Camping

Many troops go camping every couple of months. Camping is where the leaders of the troop can be seen in action. Camping is where scout skills are learned first hand, from lighting a stove and pitching a tent to lashing a three tier tower. Whether a troop is tail-gate camping, or on a backpacking trip, camping can be one of the most exciting things that a scout remembers.

• Tail-Gate Camping

  There is nothing wrong with pitching a tent next to your car, a lot of troops do this. It may be a good way to break in new scouts, but it isn't something that is recommended to do a lot. Just stop and think what scouting means to you. The outdoor experience, being with nature, away from civilization.

  Sometimes you have to camp near cars. If you plan to build a large pioneering project and you have to bring your own logs, no one is going to want to hike them in five miles. We have to take the time to see what is necessary.

  If you are planning to do a base camp, have a theme to go with it that requires having cars close by. Some ideas are; cooking with dutch ovens, pioneering and lashing, rock climing and repelling, and canoeing.
  
  

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• Camping Programs

  When you are camping you need a program to go with your theme. Let's use Pioneering for a theme for a campout. You would need to arrive Friday night, set up camp, and spend the night. Saturday morning you may have a knots and lashings demonstration, a rope making activity, and maybe a demonstration on splicing. The morning should be teaching and demonstrations.

  In the afternoon you could start building a tower or some other project. If you have a large number of scouts two or three different projects may be necessary. You could also assign different patrols to do seperate projects and have a competition. There are many things to choose from for possibilities. The only thing you have to remember about pioneering is that you will probably have to gather your own logs prior to the campout.

  If you have to go home Saturday night, you probably won't have enough time for a evening event of game. If you are leaving Sunday morning some kind of event for Saturday night add a a nice touch to your campout. A game of capture the flag or a camfire would be good starters.

  Remember to have plenty of things going on for everyone to participate in. Once the program gets slow and boring, the scouts will tend to wander off to find other things to do. The last thing to keep in mind to do for a campout, make sure it is FUN.