I need to go camping this year.
Archive for the ‘Camping’ Tag
Camping 2 comments
Camping Has Changed Leave a comment
New Zealand circa 1905. “Male youths outside tent, probably Christchurch district.” Glass plate by Adam Maclay. Shorpy Historical Photos
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Beware The Mini-Bears 3 comments
Little Girl had been after me for years to go camping again. It used to be our annual tradition to go to the Sequoia National Park every Memorial Day weekend. We lost the tradition as the kids got older & busier … and now, we hadn’t been camping as a family in far too many years.
A plan was born.
MrsMowry fell out because of her fabulous new job. That was sad because she had never been camping with the family, but work has to come first at least occasionally, right? MrsMowry & her husband will go camping next time.
The rest of the family – including Payton – would go camping over the July 4th weekend. I would go to the Sequoia National Park early to secure a good spot to camp during this holiday weekend. That meant I would get 2 days of solitude with the big trees before the family showed up.
Perhaps you missed that: 2 days of solitude.
What a fabulous thing. I. Could. Not. Wait.
I drove up on Monday and found the campsite in Crystal Springs, right next to Grant’s Grove. Elevation: 6,500′. Distance to the nearest sequoia: 120′. Distance to the nearest human that first night: unknown, as I couldn’t see their tent from my campsite.
Heaven.
I set up my tent, bedding and Velda’s kitchen with 3-burner stove. I stowed all of the food in the bear box quickly … the boys & I had learned how important that was when we visited Philmont a few years ago. There, you learn that bears WILL eat any smellable thing they can find that’s not in a proper bear-proof container. We also learned that mini-bears (AKA ground squirrels) were actually far more common and not at all cute after they got into your food stash. Beware the mini-bears.
No problem; everything went into the bear box.
Critters without fine motor skills and no ability to use a tool can’t open this box of goodies.
Dinner turned out to be a bit of a challenge, because I made a huge mistake. I’ve trained Scouts. I’ve trained my family. And I failed … to pack my own gear. We had a busy weekend leading up to my Monday morning departure, and Velda packed my food and the kitchen supplies. When we packed my car, I grabbed the containers with everything that I “needed” for my 2 days alone, and then grabbed more of the group’s supplies so they wouldn’t have as much to bring north.
Monday night’s dinner, I decided would be soup. I had a nice can of chowder to open … and no pot to cook it in. I made do, and heated the soup in the can on the stove. It didn’t work very well, as you might have guessed, but I had warm soup and I did not starve. And, oh my, the stars that night in my cold camp. Lovely.
(Side note: I found that Velda had snuck in a can of barley soup, which must be an attempt at humor on her part. I haven’t eaten barley without comment since the great barley soup pot of ’97 became a legend in her kitchen. But she still tries to sneak that stuff into my diet. You’ve got to watch her every minute, apparently.)
Tuesday morning dawned, and I took a wonderful hike. Didn’t see a human on the trek. Lovely pictures to follow.
I got back to camp and found that I had some international neighbors across the road (it fascinates me what an international experience it is when visiting our national parks). A German family with 2 teenaged boys were my new neighbors. I didn’t bother them and they didn’t bother me … and we had a quiet afternoon in camp. All good.
Dinner time, I decided, would be a peanut butter sandwich (when I’m cooking in camp, it is a decidedly gourmet selection, you see). I got the bread and peanut butter out of the bear box, and then returned to get the cooler out and pour myself a Diet Coke. Life was good. I was about 15′ away from my picnic table, pouring my soda.
The next thing I knew, there was a smiling AGY (Annoying German Youth) pointing his cellphone behind the bear box … where a raccoon was eating my bread. The AGY apparently thought it more important to capture the moment for posterity than it was to yell, “Hey, Stupid Guy! That Mini-Bear is eating your food!”
Once I figured out that I was being burgled, I yelled at the ‘coon and ran to get my bread.
At which point I learned that a raccoon carries a package of bread in his mouth and runs faster than I do.
And then my shorts fell down.
Chase over.
My dinner became peanut butter bagels. See, I didn’t starve.
AGY followed the critter at a leisurely pace about 100’ up the hill, watched him eat the bread and scurry away. The AGY then returned the torn, empty bread wrapper to me.
Thoughtful AGY, that one. I’m sure he put my mini-bear adventure on YouTube. Let me know if you find it, and I’ll send the AGY my, uh, regards.
The mini-bear got 4 pieces of bread. I got outsmarted by a quadriped.
The Role of Parents in Scouting Leave a comment
A tough campout for parents is to accompany their son on their first Boy Scout camping experience.
They find that the rules have changed. No longer are they in charge. No longer are they primarily responsible for their son. No longer do they set up the family tent for Mom, Dad, their son and other children.
Instead, a boy is in charge. The parents are “encouraged” to take a break, and let the boys do it. And that is often very, very hard — for the parents.
Scouting begins for many as a Tiger Cub. Your son is in first grade and a flyer comes home from school. Your son can join Scouts! You’ll go to a recruitment night, and there you learn that you’ll join Cub Scouts with your son … he must have an adult partner in Tiger Cubs. You’ll go to his Den meetings every week or two; you’ll go on outings with the other Tigers and their adult partners. It’s a blast.
Velda signed Christopher up for Tigers while I was on a business trip. I had left Scouting when I went to college in 1974 … I had never even heard of Tiger Cubs in 1989!
What I soon discovered is that Scouting had expanded the program to include first graders. At the time, I was traveling extensively for my job, so Velda was Christopher’s adult partner and attended most of the meetings and monthly field trips. She loved it almost as much as Christopher did: he had a wonderful time! I attended a couple of meetings, and I remember feeling a little lost. Pack meetings helped get me in the swing of things, though, and by the next year, we were ready to volunteer our time to build the Pack up.
Cub Scout campouts are about families. This campout was in the Sequoia National Park at Camp Wolverton. I’ll never forget the Cub Scout’s big sister that thanked me: she had never been to a real campfire before.
Velda became a Den Leader and I became the Pack Treasurer. We were all in, having fun with the kids, planning events and making sure the boys — including our sons — had a fabulous time at every meeting. For the youngest boys, that is especially important. Cub Scouting is a family event. Velda was the Wolf & Bear Den Leader for both of our boys; I was the Webelos Den Leader, Committee Chair and then Cubmaster. The Pack grew from 9 boys to 60+ boys. We did many, many campfires and campouts. Our garage had a permanent table and benches for the twice-a-week Den meetings. As I said, we were all in.
As the boys grow from Wolf to Bear to Webelos (2nd to 3rd to 4th grade), the parents’ role does subtly change. At the beginning, parents are with their son at every meeting, every event. As the boys enter third grade and begin work on their Bear badge, parental attendance often becomes more optional. Note that their participation is not an option, but there are times they can physically miss a meeting. The Pack provides trained, adult leadership — and backups — to make sure that the boys are motivated, educated, entertained and well supervised. The boys will spend time with their peers and learn to follow Akela … their leader.
At the same time, parents will contribute in the way they can best contribute. Some are Den Leaders or assistants … and some help to set up the chairs before a meeting. Helping set up meetings or bring snacks are also important tasks that help make the Pack run smoothly.
The boys in Cub Scouts learn a dizzying array of skills. They will learn how to be responsible. They’ll learn first aid. They’ll learn about our country. They’ll even learn how to communicate with their parents. And, they’ll get to do Scouting stuff, too: sing songs, camp out and build campfires. The boys will have a GREAT time, and they’ll do it with their family. My daughter still says she was a Cub Scout — she went to every Den Meeting, she went on every outing. Note that she is in the middle of the Cub Scouts in the campout picture, above. Cub Scouting is about family.
Every Cub Scout learns the motto: Do Your Best. And they have fun as they do their best, learning how to use a pocket knife, how to tell a tall tale, how recycling works and how to bake cookies.
As the boys transition to Boy Scouts, however, they learn a new motto. As a Boy Scout, they must “Be Prepared.” It’s no longer acceptable to simply do their best — now they must be ready for all challenges that come their way.
And that takes us back to their first campout. It’s five years after your little boy became a Tiger Cub, and their world has changed.
It’s inevitable, really. Families go on Cub Scout campouts, and Moms & Dads are in charge. They set up the tents. They make sure everything gets done. When the boy goes to Boy Scouts, however, that all changes. Who runs a Boy Scout troop? The boys.
When that fifth grade boy, 10 or 11 years old, goes on that first campout with a well-run troop, he will answer to his Patrol Leader, often a 13-year old boy, who has taken on the responsibility to teach the new Scouts in Patrol. That 13-year old Patrol Leader, in turn, reports to a Senior Patrol Leader who is the elected boy leader of the Troop. The SPL is in charge of the outing. He will consult with the adult leaders of the troop when he needs to … and the adult leaders will advise him as they need to.
Boy Scouts learn a lot from adults, of course … but I have always felt they enjoy learning skills from older boys much more. That is good on two levels: both the students and the teacher are enriched by the experience.
The parents aren’t in charge. They’re not in their son’s Patrol. They are not in charge of the Patrol Leader or the training that their son will receive. The parents are welcome at the campout, especially at a first campout. However, their role is not to set up their son’s tent. They should not camp overnight with the Patrol — they will camp in the adult section of the campsite.
One of the goals of Boy Scouting is for the boys to learn leadership skills. They do that by leading younger boys and teaching them Scout skills. As boys advance in rank, they will learn how to set up their own tent. They’ll learn what makes a good site for that tent. And they’ll learn how to cook their own meals. And then they will teach those skills to younger boys as they join the troop.
Parents should be a part of the adult leadership of the troop. Typically that goes in one of two directions: the Scoutmaster and his assistants, who help the boys plan and implement the events the troop participates in, or the troop committee that does everything from budgeting to transportation planning.
As our boys joined their troop, I went along with them and became an Assistant Scoutmaster. Velda decided that she would not formally volunteer as an adult in the troop, but she did help with transportation and other volunteer tasks as needed.
However, even as I continued to be “very” involved, I still made sure that I gave my boys plenty of room to grow on their own. As one example, the troop did an extended Alaska trip with floating, fishing and camping. I did not go on this outing, but both of our sons did. They had a great time, and I’m certain they experienced things differently with me not there.
And that is a wonderful thing. Boys need to learn to be self-reliant as they grow from 2nd graders to 9th graders. How are they going to do that if their parents are at every outing, every event? By not going to Alaska, I helped the boys grow up.
And that, ultimately, is the role of parents. The Scouting program can help, as I know it did for me in Maitland, Missouri’s Pack 58 and Troop 58, and as I know it did for my sons in Pack 575 and Troop 2 in Saugus, California.
I am an Eagle Scout 8 comments
August 1, 2012 is the 100th anniversary of the first Eagle Scout Board of Review. I am proud to be an Eagle Scout.
There are great resources to explain the Eagle award and what it represents. One President of the United States earned the award … as did the first man on the moon, a current Supreme Court Justice and many, many more noteworthy individuals. I celebrate their accomplishment, and ask you to consider a few facts about Eagle Scouts:
- They are significantly more likely to have worked to solve problems in their community than non-Scouts.
- Eagle Scouts are 55 percent more likely than non-Scouts to have held a leadership position at their workplace.
- They are more likely to be active readers.
- Eagles are 72% more likely to attend live entertainment events than non-Scouts.
- Eagle Scouts are 100% more likely than non-Scouts to have a designated family meeting place in the event of an emergency.
- Eagle Scouts are 45% more likely than non-Scouts to agree they always treat people of other religions with respect.
- Eagle Scouts are 34% more likely than non-Scouts to have donated money to a non-religious institution or charity in the community within the last month.
Teaching my children to live a life in service to God, family, community and country was of paramount importance to this parent. Scouting focuses on those core values in an environment of personal achievement, comradery and FUN.
About 2% of all Scouts attain the rank of Eagle. That has trended up recently, with about 5% of all Scouts earning the award in 2008.
Of course, Scouting is about outdoor activities … and Scouts are known to be strong environmentalists. They know how to tie knots, go camping and build a fire. Don’t think for a moment that becoming an Eagle is about those things. Learning outdoor skills is just one of the methods used by Scouting to build knowledge and leadership in young men. However, those skills are not the key result of the program.
My sons are both Eagle Scouts, and it’s had an important impact on their lives. For one example, both Michael and Christopher got their first jobs as a result of their Scouting experience.
Christopher actually learned of a job opportunity with LA County while leading a Scout outing. He got the job, and he’s been promoted by the County several times since; he’s currently a Recreation Supervisor and in charge of 12 natural areas in northern LA County.
The cloth badge is sewn on the shirt; the medal can be worn in its place on more formal occasions. Once a boy turns 18, he no longer wears the badge or medal on his uniform.
Michael didn’t know Scouting was important to his job with Rocketdyne until one day at lunch. Some co-workers were talking about what they would do if they were washed overboard at sea (Note: rocket scientists often have odd conversations). One of his peers calmly related that he would inflate his clothing – a technique learned by all Eagles as they complete the Swimming merit badge. All of Michael’s peers were amazed to learn that everyone at the table knew the technique … and, further, all were Eagle Scouts. Apparently a degree in engineering from a prestigious university was only one thing recruiters were looking for!
To become an Eagle Scout, each young man must complete over 300 separate requirements. They must earn 21 different merit badges, and complete the requirements to the satisfaction of an adult expert in that field. They must demonstrate leadership by planning, inspiring others, and working with them to complete a service project of benefit to their community, church or school. On six different occasions, they must stand before a board of review made up of community leaders, and demonstrate the Scouting spirit and leadership skills required to wear the different rank badges they must earn on the trail to the Eagle badge.
Eagle Scouts will know how to camp – and they’ll know what to do in a nuclear emergency, too. They’ll have written a letter to their congressman. They’ll know how to take care of money. They’ll know first aid for a broken arm and a cut finger. They’ll know the best knot to tie down a friend’s suitcase on a roof rack, too.
Once a young man has earned the award, they are an Eagle Scout for life. I earned my Eagle in 1972 while in Troop 58, Maitland, MO. I earned merit badges in Salesmanship and Journalism, which proved to be directly relevant to my success in my chosen career. My Eagle Scout service project was developed in conjunction with the Graham Community Betterment Association in Graham, MO. I actually assigned the street numbers to all of the buildings in Graham, and communicated their new street addresses to each resident and business owner in Graham (population 213!).
I know two keys to my success were my Scoutmasters, Eddie Hillman and Franklin Hardy. Most important, however, were my Mother and Father. Dad drove me to Scout meetings every Tuesday night. Mom helped make sure I got the requirements done — I distinctly remember some gentle, uh, encouragement, to get my Eagle Scout service project done. They got me there, and I am an Eagle Scout.
Here I am at the Pony Express Council Eagle Dinner in 1972. I’m wearing the Explorer uniform of the Camp Geiger Staff, which I proudly served on in 1972 and 1973.
