Your daughter and the outdoors

[Basementdweller]

So Backpacking with your young daughter can be fantastic. How many Scout leaders fail when it come to their daughters???? too many. I remember a district guy near tears at missing his daughters fall camp out with the church because of Boy Scouting. Family first boys family first.

 

Both of my children began hiking at about 4 years old. Cool short hikes. Longer and longer hikes as they got older. Finally our first overnight, I remember my daughter looking at the stars and commenting on how many there were. I don't know if I have ever seen that many before or since....a magical night.

 

The bear night was fun and frightening at the same time, to hear her tell the story, I fought off the marauding bears with nothing but a blunt toothpick and guts. I remember telling her to be quiet and listening to the bear trying to get our bear bag. I didn't sleep a wink the rest of the night.

 

If your going backpacking, first trip have a very specific destination, make it short only a mile or so in. make it easy. My daughter just started carrying her sleeping bag. With her weigh she is only good for 12 pounds in her pack. Spend the money and get her a pack that fits her. Her pack cost more than mine and worth every penny.

 

She loves the outdoors.

 

She has about 400 miles under boot, the best part is she wears them out before she out grows them. Makes a dad smile.

 

The beat up boots are part of my recruiting display

[ScoutNut]

On one of our first family camping trips, (kids were still quite small) my son was standing a bit past his ankles in a lake. My daughter decided to "skip" a stone. She then picks up a good sized rock and lobs it at the lake. Unfortunately she was standing right behind her brother at the time. Needless to say it did not "skip" very far after bouncing off his head. She then told him that it was his fault for being in her way, and proceeded to try to drown him while washing off the blood.

 

To this day I am surprised he did not suffocate her in her sleeping bag that night. However, they both thoroughly enjoyed the trip, and 16 years later, they both still love camping, hiking, and the outdoors.

 

My daughter still blames her brother for her lack of stone skipping ability!

 

 

[WestCoastScouter]

I occassionally have the same problem. My son is a Bear and my daughter is a Brownie... (they are 14 months apart in age).

 

I am a DL for my son, and a Committee Member for my daughter's troop. We've taken the girls camping at the BSA camps, and have taken the boys/Pack to camp at the local GSUSA camp. (just to mix up where we go)

 

We work with my son & daughter on Belt Loops and Try-Its that are similar (BSA Nutrition and GSUSA "Make it - Eat It") or the (BSA and GSUSA Manner)

 

Long and short.... "Balance Daniel-san... learn balance..." (my Karate Kid impression)

[packsaddle]

Just a quick reiteration of things I've already written elsewhere: Daughters often want to do boy scout kinds of things just as much (or more) than boys do. My advice is not to wait for venturing. Go ahead and invest the time and give them these experiences even if there isn't a 'program' out there for them. Do it on your own...just think: no training, no G2SS, no age limits, just whatever you and her decide you want to try. Invite sons along or just make it father and daughter.

 

I am speaking from experience. I almost missed it and I regret that I didn't get advice like this years before. But we grabbed what we could...wild caving, rock climbing (she's like a spider on the rocks), backpacking, whitewater, reef diving, and our marathon around-the-continent camping trip. I hope that you and your daughters can have even a small fraction of what grew between us - it's that good.

[Basementdweller]

Pack

 

Sometimes standing behind the truck just before leaving on a non-scouting camping weekend I feel lost. Like you said, no trailer, no tour permits, no over bearing parents. Just you the kids and the wife.

 

 

[desertrat77]

My daughter joined brownies at the 3rd grade. I signed on as a co-leader, my first involvement in any scout leader role in many years.

 

So my daughter enjoyed brownies, to a point. Then we got orders, moved, and I signed on as a UC at our new location.

 

I took her to the local scout camp for the day. That did it for her. She swore never to join girl scouts again, "because I don't want to sit around gluing popsicle sticks! I want to do what the boy scouts do."

 

Well, we got orders again. At our new location, we were lucky enough to find a GS troop that was run like a boy scout troop! Big emphasis on the outdoors.

 

I too find that the girls thrive in the outdoors, and can meet whatever challenge comes their way.

 

Leadership influences programming. If you have indoor people running the program, be it GSA or BSA, it is sure going to reflect......

[HobcawChaos]

Just back from a week in the Smoky Mountains with dh and the three dds: one newly bridged Brownie and 2 Cadettes. No getting copies of drivers licenses and insurance, no worries about certified lifeguards at every turn (yet still being safe). Just tent camping, box ovens, dutch ovens, hiking, horseback riding, tubing, and rafting. Bliss!

 

'Course still looking forward to a trip to NYC with the troop next month and had a great sister troop campout (hiking and waterfalls) last month!

[packsaddle]

Hobcaw, if you're ever up my way, let me know and I'll take you into the Jocassee Gorges. This is perfect weather for it. Paradise!

[Vicki]

My father, brother and I took his daughter and my son on their first backpacking trip two summers ago in Colorado. It was a blast! We did it again last summer. She's a great camper and up for it any time. Her mother has no interest, which shows in the GS troop she's in, since mom is a leader. At least she gets them to the local equivalent of our council camps for their larger gatherings.

 

Of course, teaching a girl to pee in the woods is a little different than teaching a boy:

[shortridge]

My daughter is 6 and loves the outdoors. We had problems hooking up with a local Daisy troop last year, but there's one at her school starting in the fall.

 

I tried her first camping trip at age 4. We rented a campsite one off-season weekend at my old summer camp, set up the tent, tromped around in the woods, checked out the beautiful sunset over the creek, built a campfire, scorched marshmallows and hot dogs ... then it was time to go to bed, and the darkness was pretty scary all of a sudden! We beat a hasty retreat.

 

The next time was earlier this spring, when she was 5, at a local state park that she was familiar with. She loved it and slept like a log.

 

Her kindergarten class this year spent large chunks of time studying bald eagles, so she's really gotten interested in birds and nature. (It's not my area of expertise, but I'm learnin'!) For her birthday last month, she got a small daypack, kid-sized binoculars, two kid-oriented field guides, two cool flashlights (one is pink and looks like a pig) and a purple camp chair. She's rarin' to go again! And I'm looking forward to seeing the outdoors through a child's eyes.

[Kudu]

packsaddle writes:

 

Just a quick reiteration of things I've already written elsewhere: Daughters often want to do boy scout kinds of things just as much (or more) than boys do. My advice is not to wait for venturing. Go ahead and invest the time and give them these experiences even if there isn't a 'program' out there for them. Do it on your own...just think: no training, no G2SS,

 

The Baden-Powell Scouts have a "Lone Scout" program if your daughter likes badges.

 

See:

 

http://bpscouting.org/

 

Youth membership = $10 per year

Adult membership = $20 per year

 

For $10 a year, don't expect local training or a G2SS.

 

Email Dan'l Adams, Chief Rover and Commissioner, directly because I don't think their Website messaging is working:

 

danl_adams(at)yahoo.com

 

Their program is based on Baden-Powell's own final version of his program. The original unedited (and politically-incorrect) version of the badge requirements can be found at:

 

See:

 

http://inquiry.net/traditional/por/proficiency_badges.htm

 

Yours at 300 feet,

 

Kudu

[JoeBob]

Pack and Basement:

 

(Mostly copied from the other thread:)

The annual family vacation takes place at the inlaws' lake cabin in upper Wisconsin. Lotsa eagles and loons that we don't see in The South. Monday's low was 40 degrees with a high of 72. At home in the big 'pimple' the low was 74 and the high was 94.

Mom takes care of the motorized water sports; and the bicycling (Look Dad, no hills!) fishing and canoeing are my purview.

Given the choice between a wilderness overnight hike, or paddling to an island campout, the 11 year old daughter has opted to fish her way into camp. (I will have to convince her that nine year old brothers do NOT make good bait...) I've already started pulling the appropriate gear.

If y'all hadn't poked me with a sharp stick, I'd have been content to piddle around at various cabin repair jobs while sipping the local brews. Now I'm anticipating an adventure to remember and using Google Earth satellite views to check out the rivers around St Germaine. My brew will be chilled by the river, something else you can do on family trips.

The operative thoughts in your posts were: 'Do it while they're excited, because they won't be excited for ever."

Thanks!

Joe

[packsaddle]

JoeBob, that sounds like a great trip - it makes me feel good just knowing how good it will be for all of you. Tell your daughter to leave a few for someone else to catch...and, ahem, that the nothing is likely to bite using her brother as bait - but I know she'd enjoy trying, LOL.

[gsdad]

My youngest daughter is now my hunting partner, she took her fist buck last winter at age 11. My son is not yet old enough to join so I help my wife with my daughters' troop. I am usually the one teaching them knots, firebuilding, cooking over a fire, axemanship, nature, axe and knife handling, etc........basically everything I learned in Boy Scouts is being taught. My wife handles all the Girl Scout program type stuff and it works out well. My daughter wants to join Venturing when she is older because she hears me talk about how much fun it was to work on Camp Staff.

[Basementdweller]

Tonight we hiked down to the fireworks in our down town. it was 10 miles round trip. Filled the camel baks and off we went. Made the return trip in an hour and a quarter. they were humping.

 

We beat our neighbor who drove down home. really cool.