day hike requirement for Arrow of Light

[queenj02]

What constitutes a day hike? Does it have to be a specific length or time? What should we bring? I can't find anything definitive online. The cubmaster suggested that we do this with the Boy Scout Troop but I think that a hike with a troop would be too much. Right now, my boys are Webelos I.

[kittle]

AOL req. #5 says:

Participate in a Webelos overnight campout or day hike.

(If you have already done this when you earned your Outdoorsman activity badge, you may not use it to fulfill requirements for your Arrow of Light Award requirements.)

 

 

What I understood when I read it was that it referred it you back to the Outdoorsman pin requirement #9which states:

 

9. Discuss with your Webelos den leader the things that you need to take on a hike. Go on one 3-mile hike with your Webelos den or a Boy Scout troop

 

I hope that helps you some. I don't have a copy of the new book. I worked out of my son's book and the internet for the last 2 years.

[Lisabob]

Queenj,

 

While you might not want to do a hike with the troop, you do have an option to invite a couple of boys and maybe the Scoutmaster or an Assistant Scoutmaster to join you on your den's hike. That way you'd get some exposure and you could also ask (in advance of course) the SM/ASM/whoever to help you plan out a good hike that would be suitable for your boys.

 

Have fun.

 

Lisa'bob

[ScoutNut]

Learning what/why you need to bring on a hike, even a short one, is something that the boys need to learn (leaders too).

 

I would think that a 3-6 mile hike would be long enough for 4th & 5th graders. If your hike is closer to the 6 mile length, you could divide it in half & include cooking lunch.

 

Inviting a Boy Scout Troop along would cover another requirement & the boys could help the Webelos with the cooking.

 

Things that should be brought on a hike -

Day Pack

Map

Trash bag

Hat

Water bottle

First Aid kit

Flashlight

Bug repellent

Sunscreen

Whistle

Raingear

Long sleeve shirt or sweater

Snack (trail mix/gorp)

 

Wear -

Sturdy boots or shoes

Synthetic socks

Long pants

[MaScout]

My first reaction to ScoutNut's suggestion of a 3-6 mile hike was, "Whoa! Hoo-Boy!" After a little thought, I'd say it really depends on where you take that 3-6 mile hike! We just took our new Boy Scouts on their 5-mile hike. It took 8-9 hours, and they didn't dink around. But they didn't walk on a level path, either. So you really need to tailor the length of the hike to the conditions you will be hiking. If I would have taken our Webelos on a 6-mile hike over the same terrain, we would have had lunch AND supper out there! AND some exausted boys. Our Webelos usually take a hike that lasts around 2-3 hours (of hiking - not dinking around). Hiking on level ground and/or on a path or road makes the trip much more do-able.

[Lisabob]

I had that same reaction as Ma Scout to the notion of taking 4th and 5th graders on a long hike. But, it does depend a great deal on the terrain and the boys (and the adults that'll be hiking with them - I know if I'd tried to do a 6 miler with our den, the boys would have been fine and the parents would've been screaming bloody murder).

 

Keep in mind that if you are planning to cook on the trail, and if the boys are really to do the cooking themselves, that you should a) double the amount of time you think lunch will take because they won't be efficient cooks and b) make very sure that you and at least one other adult know exactly how to use the cooking gear. On the trail isn't a good time to discover you aren't sure how to use a backpacking stove.

 

Again this would be a great place for a couple of older boys from the troop to lend a hand - and maybe the necessary equipment, too.

 

Lisa'bob

[LongHaul]

Im curious, this is not a judgmental thing, Im open to new ideas here. When anyone says hike and cooking I think backpacking stove because in most areas around me ground fires are forbidden. Backpacking stoves and 13 year old scouts is scary, backpacking stoves and Webelos makes my skin crawl! When those of you who have already done this and lived to tell about it , actually did it, how did the Webelos cook? What did they cook? The more options and ideas I can offer at OLSWL and WLS the better the program.

LongHaul

 

[Lisabob]

LongHaul, I agree completely that it can be a sobering proposition. Let me start out by saying I would never, ever suggest any kind of cooking that includes white gas for webelos (in fact I think this is prohibited? but that's a hazy memory from BALOO several years ago so don't quote me on that). The backpacking stoves we used were fueled by liquid propane. Still potentially dangerous but no where near as scary as the white gas ones.

 

We did do some cooking over backpack stoves with webelos, with VERY CLOSE supervision. We did simple one-pot items like chicken and rice (where the chicken was pre-cooked and cubed) and soup.

 

Lisa'bob

[ScoutNut]

I agree that a 6 mile hike might be to much for some 10-11 year old scouts. That is why I specified 3 to 6 miles. Part of hiking is learning your limits & being prepared for them. While some boys might be fine with two 2-3 mile hikes, with a nice long lunch break in between, others would be hard pressed to finish a flat 2 mile nature trail. Know your scouts.

 

Outdoorsman option # 8 states -

 

"With your accompanying adult on a campout or outdoor activity, assist in preparing, cooking, and cleanup for one of your den's meals."

 

Nothing in there says it must be cooked on either a campfire or backpacking stove. It does not have to be cooked "on the trail" either.

 

Do your hike at a place with multiple trails, like a State Park. Do one trail in the morning then meet at a picnic area where other adults have set up for lunch. You can use a BBQ grill, pie irons, a Coleman stove, or even a box oven. Heck, you can do a DO lunch over charcoal if you want.

 

The requirements state the boys are to "assist", not do it all themselves. You can have the boys split into kaper patrols, with adults or Boy Scouts.

 

After lunch, the boys do the next trail. Then maybe some gorp they put together back at the picnic area & home.