PROGRAM OVERVIEW Hanna Venture Base offers week-long treks catered to what your group wants to accomplish. From kayaking in the Apostle Islands to backpacking in the Porcupine Mountains, Hanna Venture Base welcomes all that strive for the ultimate challenge of experiencing the outdoors. No trip is impossible if your Scouts have the imagination and courage […]
Outdoor Program
High Adventure Facts and Myths
Conversations of high adventure trips usually center on the B.S.A’s popular and heavily promoted big three – Philmont, Seabase and Northern Tier. Council high adventure programs usua;;y focus on putting crews together for trips to these three destinations but there are hundreds (if not thousands) of other places for Scouts to experience a high adventure trip. […]
Sail School Bahamas
PROGRAM OVERVIEW Sail School Bahamas runs a superb range of sailing adventures for Scouts that offer excellent value for money. Your group can learn how to sail while traveling from island to island in the Sea of Abaco in the beautiful northern Bahamas. Our main focus is ensuring you have FUN, so each morning you can […]
Floodwood Mountain Scout Reservation
PROGRAM OVERVIEW Canoeing Sailing Backpacking Climbing Waterskiing Floodwood Mountain Scout Reservation is a high adventure base located in Tupper Lake in the Adirondacks. It is owned by the Northern New Jersey Council, Boy Scouts of America. Floodwood specializes in hiking and canoeing treks. Floodwood itself is a base camp from which canoeing and hiking treks […]
Sabattis Adventure Camp
PROGRAM OVERVIEW Canoeing Sailing Backpacking Climbing Kayaking Cycling Mountain boarding Trimaran sailing War canoes The trekking program at Sabattis Adventure Camp is unmatched by any Scout Camp in the region, all crews get Kevlar canoes, the latest in cooking equipment (both jet boils and/or whisper lites) along with comfortable PFD’s and properly sized paddles. All needed food […]
Review of Littlbug Senior Wood Stove
Inventor Kent Haring has developed the elegantly efficient Littlbug stove that deserves a second look from campers in general and Scouts in particular. Most of us have come to rely on the convenience of propane stoves and would be hesitant to trade them for wood stoves. I think there are some compelling practical and ethical arguments for […]
Camp Parsons
PROGRAM OVERVIEW Canoeing Backpacking Kayaking Treks are open to individuals, troops or crews who can choose between a canoe/kayak trek on the Hood Canal, a large arm of the Puget Sound spending times at various locations OR hike in the Olympic Peninsula, an untouched parcel of forest located in Washington State. LOCATION DESCRIPTION Camp Parsons […]
The Appalachian Trail in Five Minutes
Green Tunnel from Kevin Gallagher on Vimeo. Here’s a through hike of the Appalachian trail condensed into a few minutes of video. Watch the seasons and terrain change over 2000 miles of hiking.
Cowboys, Chuckwagons, and Beans
Roger Edison has collected a lot of lore and useful information about Chuckwagons and Cowboy Cooking. Here’s a plan for building a cowboy fire box. Admittedly not for leave no trace camping or backpacking the fire box is intended for serious grub! Take a look around Roger’s website and you’ll find things like this recipe; […]
Height of Pioneering Structures
Mike Malone asks; … we’ve been informed that, for safety reasons, Scouts are now not allowed to be on any handmade structure more than 3-4 feet off the ground. Is that the current rule? I checked the Guide to Safe Scouting and found two statements that may be applicable: An approved climbing helmet must be […]
Bear Bags – How To by Kevin Callan
Kevin Callan on bear bags from the Paddler’s Guide to Happy Camping Keeping your food safe from bears (and other critters) is an important element of any camping trip. Not only do you want to reduce the chance of having an unwanted close encounter with bear, raccoon or field mouse – but you also don’t […]
Scoutmaster Podcast 11 – Scout Program Idea
Scoutmaster Podcast 11 Listen in as my senior patrol leader and I discuss a Scout program idea we have used several times now – the “magical mystery tour”. In This Podcast Magical Mystery Tour One Night at Camp Avoiding Eagle Scout Drama 1 Podcast Notes Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android […]
Ashes and Baking Soda
From As the Crow Flies I usually use the no wash method of cleaning up but sometimes I end up with a frying pan or dishes to wash. I never use soap because it takes a lot of water to rinse the soap off. Instead I use baking soda. One time I ran out of baking soda for […]
Avoid Bad Weather
The better part of valor is discretion. Bravery (valor) is important but it may be that it is more important to avoid some situations rather than brave them. If, for some unlikely reason, I should find myself in the middle of the road I will not panic but bravely manage the situation as best I […]
The Everlasting Tortilla
The folks at Packit Gourmet offer some evidence of the indestructible nature of the humble tortilla. My favorite tortilla ‘recipe’ is peanut butter and jelly on a whole wheat tortilla for a quick, filling trail lunch. Tortillas are an incredibly versatile and easy-to-pack bread. They hold up well in your pack and can be used […]
Ten Tips for Camping in the Rain
Camping in the rain sounds awful – and it is if you aren’t prepared! Here’s ten tips for surviving rainy camping trips: 1. AVOID IT I have canceled or rescheduled weekend camping trips if heavy rain or horrendously bad weather is forecast. We aren’t Marines and the safety of the free world does not depend on our […]
Tomato Powder
Well, we’re back from our sixth annual canoe trip to Ontario’s Algonquin Provincial Park and it was a great success. This year a record 23 people in three crews participated. Each crew took a different route through the 3000 square mile park of about 40 to 50 miles of paddling and portaging. Mounting such a […]
Troop Based High Adventure Program | Part 5
The success of any high adventure program is more about the people you go with than the place you go. A prime trek in Philmont, the crown jewel of Scout Camps, under crystal blue skies in moderate temperatures with no bugs and five star meals becomes a slow death march with a dysfunctional, poorly prepared, […]
Troop Based High Adventure Program | Part 4
Training and skill development is important to the success of a Troop based high adventure program. Adult Advisor and Youth Crew Chief Training – All trip leaders should take advantage of online courses offered by the BSA. Youth protection and Weather Hazards is a good idea for any trip as well as activity-specific courses: Trek […]
Troop Based High Adventure Program | Part 6
Detailed preparation is the key to any successful high adventure program. Place State, provincial or national parks are the most likely destinations. Each will have it’s own particular rules and procedures. Information gleaned from the web is a good start. Online trip reports and reviews can be quite informative. I’d suggest that once you have […]
Troop Based High Adventure Program | Part 3
On one of our first Canoe Trips to Canada we sat around our campfire the first night after getting to our hard-won campsite. A long day of paddling and portaging and a frustrating search for a camp site (during which we became separated) had me pretty wrung out. I was lamenting over a couple of mistakes I made that […]
Troop Based High Adventure Program | Part 2
Where to go and what to do for your high adventure program? The simple answer is just about anywhere and just about anything. It may be a week of backpacking, canoeing, touring, cycling, boating or the adventure of your choice. You don’t need to travel very far, look at nearby state and national parks, talk […]
Troop Based High Adventure Programs | Part 1
Philmont, Seabase and Northern Tier are the three most familiar national High Adventure Bases, there are dozens of other Council Based Programs. Thousands of Scouts participate in and enjoy the big three high adventure bases each year. I have colleagues in Scouting who recommend them highly. At the other end of the high- adventure spectrum […]
How to Tie the First Class Badge Overhand Knot
Learn how to tie the First Class Scout Badge Knot over at the Boy Scout Trail website. Not a particularly useful knot nor extraordinarily decorative but one really ought to know how it is tied. Tie a simple overhand knot in the bight of rope. Leave the knot loose. Put the bight through the ring […]
