Tent Camping- how many per year?

[Engineer61]

Troop probably has 8 a year....plus Summer Camp ... a couple are backpack, couple of snow camp...but those were cancelled this year...no snow up north.

 

I'm not really keeping track of it...I think mine has gone on 2 or 3. He's losing interest from all the "bookwork" merit badges needed for Eagle...and the inordinate amount of community service he's doing for Scouts and NJHS.

[OwntheNight]

We only cabin camp once a year, and that's for Winter Camp. Everything else is tent camping only. We use to do a lot of plop camping, but over the past year we've been changing the culture to backpacking in and setting up camp. The boys have started seeing a difference in the program and enjoying it more. We've even encouraged boys to buy their own backpacking tents. Certainly beats hauling in and out the 4 man Timberlines.

 

So if they let the outgoing PLC plan the following year's agenda, are they OK with this or do they even want to change it? What's to say they can't change the plans now and do what they want instead of the previous regime? It's one thing to sleep in a basement or museum as long as it's not the final destination of the trip.

[Pack212Scouter]

2 - cabin camping (usually Jan & Feb, caving and electronics)

1- summer camp (tent) and high adventure in July

And 8 other tent outings (2 single location with service project, 3 backpacking, 1 single location with canoeing/biking, 1 single location with climbing, 1 single location with Webelos)

August is an off month for meetings and outings

[noname]

Thanks for all of the input. I see now the tent camping issue is just one of many problems. I am just amazed that boys accept the amount of non tent camping activities. I'll try to encourage more tent activities.

[Eagle732]

"They let the outgoing PLC plan the following years agenda. So instead they camp in cabins, musuems and basements."

 

Yep. The dangers of "Boy Led", they get to do what they think they want to do, not what the adults think they should do.

My old SM said "we are boy run, not boy run into the ground".

 

If this type of camping creates a lack of attendance and interest among the members than it might be time to plan some new activities.

Then there's the effect on recruitment if this becomes the norm. A new scout wants adventure not more school field trips. Most new scouts and parents will look at your camping schedule as part of their evaluation of potential troops to join.

 

We do 9 weekend camping trips under canvas, one cabin camp in Feb where tenting is optional, one week of summer camp and one day trip in Dec. During the 9 weekends we do one bike hike, one canoe trip, one backpacking trip, and the rest rest are "plop" camping. I'd like to reduce the "plop" camping.

 

The new PLC could certainly make changes if they wanted to.

[nldscout]

For those that winter camp in buildings. learn to make Igloo's or quinze's or even Ice block shelters. The boys have a blast making them and sleeping in them.

[Oak Tree]

We camp in tents at least twelve times a year, including December and January. It depends a little bit on how you count, since some months we might offer multiple options, and we do include a ski trip where we sleep in the cafeteria. We've done some caving trips which aren't literally in tents, but sleeping in a cave seems to meet the spirit of the requirement. And we did sleep on an aircraft carrier last year. We also sometimes do training days where we sleep in the church. But still, I'd say the assumption is that every month is a tent camping trip with just limited exceptions, and there are extra tent camping trips thrown in for good measure.

[fred8033]

For the last eight years, we've been pretty consistent

 

Weekend - tent camping - 8 or 9 (Mar - Nov)

Weekend - cave camping - 1 (Dec - Feb)

Weekend - cabin camping - 2 (Dec - Feb)

Weekend - outdoor winter camping - 1 or 2 (Dec - Feb)

 

Week long summer camp - Tents - 1

 

Extended adventure - Tents - High - 1 or 2 (Jun - Aug)

Extended adventure - Tents - Moderate - 1 or 2 (Jun - Aug)

 

If you did every overnight activity with the troop, you'd have around 35 to 38 nights. No one does it all, but a good percent of the troop has 30+ nights yearly.(This message has been edited by fred8033)

[Jay K]

IT'S NEVER ENOUGH never enough never enough.

Our January event was BOWLING...

 

[Gunny2862]

Over the course of the last six years, we've averaged 41 nights of outings or more (with still more available via OA or Tribe of the Lone Bear) (including 7 summer camp nights under canvas) each year, of those, somewhere between 2-6 nights would be cabin camps - usually our January outing and maybe a December (often we don't do a December outing due to our principle fundraiser conflicts and weather considerations) outing, one year we went to a far away MBU and were put up indoors.

[raisinemright]

Our troop is brand new but we're trying to get them very used to camping. We've done a couple cabins but one was because we were having all the families up for thanksgiving dinner. The council we were in before the family moved had a council award called the Year round camping award. At least one night a month for the year. Scout or personal camping counts. Even though we're no longer in the council, my boys are dutifully sleeping out one night a month. My oldest is almost at 5 consecutive years. Sometimes it's just tenting in the wilderness of the backyard. One month, they almost forgot. The night of the 30th was in the middle of a tropical storm. They slept out. We told them to set up under the carport because the grass was practically floating due to all the rain.

[Gunny2862]

have Personally my nights under canvas tended to be +4 to +14 of the Troops number in any given year, after we include OLS and other training nights out, OA, pre-camp work, HA - Philmont, etc.

[JMHawkins]

Our troop is 10 1/2 months old. The Scouts that have been on every trip have 24 nights sleeping outdoors. All of those except 2 nights were in tents. The other 2 nights were in 3-sided, unheated Adirondacks. That was in November and the temps got down to 25 degrees with a slight freezing drizzle the first night. We've camped every month of the year except March (the trooop only started in April - we'll get our first March campout in next month). The second outing the troop went on resulted in 7 inches of rain in a single day - set a record for our town (we're just outside Seattle). The last 4 trips have all had overnight temps below freezing. I just waved bon voyage to the guys as they headed off to Klondike, where the weather forcast calls for several inches of snow and sustained winds of 36 mpg with gusts to 98. Most of them are sleeping in cabins, but several plan to sleep in tents as part of their Camping MB.

 

Myself, I'm looking forward to summer.

[GKlose]

When my older son first joined his troop, not counting summer camp, they did a grand total of six "nights under nylon" in his first year. The average outing had 8 Scouts (out of 30) attending. Recognize a small problem? :-)

 

It was hard work, and an eventual change in troop leadership, but this last year, the troop did 11 monthly outings, two weeks at summer camps and a 5-day canoe trip in northern Maine. Outside of summer camp, the average outing now has about 20 Scouts, out of 26-28.

 

Guy

[IM_Kathy]

12 months... our norm is:

 

1 troop in cabin,

1 summer camp week in tents,

2 camporees in tents,

9 troop campout in tents

 

then we have high adventure every other year in addition to the above.