Camping
The practical and philosophical dimensions of getting Scouts outdoors and into the wild.
Why do Scouts go Camping?
I was dumbfounded when the parent of a Webelos visiting our troop asked; “What about a Scout who doesn’t really like camping?” How would you answer that question? The best I could come up with was; “I don’t really know what Scouting is if we aren’t camping, I don’t think it’s an option.
B-P's Blog - Camping and Hiking
During his lifetime Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the worldwide Scouting movement, wrote many books and articles directed to Scouters.
B-P's Blog - Bad Camping
During his lifetime Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the worldwide Scouting movement, wrote many books and articles directed to Scouters.
B-P's Blog - Camping
During his lifetime Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the worldwide Scouting movement, wrote many books and articles directed to Scouters.
B.P.'s Blog - Camping Again
During his lifetime Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the worldwide Scouting movement, wrote many books and articles directed to Scouters.
B.P.'s Blog - Real Camping
During his lifetime Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the worldwide Scouting movement, wrote many books and articles directed to Scouters.
B.P.'s Blog - Camping Season
During his lifetime Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the worldwide Scouting movement, wrote many books and articles directed to Scouters.
Scout Cuisine (or Lack Thereof)
Boys are pragmatic vestiges of our hunter-gatherer past who see little reason to linger lovingly over the preparation or consumption of food.
B.P.'s Blog - Real Attraction of Camping
During his lifetime Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the worldwide Scouting movement, wrote many books and articles directed to Scouters.
B.P.'s Blog - On Camping
During his lifetime Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the worldwide Scouting movement, wrote many books and articles directed to Scouters.
B.P.'S Blog -In Camp
During his lifetime Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the worldwide Scouting movement, wrote many books and articles directed to Scouters.
B.P.'S Blog -The Value of Camp Life
During his lifetime Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the worldwide Scouting movement, wrote many books and articles directed to Scouters.
B.P.'s Blog - Object of Camping
During his lifetime Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the worldwide Scouting movement, wrote many books and articles directed to Scouters.
What is a Scout Vacation?
A Scout vacation doesn’t fit most people’s definition of a ‘vacation’.
Bannock
From Bannock Awareness : … Bannock, is common to the diet of virtually all North America’s first peoples.
Ten Causes of Scouting Disasters in the Wild
A wall cloud like this is never good news.
Scouts and Backpacking
Our Scouts enthusiastically take on the challenge of preparing, launching and completing a backpacking trip.
5 Quick and Healthy Breakfasts for Camping
Oatmeal, again? Pop Tarts?
Doughnuts? A good quick breakfast while canoeing or backpacking (or car camping for that matter) is as important as it is elusive.
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.
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.
A Scout's Campfire
ASM Ken has a fairly new BLOG A Scout’s Campfire : I’m an Eagle Scout, 1975.
Walden
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
One Good Reason to go Camping
I would escape from the increasingly mechanistic world with its march hare preoccupation with witless production and mindless consumption; its disruptive infatuation with change for its own sake; its idiot dedication to the bitch goddess, progress.
Podcast Clips
Episode 364 — PLAYING the GAME: FUNDAMENTALS SERIES PART FOUR
Fourth installment of the Foundational Series. Clarke recaps the previous three episodes (scouting as a game, the scouter as coach, the scouts as players) and focuses on 'playing the game' — the field of play being the outdoors and camping. He argues that camping is the practical core of scouting because it requires scouts to rebuild civilization from the ground up, and that all other scouting activities exist to support getting outdoors. He also discusses the figurative goal (character development) versus the literal goals scouts pursue, and why scouting always works when focused correctly.
Episode 357 — INTERVIEW
Kevin Callan, Canadian outdoor author and 'the Happy Camper,' discusses his new complete guide to winter camping — covering hot-tenting, wool layering, sleep systems, footwear, boil-ups, foraged teas, and the joy of cold-weather wilderness travel.
Episode 135 — SCOUTMASTERSHIP in 7 MINUTES
Two topics: ten ways to work with your Senior Patrol Leader (ownership, feedback, keeping distance, using authority sparingly, etc.), and BSA survey findings on why boys drop out — primarily insufficient camping opportunities.
Episode 118 — SCOUTMASTERSHIP in 7 MINUTES
How to start a brand-new Scout troop by taking boys on a casual camping trip and letting them discover Scouting organically, without upfront talk of uniforms or ranks.
Episode 78 — SCOUTMASTERSHIP in 7 MINUTES
Part two of adults on Scout camping trips, based on Larry Geiger's framework: chain-of-command questioning, letting Scouts instruct, Scouts shopping for their own food, and family camp-outs.
Episode 58 — LISTENER PHONE CALL
Bill McFarland, Troop 8, Ipswich MA, shares his favorite camping trip — a rainy, muddy JLTC week that forged lasting brotherhood.
Episode 54 — INTERVIEW
Cliff Jacobson — wilderness guide, author of Expedition Canoeing and Camping's Top Secrets, Eagle Scout class of 1956 — discusses his scouting roots, Northern Canada expeditions, wilderness judgment, and his top camping tip of placing a ground cloth inside (not under) the tent floor.