beavah]

Excellent, gwd!

 

Nice job, eh? For both them and you! Keep stretching!

 

Beavah