Jeffrey H Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Our Pack schedules a pack family campout twice a year; one in the Spring and one in the Fall. That's it. We have no council restrictions on the number of times we can camp, this is just what fits best into our Pack schedule combined with everything else that is going on during our Program year including pack events and den outings. Attendance at our Pack Campouts is small (25% attendance). Three obstacles: 1) Our families do not have an interest in camping as they once did a few years ago and 2) Sports leagues on Saturdays. It's still "all good" because we provide campouts for those families that really enjoy it (like myself) and expect it to be a part of our program. Those that don't like to camp can still enjoy the other aspects of the Pack program. beardad said: "...I asked around and had a couple parents take baloo training. I even went and retook it. everybody is all gung ho and want to plan a trip and really excited and kids are looking forward to it, then nothing. nobody can go or a bunch of other excuses..." As a fellow CM, I can relate to this. There is a huge difference between being "excited" about going and actually making the commitment. I have a few well-meaning folks that say "that sounds like fun" or "I would like to go" but their commitments pretty much ends at the point of their mouths. The ones that are serious don't talk much, they just sign-up and put their money down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beardad Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 That is exactly it. We have our first camp out today. (of course it's pouring rain here in Seattle) but we do have a good size group going. they are mostly my son's Webelos den though. and two tigers. one is my nephew the other is the brother of one of the Webs. We have about 7 out of 25 or 30 going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beardad Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Back from our camp out, and it was a success. the weather broke friday afternoon, and it was sunny all Saturday and Sunday. our little group arrived to a camp that lies within our councils bounderies, but belongs to the council to the south of us. (Camp Pigott) with way to much stuff, much to the amusement of some boy scouts that were camping there also. We got the last laugh though when we were able to drive up to our spot to offload, passing the boy scouts lugging all their stuff. Did some hiking and fishing, where almost every boy who fished caught one, and we cooked them up later. hopefully these boys will have some good tales to spin at the pack meeting on Wednesday to get the other kids psyched to go next month. The best part was when little 7 year old Joshua (my nephew) says "Can we go camping and fishing again next year?" I told him heck, we can go next month. ha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdlscouting Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 I tried being very ambitious this year, and did 2 trips in the fall, 1 webelos trip in the winter, and 3 trips in the spring. I will probably do 2 in the fall, 2 in the spring next year, with a Webelos one somewhere in there also. (Also, Webelos Resident Camp, and Sneakin Weekend as Council Events.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perdidochas Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 nrant, Reading the letter of the law of the Longhorn council, it seems that you can only do two Pack family camps a year. That doesn't count the council family camps. They mentioned 4 council family camping activities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ntrantham Posted May 15, 2012 Author Share Posted May 15, 2012 perdidochas, It is true that they do not count Council Events towards your two per year limit. And they even list a few of the council events that you can attend. The problem is the cost of those council events: The Fall Festival \ Haunted Hayrides is $20 per youth, $10 per adult. Cub-O is $17 per person Cub Scout Family Adventures is $20 (2 to 5) or $27 (6 to adults) Webelos Woods is $20 per person. Cub Scout Resident camp is $170 for youth $90 for adults. For the whole family to attend one of these Council events the prices are cost prohibitive. As a pack we can go camping for a weekend for $5 per kid $10 per adult, and we usually put a cap on the cost per family no matter how many people they bring. If the council wants to limit Pack camping to encourage people to attend Council events, they need to make those council events more affordable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DLChris71 Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 "The Fall Festival \ Haunted Hayrides is $20 per youth, $10 per adult. Cub-O is $17 per person Cub Scout Family Adventures is $20 (2 to 5) or $27 (6 to adults) Webelos Woods is $20 per person. Cub Scout Resident camp is $170 for youth $90 for adults. " In my neck of the woods that would be very affordable comparative to what our council charges. That is assuming that Resident Camp lasts 4 or 5 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robb100 Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 I'm the CM for my pack and we camp in Sept, Oct, Nov, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr and May. We take in at least one district or council event, maybe two. These are our least attended. Two weeks ago we drove 4 hours to camp and we had one of our best turn outs. About 75% participation. My pack loves to camp and they really want to get out and explore. We even earned our freezing weather patch this year in January. 24 degrees in Florida. The kids loved it and were up early checking the thermometer. On the Monday following the camp out I went and bought the patches ans awarded to them that night at the den mtgs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basementdweller Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 So you don't worry about burning the boys out camping?????? I would be interested in you cross over and then the Boy Scout retention rates. Do you go to the same 6 locations year after year.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoutfish Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 My CC and I have been mulling over an idea: Pack winter camping. Okay, first thing to realize in that - where we live at on the NC coast, winter can mean 28 degrees high temperature or it can mean 70 dgrees for a low temperature. But it doesn't mean walking across the Himalayas in snowshoes or treaking across the Artic circle. Winter is more of a calendar time than a season around here. We camp in the spring and the fall, but alot of us want to do more. And summer is a time when they are checked out and busy with family and vacations and travel...plus it's just so dang hot and humid here in the summer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robb100 Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 Basementdweller, no burnout so far. Scouts and parents are already asking where we are camping next year. The only locations we repeat are the council and district events. We will probably venture outside state lines next year and go to Georgia. Last year we went to Charleston SC and stayed on the USS Yorktown and may do it again next year. Winter camping is much better in north Florida. We did have one camp out in the 20's but it usually in the 40's and 50's during the winter here. Summer way too hot and humid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCbytrickery Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 That's an odd policy. Our pack goes camping: In early October, we have our newbie camping. We work on camping skills, Bobcat clinics, etc. We have Cubaree in early November. We have a January campout, usually up in Georgia at some cabins. We have a March campout. This year, we were at the local Military base (they have a campground there) and the boys got a kick out of hearing the big guns go off all day Saturday. We also have a May thing. This year, it's an overnight at zoo (in another city). In years past, we have camped at a science center, camped at Cape Canaveral, on an old military ship (USS Yorktown, I think), stayed at Seaworld, etc. Our Web 2's--they camp at least once a month as a den, and at least once a month with the Troop. Twice this year, they were gone every weekend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basementdweller Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 guess it is the difference between rich and poor folk..... My families don't have the cars or vans that are reliable enough to drive an hour outside of town let alone 5 or 6...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoutfish Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 Our first campout of the year is in the fall because of roundup. We get alot of new scouts and families that have never been camping before. We will camp in a huge field and woods that our COm owns ( 8 soccer fields & 6 Acres of woods). We stick close to home so that if new scouts have issues or if something gets forgotten - and it always does - then it's just a 5 minute fix instead of a 2 hour round trip or longer fix. Our second campout is in the early spring. WE used to combine this with our graduation ceremony, but decided to stop because meal times were a hassle. Just scouts at breakfast, but entire families ( aunts, uncles, grandparents) coming for lunch and crossover ceremoiny - but nobody wanting to pay for extra food/ material cost, then leaving before supper. Plus, we spnt about half of the camping trip planning and setting up for the graduation. So now graduation takes place of the very last pack meting at the CO. We moved our spring campout to earlier in the spring and our fall campout to later in the fall to take advantage of cooler, bug free, storm free weather. So far, it's definantly better! We are looking into doing some winter campouts too. And it lays out like this: Half the scouts can hardly stand to go camping twice a year, They want to stay home, watch cartoons, play vidoe games and eat microwave food or Mickey D's. The other half of our scouts would go camping every month , all year long if we set it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpstodwftexas Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 Problem is.. Camping is not a "Whats good for the Goose is good for the Gander" situation.. Basic Rules to start with.. Do not plan more than 1 Activity over night a Month as a Pack.. Here is how we basically broke down this Year in Our Pack September new Members join ...Popcorn Sale..no extra activity October....council wide Cub-n-Pal Camping..No extra Activity November...Pack Lock in over night at sponsoring church... Participated in City Veteran's Day parade December..Participated in City Christmas Parade..Night at the Museum January...Pack-out at a Local Camp..Space Derby Combined..Pinewood Derby Febraury..Blue and Gold Banquet March..None extra Activites as a Pack Planned April...No Pack Activities planned May.. Council wide Spring Cub-Pal Camping June.. Cub Scout and Webelos Residence Camp July.. planned pool party August... No plans yet What works for one Den/Pack may not work for everyone. Growing Up a Country Kid there was not a weekend I was not camping either in Scouts or with a family on the river or a lake fishing or out hunting..of course back then we did not have Angry Birds on Cellphones and IPads..We sang songs or Told stories around a campfire not listened to music or watch TV on Electronic devices Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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