Backpacking

These Appalachian Trail Lessons come from Wade Bastian, one of two of my old Scouts hiking the 2200 mile trail.Wade and fellow Eagle ScoutBucky Kellorg**started in February. As planned, Wade interrupted his hike to spend the summer employed as a peak steward in New York’s Adirondack mountains Bucky completed the trail in July, here he is on Katahdin with fellow hiker Brightside You can listen to Wade and Bucky from the trail on the Scoutmaster Podcast –...

Another visit with our favorite through hikers … … from a third of the way through their quest to complete the 2000 mile Appalachian Trail. Wade “Nutshoe” Bastain, Bucky “No Name, Buckminster” Kellorg, and their fellow Eagle Scout and hiking companion “Bear” join us from southern Virginia to relate their latest adventures along the Appalachian trail. In This Podcast [0:17] Scout Zombies [1:45] Mailbag, Intro [10:35] Bucky, Wade, and Bear report on their trail adventure....

When’s the last time you went on a night hike? Nighttime is a great opportunity to learn about wildlife, to conquer fear of the dark, and to understand how our eyes work. Night hikes build important outdoor skills and hone your powers of observation. I have created an outline to use in preparing for a night hike, here’s an excerpt – Humans do not see colors well at night. The retina contains two types of photoreceptor (light sensitive) cells, rods and cones....

Podcast Episode (00:24:44): Listen on Apple Podcasts This encore presentation features my interview with ultimate hiker Andrew Skurka. Skurka’s Ultimate Hiker’s Gear Guide is my new go-to resource for backpacking gear information. The first section of the book asks and answers the questions that many don’t think to ask until they are out on the trail with too much and/or too little gear, blistered feet, and soaking wet with no hope of getting dry; why am I doing this?...

What do the resources say? Who signs rank requirements? It’s up to the unit leader to select and train those who approve advancement, that’s the short answer! Listen for the longer answer and answers to email questions about troop meetings, terms for positions of responsibility, alcohol stoves, and backpack weight. Links in this podcast Going Camping Go Light! (more Horace Kephardt quotes) Guide to Advancement 2015 4.2.1.2[Scoutmaster Handbook on signing requirements](....

Next week is Christmas and the following is new year’s, so for the next two weeks the podcast will be on vacation right along with you as you enjoy the holidays with your friends and family . I’ll return on January 5th with Podcast number 249. You can listen to our archived podcasts here Music on this week’s podcast by the Pine Street String Band Banjo Christmas A New Scoutmaster (chapter one)...

What’s the difference between demanding compliance and getting voluntary obedience? The answer may have a lot to do with the tone of your voice (literally and figuratively). In this podcast I answer emails about an particular Eagle Scout Board of Review, where it looks like the Eagle Scout candidate may be being set up for an ambush. I also answer questions about Scouts volunteering to raise funds for other organizations, and a couple of questions about newsletters and backpacking....

My first backpacking trip was a family hike to a trail shelter in Shenandoah National Park in the early seventies. My brother and I carried frame-less canvas backpacks with webbing shoulder straps that my dad padded with upholstery foam. I don’t recall much else about the gear we used because my brother and I were much more interested in the creek near the shelter. From that point on, I was hooked....

Scoutmaster Joe Jacaruso shares his backpacking knowledge. Joe Jacaruso, Scoutmaster and an avid backpacker, will join us at ScoutCircle.org Sunday October 13 9-10 PM EDT to talk about Scouts and backpacking. ScoutCircle is a monthly live presentation with questions from viewers, you can see our past ScoutCircles presentations here. Joe Jacaruso says: “All I need is just one more excuse to go backpacking.” If you asked any of the people I went to school about what I would be doing now, backpacking would not be at the top of the list....

It’s a little difficult to get ultralight backpacking explained in a simple, straightforward way. Thankfully there is no International Convention of Backpacking Standards and Terminology. We are left to our own devices to individually define “Lightweight” and “Ultralight” backpacking and argue endlessly over our definitions with other zealous backpackers (that’s half the fun of it all, right?) Philip Werner at Sectionhiker.com prepared the slideshow below as a concise introduction to the idea of lightening your pack....

My favorite external frame backpack for Scouts is the Outdoor Products Dragonfly. Almost all of the packs available today are internal frame backpacks. Finding an internal frame pack for Scouts that has the right combination of features for a reasonable price is a challenge. The best internal frame packs I have found for Scouts are the Scout 3400 and Explorer 4000 from Teton Sports. Calling something ‘the best’ is different from calling something ‘perfect’ and that’s never more true than when I evaluate camping gear for Scouts....

Mike Clelland is the author and illustrator of Ultralight Backpackin’ Tips, an excellent guide to changing the way you experience the outdoors. (Mike has a great blog too) In the video above Celland touches on the philosophical and practical aspects of ultra lightweight backpacking, and this ought to get you started thinking about camping in general. If I had to identify with a camping philosophy I’d say that my Scouts are hybrid campers, we backpack, car camp, canoe camp and cabin camp; it’s all good....

Going camping? Go light! Here’s an infographic of the collective wisdom of a number of my favorite authors, Nessmuk, Aldo Leopold, Horace Kephardt, Ellsworth Jaeger and more. Click the go light infographic to see full-size You can get this infographic along with OVER 50 other infographics and helpful PDF documents here If you’d like to print this infographic download the PDF file below BEFORE YOU CLICK THE DOWNLOAD BUTTON Consider joining all the other great folks who have become Backers!...

Over time I have managed to get my weekend backpack down to around 25-30 pounds. I am not an fully anointed apostle of the ultra-lightweight sect but I have certainly benefited from a lot of their ideas. The backpacking cook kit described here weighs in at well less than two pounds depending on your choice of stove. Without the stove my choices will cost you somewhere between $20-25.00 – a pretty good deal....

Andrew Skurka’s new Ultimate Hiker’s Gear Guide includes a packing list for Philmont Scout Ranch! It has far less gear than the official Philmont list. In Clarke’s interview in podcast 111, Andrew pointed out that over 20,000 Scouts backpack at Philmont every summer and probably 19,000 of them are carrying too much weight. Improving packing at Philmont is a huge opportunity for youth to get started on the light path, have more fun, and become lifetime backpackers....

Andrew Skurka guides us through his 4,700-mile, six-month trek around Alaska and the Yukon. Andrew is an accomplished adventure athlete, speaker, guide, and writer. The 33-year-old is most well known for his solo long-distance backpacking trips. November 2007, Great Western Loop, 6,875 miles including 5 long-distance hiking trails, 12 National Parks, and over 75 wilderness areas. July 2005 Sea-to-Sea Route, a transcontinental network of long-distance hiking trails from Quebec to Washington, which took him 11 months and which involved 1,400 miles of snowshoeing....

Podcast Episode (00:35:19): Listen on Apple Podcasts IN THIS PODCASTInterview with Ultimate Hiker Andrew Skurka LINKS IN THIS PODCASTMy review of The Ultimate Hiker’s Gear GuideAndrew Skurka’s WebsiteUltimate Hiker’s Gear Guide available at Amazon |

My first backpacking trip was a hike to a trail shelter in Shenandoah National Park in the early seventies. My brother and I carried frame-less canvas backpacks with webbing shoulder straps that my dad padded with upholstery foam. I don’t recall the sleeping bags or much else about the gear we used because my brother and I were much more interested in the creek near the shelter. Dad poured over Colin Fletcher’s new book The Complete Walker and so did I....

The Outdoor Products Dragonfly pack is Available at Amazon Selecting a backpack for Scouts can be confusing; here’s one that I think fits the bill. Backpacks fall in to two basic types; ones with an external frame to which the pack bag is attached and ones with the frame built into the bag (internal frame). In my experience Scouts are better off with external frame backpack because they are easier to pack and adjust....

The author of the original article posted here requested that I remove it. He contended that it was a violation of his copyright to re-post the entire article. He went on to threaten “… otherwise, I will initiate legal proceeding against you.” [sic] The article suggested a pretty good idea. Now I could have simply restated the author’s idea without any attribution at all. I wouldn’t do that because it’s a really good idea and I think he should get the credit for it....