Lost Gear = Grrrrr $$$

[Beavah]

Yah, anyone willing to bet that if Engineer61 is this wrapped up about tent poles that the poor fellow is going to have an ulcer or a nervice breakdown when his kid becomes a teenager .

 

B

[RANBOW]

Ok, Lets take a deep breath and take off the sign around our neck that says "I'm so upset I am talking crazy talk".

 

THE BAD NEWS is that unfortunately, I have to agree (and you will too once calm) with all the other posts that imply, that it is in NO way a leaders fault.

 

I also think that this should be a good lesson for your son. As well as an experience in his personal growth. This will be determined on what kind of a parent you choose to be and how you handle it.

 

THE GOOD NEWS is you dont necessarily have to get a new set of poles directly from Kelty which could be a headache and or pricey. You can get tent pole repair/replacement kits from many sources. Campmor dot com, polesforyou dot com, even walmart carries these kits. I have never gone through an oem for this so, you will have to compare prices or put your son on a mission. Use your favorite search engine to provide yourself with a party full of options.

 

See you on the trail, ----RANBOW----

 

[Crew21_Adv]

Fellow Scouters,

 

Greetings!

 

If I could tell some similar stories.

 

Now I can look back and grin, almost laugh at similar circumstances. Although at the time, I was frustrated during one event, and could acknowledge the disappointment of some other parents.

 

Shortridge quoted the 11th handbook "In addition to your own gear, you might carry some patrol or group equipment. Your share might include several pots, part of a tent, a camp stove, and some food."

 

Many years ago. When I was a committee member with another troop, the Troop decided to hike in seven miles to camp. The troop assembled. My oldest son (13 at the time) was PL. Go figure. Out of the entire troop, my oldest son was the only one with a regular backpack, beyond the SM and ASMs. Most of the parents wouldn't purchase an actual back pack for their sons. So the parents would empty all the contents of the son's school backpack (large enough for one book and one folder, then it was ripping at the seams) and put an extra pair of socks and shorts in the school back pack. Their "Walmart/KMart" convenient store style sleeping bags were wrapped with string and put into a "hefty" garbage bag. Their sleeping bags were dragging on the gravel before they left the parking lot, and they dragged them for the next 7 miles.

 

My oldest had to carry his own gear, plus all the patrols gear. He carried his own stuff, plus all the food, plus all the water, and the cook kits. There was absolutely no room for anything else to be distributed.

 

Trying to be Scoutlike, I tried not to be angry at his fellow Scouts, the best I could think was that I was disappointed with my fellow Scouting parents for not investing in their own son's personal equipment.

 

I've seen similar events, where parents would send boys not adequately equipped for camping. And I make it a point to say camping gear and backpacks make excellent Christmas gifts, for a newly bridged Scout.

 

I've also got an ASM friend, that tells the story of his parents sending him out to a troop weekend camp in the winter and not adequately equipped back in the mid-60's. He said that as a young 11 year old, he was ready to quit. It was then his Grandfather and Grandmother took him to the department store, and made sure he was fully equipped, warm and dry for the rest of his Scouting years.

 

Now about disappointment with Lost Gear.

I had a few Scouting friends who really got spun up, at a Summer Camp staff. With about 4-5 boys in the troop taking Wilderness Survival MB at Summer Camp, the 19 y/o counselor gave them advice on how to start a fire "just rip the sleeves off your Troop T-shirt and use it for fire starter" "Plus its cooler, during the Summer".

 

Guess what? The entire class ripped the sleeves off their Troop T-shirts to start the fire, after about 3 or 4 class periods that day of Wildness Survival about 50 boys were walking around camp with "wife beaters" (pardon the quote, but used it for a mental images) for the rest of camp. Needless to say, about 4-5 of our Scout parents were "lit up" over their new T-shirts (Lost Gear = Grrr $$$), now become new sleeveless T-shirts.

 

My son already had Wilderness Survival MB by that time, so he wasn't caught up in ripping up their troop t-shirts, but I certainly could acknowledge the disappointment of the other parents.

 

Scouting Forever and Venture On!

Crew21 Adv

 

[Engineer61]

First, Beavah, I already have two teens...thank you very much...one's even a girl! Survived that just fine.

 

Second, I'm glad you all seem to be able to laugh off $100 (price I was quoted for both sets of poles) ... must be nice to have cash.

 

The big "lesson" for the Scout will be this weekend. Backpack campout...with rain in the forecast. His backup tent leaks. And his backup tent weighs at least twice what his new one did.

 

Sucks to be him....don't it.(This message has been edited by Engineer61)

[shortridge]

Some solutions:

 

For the long term:

 

1. Have your son earn the money to buy the replacement poles. He lost 'em, he buys 'em.

 

For this weekend, he could:

 

2. Rig a lightweight plastic tarp over the leaky tent.

3. Put an extra dose of waterproofing sealant on the seams of the leaky tent.

4. Buddy up with someone in a non-leaking tent.

5. Try pitching the non-leaking tent in a poleless configuration. It's doable, but difficult - involves lots of ropes and tie-off points, so it only really works when you've got a lot of trees around. But it'll definitely make him appreciate the value of the poles.

[Engineer61]

"Some solutions:"

 

Really? How's that help with dealing with the consequences of one's mistakes?

 

Cold and wet sounds like a good combination.

[Beavah]

Da point of da consequences it that it takes more work and effort to fix/replace things than it does to keep track of 'em, not necessarily that the lad should be miserable on a trip.

 

Work and effort to buy new poles, and/or work, effort, and some creative wit to rig the tent without poles, or work and effort to ride a bike to da outdoor shop, shell out for some seam sealer, and take the time to carefully seam-seal the old tent. All of 'em have the advantage of teaching a whole variety of skills alongside keeping track of gear, eh? Like how to care for old gear and extend its life, how to improvise with da materials you have, how to budget for unexpected expenses.

 

It's not about punishing the lad, eh? That's not scouting. It's about da natural consequences. Though gettin' wet is da natural consequence if the lad chooses "none of the above"

 

Don't take away da natural consequences, but also don't make the mistake of failing to support your son as he works and struggles to meet da challenge. It's that balance where good scouting and good parenting happen.

 

There is more joy in a parent's heart for one lad who screws up and makes good than for 99 who don't screw up. Or somethin' like that.

 

Beavah

(This message has been edited by Beavah)

[BrentAllen]

$100 for poles?? Wow! Glad we bought from Alps Mountaineering! I just bought a set of aluminum poles for an Alps Taurus 2 for $25 (that was for both poles, not just one). I had them a few days after ordering.

 

Yes, we split tents up for carrying. We also teach Scouts to unpack their gear when they get home, to get that sleeping bag out of the stuff sack, to wash their mess kits, get those dirty socks in the laundry, air the tent out and make sure it is completely dry before storing. All part of learning how to be a Scout.

[Eagle92]

Eng,

No one is laughing off $100 poles. Heck my tent didn't even cost that much, and I would be steamed if anything happened to the tent.

 

But as everyone is trying to tell you, it is your son's responsibility and HE needs to solve his own problems. The possibility of him getting cold, wet and having a miserable camping trip if he doesn't figure out something on his own may be a good lesson for him to learn about taking care of gear. He needs to be the one that buys replacements by saving up his money.

 

Also I know you are a parent, but have you ever been involved? have you attended meetings and paid attention to how the scouts run things? have you ever read any of the leader materials or attended any training? To be honest 95% of your complaints are really from a lack of understanding of the program and how it's suppose to be ran. I do think that if you look at some of the leader literature, and maybe sat through a training, you would get a better understanding.

 

And don't think I am picking on you as I am not. i think you are doing a great job trying to prevent mom from pushing son. But blaming adults when you really don't know much about the program, i.e. your son getting athlete's foot, the poles, etc, is not very helpful and won't get you any sympathy.

 

 

[Gunny2862]

Now we're on the right track.

And no, the $100 for the correct poles is no laughing matter but in my house it would be the boys lawn mowing, extra chore, finding, other work, money that would suffer - not my wallet, after all, I didn't lose it.

 

On the other hand I've had to replace items I borrowed from him that went awry, a particular compass he saved for that cost way more than I'd pay for a compass comes to mind.

 

OTOH depending on how far he ends up walking carrying the old tent that is probably enough on the discomfort side, I'd offer opinions on things he could do to make the old tent work - if he doesn't do them, THEN as you say, sucks to be him.

 

It's not about taking pleasure in his discomfort(that's just retribution happening) it's about the change in his actions that is hopefully brought on by the discomfort, that's what we SHOULD be smiling at.(This message has been edited by Gunny2862)

[Engineer61]

I love it when a plan comes together!

 

So, my Scout was all packed up when I got home from work...dropped him off and when to other son's football game (he plays Baritone in the Band.)

 

Any whoooo....pick up Scout on Sunday and he's fuming! Seems no one bothered to check the "tent" he took...turned out to be just the fly! Seems the tent had gotten packed away in another sack because *it* had been split up on *its* last campout. I guess he had to pitch some spare tent they keep in the trailer.

 

I guess one of the ASM's had to have a talk with him at the campout cause he was popping off so much.

 

As soon as the temp in my garage gets below 110 (another couple weeks at least), he get to pull out and organize ALL the gear...

 

 

[Eagle92]

Eng,

Now that is how it's done! natural consequences, plus he had to deal with someone elses mistake. Shows the importance of doing things right.

[shortridge]

Sounds like the quartermaster needs to get on the ball! Maybe that would be a good fit for your son.

[GKlose]

This reminds me of me, when I was a scout :-)...

 

My very first summer camp, I'm thinking it's summer, I don't need a sleeping bag. I took a light blanket and a sheet. To a camp in northern Michigan. With nighttime temps south of 45F. I was cold, and didn't sleep well all week. Never said a word to anyone, and after that, I was never cold on a camping trip again. But at least I was only affecting myself.

 

The second time, not so. I was a PL, as I recall, and forgot a cook kit in the trunk of my dad's car when I was unloading. That weekend not only was my patrol annoyed, but every other patrol was annoyed too, when I walked around begging for a pot here or there. That was fodder in the troop for years, but then again, I never forgot anything else again either.

 

Now, 35 years later, I make lists. :-)

 

Guy

[Beavah]

I guess one of the ASM's had to have a talk with him at the campout cause he was popping off so much

 

Yah, just curious... was that part of da plan?

 

Funny how kids watch our behaviors as adults and try to emulate us. Far more than they ever listen to us.

 

B