Summer Camp lessons learned list

[Eagle92]

Actually sports drinks are now suggested for use in heat related injuries by AHA. We kep a few bottles in the frig at day camp last week.

[boomerscout]

"What about if someone puts one of the propane tanks from a lantern in the fire?"

Our tanks are kept in a Jambo type rack. Harder for them to roll into the fire that way.

 

Our council bans liquid fueled lanterns, so no Tiki torches. To be extra safe, the tiki fuel is kept in a locked car trunk untill needed. Do not fill/refill in the same area you're going to light them.

 

I personally dislike too many lights at night. Dark should be darktime so everyone can look straight up and see something greater than themselves. This is especially important for kids living in chronically overcast or smoggy cities.

[KC9DDI]

I've never heard of the AHA recommending anything but water for dehydration - I'd be interested to read their latest recommendation if you could point it out to me. (BTW, dehydration and heat illnesses are two different things - they may occur simultaneously, you could easily have one without the other.)

 

A known concern with drinking only water when exercising and/or managing dehydration is that the water may prematurely "turn off" our internal thirst trigger. Meaning that you may no longer feel thirsty, but are still not properly hydrated. That's why it's important to get into a habit of monitoring your own fluid intake, and ensure that you're drinking enough in terms of volume, regardless of whether or not you feel thirsty. It may seem silly, but asking your scouts to drink a certain amount at each meal, or at each program area, or just every couple hours, is a good way for them to start to develop that habit. (Also the color of one's urine is generally a pretty good indicator of hydration status)

 

Theoretically, sports drinks may not suppress the thirst sensation like plain water does, and also the pleasant taste may encourage more fluid intake. There are a couple "gotcha's" with sports drinks though - one is that the sugar content needs to be taken into account. Basically, drinking a bottle of gatorade will give you less fluid than the same sized bottle of water. Another problem with the sugar content has to do with where the fluid actually goes after you drink it. Remember learning about osmosis and diffusion in chemistry class? The same thing is going on with the water in your blood vessels, and the sugar content of a sports drink can basically "pull" that water into the wrong place. So even though you may technically have enough water in your body, its not in the right physical place to do you any good.

 

As far as electrolytes are concerned, yes you will loose some by sweating, and yes sports drinks will replenish them. But the reality is you really loose a small amount just by sweating. The typical camp diet probably contains more than enough sodium to make up for this. Drinking plain water and nibbling at some crackers or dry, low-sugar cereal in cases of dehydration will be plenty effective at re-balancing your electrolytes. Anything more serious probably needs to be treated by the camp medical staff or a physician, not by gatorade :-)

 

So sports drinks aren't the worst thing in the world, but I'd really look at them like juice or soda - OK every once in a while at camp, but you need to stay hydrated with plain old water as your first line defense. Certainly not something you "need" to have at camp, but if you do chose to bring them along, please be sure you have a good understanding of what they're good for, and what they're not.

[jtswestark]

Back in the day. Summer camps campsite we used annually had about eight open front adirondacks. We would hang two simple kerosene lanterns on either end. Plus one or two for the dining flies and latrine/wash basin. They were great no gas or mantles, simple and easy to clean. They burned all night, gave a dim light where needed just right. The PIA though, was cleaning the soot off the globes each morning. But that was an inspection point for the campsite, so you learned all about kero and these simple lanterns. Kero is easy to learn about, fairly safe for kids to handle, not a bad thing to learn about and a great place to learn it. Kept it in a can stored under the dining fly.

 

Fast forward 15+ years I return to find they are still using many of the exact same ones from my childhood, even though were now at a new camp and new campsite with BSA wall tents. It was pretty cool to see the unit had maintained the tradition of using the kero lanterns. But now they use bent conduit that is pounded between each pair of tents and about 15 feet forwards of it to clear the fabric. So in our 20 tent campsite, we still had about 12 of these spread around the campsite giving a real nice low glow throughout. I love the view of the campsite from afar with them lit at night and we often get compliments.

 

But theyre still a real PIA. Getting the boys to clean the globes is still a hassle. The glass globes are now thinner and crack easier. Some have burrs on the edge that can cut your hand if you arent careful. Finding parts was a real chore and I found it was actually cheaper to just buy new ones than try to replace a broken globe, etc (Walmart has a whole lantern for a couple bucks). The kero is still messy to deal with, you get all sooty and smelly.

 

They're also a great way to keep a homesick kid busy is to invite him for a special task to help me fix some of the broken lanterns. He learns something new, feels better about himself and kept his mind off missing Mommy for a little while. Still use even the same gas can but now store it in or under the trailer for shade. Never had problems with anyone using it for anything they shouldnt have. Many of our guys are OA and are very comfortable with kero.

 

So this year, we shared our campsite with another unit and I see their SM is using the same lantern around his tent, but his is immaculate! No soot, no dirt whats up with that!? Later that day as hes snickering at me about cleaning some filthy globes from last night, tells me he doesnt use kero and his lantern is years old. Instead he uses citronella oil. Even if it really doesnt help keep away mosquitos, its a heckuva lot cleaner NO SOOT so no cleanup! Just refill the sucker.

 

As much as I love the nostalgia and controlled exposure to a flammable liquid Im really thinking long and hard about how much I really want to keep using kerosene

 

[Oak Tree]

The AHA definitely isn't a huge fan of sugar-added sports drinks in general. At 100 calories of sugar per packet, it's not like it's a real health food.

More Americans now drink sugar-sweetened sodas, sport drinks and fruit drinks daily, and this increase in consumption has led to more diabetes and heart disease over the past decade, researchers reported at the American Heart Associations 50th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.http://www.newsroom.heart.org/index.php?s=43&item=976

 

They recommendHydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Maintain salt-water balance by drinking plenty of fluids (preferably water) before, during and after physical activity. Avoid alcoholic and caffeinated beverages.And they addIf you experience these symptoms [of heat exhaustion], move to a cooler place, stop exercising and cool down immediately by dousing yourself with cold water and rehydrating. http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/PhysicalActivity/Exercise-is-Cool-Despite-the-Heat_UCM_428764_Article.jsp

 

If they are recommending sports drinks like Gatorade in some situation, they are hiding it pretty well. And yes, I'm sure there are situations where it would be good, but it doesn't look like that's a routine situation.

[boomerscout]

Water

 

The natural choice for hydration is water. It hydrates better than any other liquid, both before and during exercise. Water tends to be less expensive and more available than any other drink. You need to drink 4-6 ounces of water for every 15-20 minutes of exercise. That can add up to a lot of water! While some people prefer the taste of water over other drinks, most people find it relatively bland and will stop drinking water before becoming fully hydrated. Water is the best, but it only helps you if you drink it.

 

Sports Drinks

 

Sports drinks don't hydrate better than water, but you are more likely to drink larger volumes, which leads to better hydration. The typical sweet-tart taste combination doesn't quench thirst, so you will keep drinking a sports drink long after water has lost its appeal. An attractive array of colors and flavors are available. You can get a carbohydrate boost from sports drinks, in addition to electrolytes which may be lost from perspiration, but these drinks tend to offer lower calories than juice or soft drinks.

 

 

[Twocubdad]

After the Presidential Death March in 2005, hydration was a big issue at Jamboree last year. I sent an email to all our scouts suggesting they drink one sports drink for every four waters and encouraging them to pack the small individual packets of sport-drink mixes they could add to a bottle of water. We also discussed eating smart and generally taking care of themselves.

 

I received a LENGTHY response -- did I mention it was long -- from a dad of one of the Scouts discussing hyponatremia. This guy is an ultra-endurance athelete. He runs several marathons A WEEK in training for races which are typically up to 100 miles (who has time for that?). His feeling was that off-the-shelf sports drinks don't contain enough sodium. He had his son carry a small vial of sea salt (don't know if it were kosher or not) and added about a half-teaspoon to everything he drank.

 

He claimed to have the research to back up his opinions and sent me several really interesting web sites, which I cannot find. But Google hyponaturemia and you'll find a lot of information.

 

The one thing I did learn is that your body can only process about one cup of water every 15 minutes, so drinking more than that can lower your electrolyte concentrations and more than likely give you the runs. So don't chug a whole quart Nalgene when you stop for a break, drink a little along the way.

 

My feeling is that we're not likely running 100 miles and that as long as you are clear, copious and sweating profusely, and eat a balance diet, you'll be fine.