Terrific Tips for Camping and Outdoors Part 1
Contents
Campout Recipes from Senior Troop 2020Camp Flag Ceremony
Hike Ideas from the Web
Blue Jeans Sit-upon
Horizontal Sundial for the Dallas Area
Quick Tips for Camping
Camping Recipes from the Patch Trader's Forum
Can't find what you are looking for? Try Terrific Tips for Camping Part 2
Note: This website also has a Camping section which includes a page of Compass Games and a Food Serving and Buying Guide. Click below to go there
Campout Recipes from Senior Troop 2020
- Submitted by Marcia KirchmeierChicken Enchilada Casserole (feeds 8-10)
2 packages (10) corn tortillas
1 can Ro-Tel Tomatoes
2 cans cream of chicken soup
4 cans chicken*
1 lb cheddar cheese, shredded
1 onion, chopped
Mix soup, tomatoes and water in pan. Tear tortillas into small pieces. In dutch oven (or appropriate camping cooking pot)layer tortillas, onion, cheese, chicken and a portion of the soup mixture, repeating until all ingredients are used up. Cover and bake on a grill. It works best to put some coals on top of the pot also. Too hot of a fire will make this dish stick.
* De-boned chicken can be substituted.
Energy Chews
1/2 c peanut butter
1/2 c oats
4tsp honey
1/2 c raisins
1/2 c chopped walnuts
1/2 c wheat germ
1/2 c grated apple
Mix all together in bowl, roll into balls. Makes about 20-1" balls. This can be messy to make, but the girls really love them.
Pigs In a Skin
1 pkg heat & serve sausages
8 medium potatoes
Core potatoes. Insert one sausage. Cover with foil, bake on coals. Cooking time approx. 40 min.
Pigs In a Blanket
1 pkg of cocktail sausages
1 can of biscuits
Put sausage on a stick. Wrap biscuit around sausage and toast until biscuit is puffed and brown.
Camp Flag Ceremony
This is from the Tejas GS Council Day Camp Leaders book from around 1994 (there is no date in it)- Campers, attention
- Color Guard, attention
- Color Guard, advance
- Color Guard, post the colors (flag goes up quickly)
- Campers, the Flag of you country
- Pledge of Allegience
- Color Guard, honor your colors
- Color Guard, dismissed
- Announcements or welcome
- Campers, dismissed
Flag Lowering:
- Campers, attention
- Color Guard, attention
- Color Guard, advance
- Color Guard, honor your colors (color guard salutes the flag before lowering)
- Color Guard, retreat the colors (as flag starts down slowly) -
- Campers, salute your flag (bearers hold the flag by the corners)
- Sing Taps
- Color Guard, dismissed (will fold flag out of horseshoe)
- Campers, dismissed
(A standard flag ceremony can be found in Ceremonies in Girl Scouting p. 17 - basically you replace "campers" with "Girl Scouts")
Hike Ideas from the Web
Ball of String Trail - Lay a string trail in a very safe area & follow blindfolded.
Bird Hike - Go early in the morning to see lots of birds. Refer to a Bird book to identify, and tips on bird watching. How many can you identify?
Bo Peep Trail - Lay a trail using bits of cotton, Give girls small cardboard sheep on which to attach the wool.
Green Hike - How many different shades of green can you find on your hike?
Hold the Front - Leader asks a question about things observed, such as "What is the name of that tree?" If #1 in line answers correctly she stays there; otherwise she goes to the back of the line.
Humpty Dumpty Trail - Cut a picture of a large cardboard egg into 20 broken pieces. Find all the pieces & put him back together.
Jigsaw Trail - Cut directions of something to do & drop them along a trail. Put the jigsaw puzzle together...It might give directions to a treat!!
Nature Clue Game - Cut a hole in a piece of paper. (about the size of a nickel). Through this hole show the girls a small part of a leaf, animal track, or other natural object. See how many the girls can identify.
Observation Lotto - Make up a lotto (bingo) card with 4 squares across and 4 squares down. Enter things to look for such as: stream, animal tracks, eroded land, berries, dead tree, squirrel, wild flower, trash, pine cone, vine, poison ivy, moss, bird, magnolia, persimmon, pine tree (use things likely to be seen on your hike). When a person sees an object she marks it on her card. First to fill a row wins.
Pebble Cribbage - Start with 10 pebbles. Leader point to an object. Each person to identify it drops a pebble. First to drop all her stones is the winner.
Penny Hike - Give each girl a penny. She is to find as many items as she can that will fit on the penny with out hanging off the edges.
Puppy Hike - Walk on your hands & knees for a short distance & see what a puppy or baby would see. How is this world different from yours?
Rainbow Hike - Have an envelope containing 20 or so different-colored squares of construction paper (not just browns and greens either, some yellows, a purple, etc.). Have the girls find something in nature the same color as each one of the squares.
Rhyming Hike - The first person sees something-anything- and calls it out, "I see an ant" Somebody replies with a rhyme, "Its sitting on a plant". and them names a new object. I see...
Sentinel - Leader stops at object to be identified and each person walking by whispers answer or goes to end. Then new leader stops, etc.
Silent Hike - The purpose of this hike is to listen. This is hard for some girls who want to giggle etc. Try it late at night or early in the morning when the surroundings are strange & mysterious... How about at 5am?
Does it Belong? - Ahead of time someone goes down the planned hike route and plants things that do not belong in nature. Each girl then keeps a list of all the things she spots which "do not belong". See who spotted the most. Extra points for any litter picked up along the way.
Trail Sign Hike - Divide the girls into teams. Take turns laying a trail using trail signs for another team to follow. The end of the trail might be a small treat or something similar.
Scavenger Hunts
Scavenger hunts are fun, But do require some absolute rules: Set Boundaries, Hunt with a buddy or group, Do not Destroy, (When the hunt is over, Let there be no sign that it took place.) Return all materials to where you found them or disposed of properly (dry leaves & twigs etc.) Make up a list for the girls to find or Let them make a list of what they think they will find...& then let them go find it. Make your list imaginative ... Below are some ideas for all ages. You any be surprised what older girls might like to do...Challenge their ingenuity. Give each team or group a list of the following items to find:
3" length of twine made from natural material
blade of grass
dark green & light green leaf
pebble smaller than a pea
pinch of dust
seed
smooth rock
smooth-edge leaf
someone's or something's food
something alive
something gardeners hate
something prickly
something that "clicks" or "crackles"
something that feels nice
something with 4 legs
something you can pick things up with (a natural spoon)
teaspoon of mud
Y-shaped twig
Camera Scavenger Hunt
This is a really neat project for Older Girls. You could plan an overnight all day event, divide the girls in groups with a parent (driver) for each group. The group is free to find the items where ever they choose. The groups are to meet back at a designated time to share photos & stories. An instamatic camera works best. Or you could give list & meet a week later & share photos. Using a camera instead of "picking up" is one of the more sophisticated concepts of collecting & a marvelous way to keep a memory forever.
Find and photograph:
blossom
clouds
dew on flowers
insect
snails eye-view of something
something dry
something funny
something green
something huge
something sad
something out of place
something peaceful
something tiny
something wet
something you have never seen before
splash of color
straight, curved or crossed lines
sunlight coming through trees
sunrise
sunset
texture
Blue Jeans Sit-upon
from Makingfriends.comBlue Jeans Sit-upon Link
Horizontal Sundial for the Dallas Area
This is from a website that has been taken down. The graphic is kind of large and takes a while to come up, but it is very cool!!
Quick Tips for Camping
The first time a troop in St. Louis went tent camping the leader in charge did a night hike. She took the girls to an open field and then had them close their eyes and mouths. They then had to turn off their flashlights and open their eyes but not mouths. They stood quietly in the field for about 5 minutes just listening to the night sounds. The leader then asked them if they heard any sounds that scared them. NO was the answer. She then explained to them that those would be the sounds they would hear at night in their tents. It was great - no scared girls because of night sounds (One Texas tip - an armadillo walking in the woods sounds just like a person’s footsteps.)
Flashlight Skits
Hang up a white sheet, turn off the lights, have girls sit on the floor on one side of the sheet. Take turns doing skits. You and the girl doing the skit are on the other side of the sheet. You shine a flashlight on the girl doing the skit have the other girls guess what she is doing.
Charcoal Chimneys
Charcoal chimneys can be bought pre-made and have wonderful handles on them, we found one at WalMart a few years ago - I think about $10.00. But they can be made too. You need the following:
2 #10 cans with both top and bottom removed
2 or 3 wire coathangers
wire cutters
needle nose pliers
can/bottle opener that makes triangle holes
Using the wirecutters cut the coat hangers into strips that go across the bottom of the can and have about 2 inches overhang. Using the can/bottle opener make triangle holes on the side of both of the cans, make them all around the can about an inch or less apart.
Take your wire strips and make a grid across one of the cans and wrap the ends of the strips through the triangle holes and around the edge of the can, to hold the strips in place. Use the needle nose pliers to bend the strips around the can. You want the grid small enough so your charcoal won't fall out. But it doesn't have to be too small.
Now, when you use it you put the can without strips on the ground with the triangle holes on the bottom. Loosely stuff two pieces of newspaper into the can. Take the other can and with the grid and holes on the bottom place it on top of the can with the newspaper in it. Now fill the top can with charcoal. Light the newspaper by putting a match into the holes on the bottom of the can. When the charcoal on the top gets grey they are ready to use. Carefully use potholders or pliers to lift the top can and dump your charcoal where you need it. Works like a charm.
Storing Matchlight Charcoal - Caution
Be sure not to store Matchlight charcoal in the trunk of your car in full sunlight, especially in Texas in the summer! If you have to transport it in a car trunk, take it out and store it elsewhere in a safe location as soon as you get to your destination. Also be careful of getting it wet. It can catch fire when drying(?). It is best not to use it for all the charcoal in a cooking fire because of the fumes. A few can be used to start the fire, though.
Individual First Aid Kits
(Could be put on a camp hat or strung on gimp and attached to a belt loop.)
Use the canisters that film comes in. Use a hole punch to punch a hole in the side of the can. Thread string through the hole and add a small safety pin. Tie a knot and that is how the canister attaches to a hat. For the front of the canister, use an address label. We used a computer to make a large cross that the girls could color in with crayon. Then have the girls add a bandaid or two, a gauze pad and any other items you think would be a good idea. We made emergency phone lists for the girls to put inside. The sheet also asked them to indicate if they had any medical conditions or were allergic to any medications. When they got home, it was suggested that they add a quarter and a dime (or whatever is the local charge for a payphone) to the bottom.
Outdoor Sanitation Tips from a Health Sanitarian
OK - I am a public health sanitarian and one of my duties is to make sure handwashing setups in temporary food booths are going to be effective. Truthfully, more important than type of soap is RUNNING water....a critical component is to make sure that the spigot stays ON, without having to hold it open with one hand. It is difficult to do a thorough job of handwashing with only one hand (try it sometime). The other critical item is SINGLE use towels - what point is there in washing your hands, when all you have is a used towel to dry them on? Paper towels are considered the most sanitary (even if they don't seem environmentally "correct") way to go, but we would allow a cloth towel that is only used ONE time (like the ones on the rollers). If hand sanitizers are used, use them on freshly CLEANED hands...if you put the stuff on dirty hands all the disenfection power is used on the surface dirt, and doesn't touch the millions of viruses and bacteria under that! If I am in a picnic situation with no water, I get the kids to at least use a baby wipe first, then a hand sanitizer. If the kids are lakeside, and no running water is available, I urge them to not even contact the surface of their food with their hands...its tricky, but they can eat their sandwiches and leave the sandwich bag over their hands while they do this. In my job, I see too many cases of giardia and salmonella to feel comfortable with kids eating anywhere near an open body of unchlorinated water. Gloves are a good idea, but can also be a source of cross-contamination if they are not clean...don't handle raw meats and then bread, lettuce or anything else that won't be cooked.
Bleach in Hot Water Does Not Sanitize
Boiling is always an acceptable form of sanitation. If bleach is put in hot water it DOES NOT sanitize but it sure does whiten! Bleach must be used in lukewarm water in order to sanitize(I learned this in a nursing chemistry class a couple of years ago - imagine my surprise!) - from the WAGGGS-L list
Recipe Websites
Here are some web sites with camping recipes.
WAGGGS-L Cyber Cookbook - this is an entire cookbook - terrific!
Outdoor Odyssey - Scroll down and click on Troop Cookbook
Scouting Links - Campfire Recipes & Links
RecipeSource Camping Recipes
GORP.com Food
CAMPING RECIPES
- posted on the Patch Trader's ForumCanopener Camp Stew - from Renee, Colonial Coast, VA There are a lot of variations on this, but this is the one that I use at home as well as it is so quick and good.
2 cans of vegetable soup
dash of garlic powder
dash of seasoned pepper
1 lb of ground beef, browned and drained (can be cooked at home and brought precooked)
Mix together and simmer a few minutes. Serve with garlic bread. Recipe is very adjustable and chopped onion or green pepper can be added if available.
Girl Scout Tacos (serves 24) - frgm Sarah, Tejas, TX
3 packages taco seasoning mix
5 lbs hamburger
1 large onion chopped (optional)
1 52 oz can ranch style beans
1 head lettuce, chopped
4 tomatoes, chopped
1 lb cheese, grated
3 large bags Doritos or Fritos (can use taco-flavored)
Prepare taco meat according to the directions on the package. Don't use too much water. Stir in beans. To serve, place chips on your plate (some people like to crush them a little). Put taco meat and beans on top. On top sprinkle lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and onion (if using).
Variation - from Tina: We make these also, however, we use the individual Doritos bags. The girls put in their own lettuce, cheese, taco sauce,sour cream, etc. The leaders then put meat in bag. Girls "shake" their bags, and then eat with a fork out of the bag! Great for clean up too! Just make sure the girls "pop" their bags to open them, then the bag won't tear down the side!
PIZZA MUFFINS - from Sarah B., a 3rd yr Brownie, Shagbark, IL
1 english muffin sliced in two
pizza sauce
pepperinos or topping of choice
mozarella cheese (shredded)
Spread muffin with sauce and add toppings. Have leader place a wire grill on camp fire. Cover with foil. Place fixed muffin on foil and cover with another piece of foil. Wait about 10 mins. until cheese is melted. Enjoy!
Variation - from Sandy, Racine Co. WI: We did something similar, but put the pizza fixings inside of a pita pocket, wrapped in tin foil.
DOUGHNUTS! - from Doodles, a seven yr. old Brownie, GS Council of Nation's Capital
Ingredients:
1-2 refridgerator buttermilk biscuit per diner
vegetable oil (1 bottle)
powdered sugar
granulated sugar mixed with cinnamon
Supplies:
campfire or propane stove or regular stove or grill, dutch oven, ladle, plates for doughnuts and toppings
Heat the oil until a drop of water added sizzles. Everyone makes their own doughnuts. Have each doughnut maker wash their hands and give them their biscuit(s). Using a finger or thumb, make a hole in the middle of the biscuits. Have an adult drop them GENTLY into the oil three or four at a time to cook. Too many makes them stick together. Remove from heat in a minute or two when puffed and browned. Transfer to plate and roll in desired topping or eat plain. Warm, comforting, and delicious! (Okay so it's not low calorie-we can't have everything.)
Banana Splits (also called Banana Boats) - from Angela in New Zealand
The number of girls = the number of bananas
HEAPS of chocolate drops (chocolate chips)
HEAPS of marshmallows
Foil to wrap the bananas in
Cut the banana from the top to the bottom with skin on Squeeze HEAPS of chocolate and marshmallows into the cut in the banana. Wrap it in foil and put the banana covered in foil into the embers of the fire. Cook until banana is nice and soft or chocolate and marshmallows are melted. Hope you like it. It is VERY nice.
Flowerpot Chicken - from Breanne, Delrey Area, British Columbia, Canada
My 3rd year Pathfinders (Cadette age) girls loved this one! You take a 14" terra cotta flower pot and fill it half full with dirt. Then light 8-10 charcoal briquets and place them in a pie plate on top of the dirt. Cover with a cake rack (this becomes your grill). Season chicken as desired and place on grill. Cover with tin foil and let cook for 15-25 mins, until chicken is cooked thoroughly. We served it with salad and baked potatoes in the fire. Would also work with steak or pork chops too.
Roses in the Snow - from Laura’s aunt who was a leader in Trailways, IL
½ cup applesauce
2 tsp red hots
2 tsp mini marshmallows
Put red hots and marshmallows in styrofoam cup. Heat applesauce to boiling and pour into cup. Wait several minutes. If marshmallows do not rise, tap side of cup gently several times.
Orange Cake - from Diane,
This is "one of those" foil over charcoal dessert recipes. I was very, very surprised 1) it worked and 2) it tasted good.
6 Large Navel Oranges (or 12 small)
1 Box white cake mix
Eggs and oil per mix directions
Foil
Charcoal fire (at 275 degrees)
Powdered sugar (optional)
Roll the orange on the table until it is really, really squishy. Cut the top ¼ off the orange, saving the cap for later use, and pour the juice into a measuring cup. Use a spoon and scrape the pulp out of the orange. Do not rip the sides of the orange. Mix the cake mix in a bowl per the directions except substitute the orange juice for the water. You can add water to the orange juice if you don't have enough liquid. Pour the cake mix into the hollowed out oranges and replace the "cap". Fasten the cap down with toothpicks if needed. Wrap the orange in heavy foil, keeping it level. Place the foiled oranges on the coals and "bake" for 20-30 minutes. At the end of this time, remove from the fire and peel the orange skin away from the cake. You can frost with powdered sugar if desired. Serves 6.
Easy Apple Crisp - Michelle, Virginia Skyline
2 cans apple pie filling
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 yellow cake mix
1 stick of butter
Line dutch oven with foil, put apple pie filling in bottom. Mix (with a fork) the cake mix,cinnamon, and butter to make a crumbly topping and put this on top of your apples. Cook over the fire until topping is brown. This would be great with some of that homemade baggy ice cream! You also could substitute another pie filling, like cherry and just omit the cinnamon. (At home; put it into a 9x13 baking dish and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.)
Pineapple Upside Down Cake - RuthEllen, Magic Empire, OK
individual clean recycled tuna cans
1 can pineapple rings
1 stick butter or margarine
jar Maraschino cherries
1 box yellow cake mix
brown sugar
For each can, put a dab of butter, 1 pineapple ring, place cherry inside the pineapple ring, sprinkle with brown sugar, sprinkle with dry cake mix, add slices of butter. Cover with foil and place on hot coals for about 15-20 minutes.
Burrito Wraps - RuthEllen, Magic Empire, OK
Med. size burrito tortillas
sliced lunch meat (Turkey & Ham)
lettuce
Ranch Dressing
Place the lunch meat and lettuce on tortilla and top with ranch dressing. Roll into a burrito sandwich and wrap in foil. We put these in gallon size zip lock baggies along with a bag of dorritos and a banana for our hike.
One Apple Pie - from Lora, Morris Area, NJ
Ingredients apple, cinnamon, brown sugar, raisins
Equipment: aluminum foil
Core and peel the apple. Then stuff the hollowed-out core with firmly packed brown sugar, cinnamon, and raisins and wrap with foil. Place the foil-wrapped apple in bed of hot coals for 15 minutes.
This is a great pre-lights out snack. Good for warming sleeping bags before bedding down for the night. You can also sit in your sleeping bag and eat your "pie" before going to sleep.
Hobo Pies - Karen from Glowing Embers, MI
You need pie irons for this one. They are available at camping stores.
Butter 2 slices of bread on one side only and place buttered slice of bread on pie iron. Place tablespoon or so of filling (my favorite is pizza with toppings and cheese and sauce but I have had it as grilled cheese or as a pie with pie fillings). Place other side of bread on top, buttered side out. Close pie iron and cook in coals. Turn in 3 to 5 minutes to cook other side. Take out of fire and pie iron and eat!! hot!!
Orange Muffins - Nicole, Macomb-Otsikita, MI
if the girls like oranges then they will like these!!
Take an orange and slice it in half. Use a juicer to make juice untill you can’t get any more. Make the muffin mix according to directions and pour it into the orange shells about half way or so. Place each shell with muffin mix onto a sheet of aluminum foil to make a foil packet. Make sure that the top and sides are sealed tight so that the batter doesn’t spill. Place the muffins onto the coals. After about 5 minutes or so check it and if the orange shell seems to be burnt then your muffin is done!! if not then put it in for another 3 minutes or so or untill your muffin shell is burnt!! Serve with the orange juice.
Pineapple Chicken in Foil - Kim
chunk pineapple to taste (some love ,some don't)
cubed boneless chicken or 1 breast per person
sliced uncooked potato and carrots
some juice to keep moist (from your pineapple chunks )
Wrap your choice of the above tightly in heavy-duty foil. Cook about 20 minutes in coals Serve over egg noodles.
Hairy Beasts - Chrystal, Parkland Area, Alberta, Canada
Chunks of French Bread, with crust
Eagle Brand condensed milk
Coconut
Roll bread in milk, then coconut. Put on stick, with stick going through crust to keep it on, then toast over the fire until the coconut is browned. Just like the girls like them - sweet and gooey....
Hamburger Cookies - Chrystal, Parkland Area, Alberta, Canada
vanilla wafers
mint chocolate wafers
icing (red, yellow)
honey
sesame seeds
Layer between two vanilla wafers the chocolate wafer (patty with green mint "lettuce") and icing (yellow for mustard, red for ketchup. Drizzle honey over top biscuit, then sprinkle lightly with sesame seeds. These are great to make to surprise the girls - don't forget to tell them they're getting hamburgers for dessert!!
Porcupines - Sandy, Racine County, WI
Slowly melt chocolate in a disposable aluminum pan over a grate (makes clean-up a snap). Place a big fluffy marshmallow on the end of a wooden skewer. Roll the marshmallow in the warm chocolate, then roll the chocolate covered marshmallow in rice krispies.
Ticks on a Toilet Seat - Sandy, Racine Co., WI
Core an apple and slice it so that rings are made with the core "hole" in the center. Spread peanut butter on one side of each ring. Place raisins around the ring, on the peanut butter. And there you have a very healthy snack!
Chocolate Fondue - Kim,
6 (1-oz) squares unsweetened chocolate
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup light cream
1/2 cup margarine
1/8 tsp. salt
Dippers: cubes of Angel Food Cake or Pound Cake, Bananas, Strawberries, Apples and Marshmallows.
Mix and cook for approximately 10 minutes. Approximately 10 servings (This part is open to discussion. The Serving size directly depends on your chocolate cravings!)
Variation: If that's too much trouble, you can melt equal amounts of chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. Add a little milk to get the right consistency,and start dipping.
Terrific Tips for Camping Part 2
Camping the Girl Scout Way
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