Scout Skills

Take a little time to watch these two inspiring canoe videos, it’s worth it. “The Canoe” features footage of Algonquin Provincial Park where we go for our Venture Crew’s annual canoe trips. There’s a segment on building a birch bark canoe, so I just had to add the second film to this post. Filmed in the early 1970’s “Cesar’s Bark Canoe” features what bushcraft guru Ray Mears calls the epitome and icon of bushcraft, the finest craft people have ever created; the birchbark canoe....

*During his lifetime Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the worldwide Scouting movement, wrote many books and articles directed to Scouters.*Each Sunday I’ll publish a selection from his writings in the hope that you’ll draw inspiration and understanding from his timeless ideas. I REMEMBER how my education in Greek was a dead washout because they tried to teach me the grammar first, with all its intricacies and uninteresting detail, before showing me anything of the beauty of the language itself....

*During his lifetime Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the worldwide Scouting movement, wrote many books and articles directed to Scouters.*Each Sunday I’ll publish a selection from his writings in the hope that you’ll draw inspiration and understanding from his timeless ideas. I AM sure it is a good thing to do a bit of play-acting when you are young. At school I was encouraged to do a lot of it and I have thanked my stars ever since that I did so....

If you think the advice in this infographic is nutty, heretical, or (to be charitable) merely inadvisable; so did I until I tried it. I first read about this in Cliff Jacobson’s book Camping’s Top Secrets. Jacobson is an author, wilderness guide, Distinguished Eagle Scout, and a regular contributor to Scouting Magazine. When I interviewed Cliff on Scoutmaster Podcast 54 he mentioned that many people react negatively to this particular advice, they insist he’s wrong....

Once at winter camp the temperature was just above freezing, and the wind blew a sharp drizzle into every contrivable shelter and refuge. I was a young Scout rinsing dishes. There wasn’t a rubber glove in sight, so I was lucky enough to dunk my frozen hands into cold water. It was SUCH FUN!! At that moment, I wished I were absolutely anywhere else. I love camping, but camp chores almost ruined the whole experience until I learned how to tackle them....

Scouts measure height for First Class rank: First Class Requirement 2 Using a map and compass, complete an orienteering course that covers at least one mile and requires measuring the height and/or width of designated items (tree, tower, canyon, ditch, etc.). Peter Le Roux at the Ropes and Poles Blog provides the helpful illustration above and the directions: This technique for measuring the height of an object is an old one- there is a very similar drawing in Scouting For Boys....

UDAP, the folks that make pepper spray for fending off bears, also offer (of all things) an electric fence as an alternative to hanging food in bear country. Powered by 4 D -cell and 4 AA batteries the fence packs a 7600 volt punch into a 9 pound package. Looks like a viable alternative for groups that spend a lot of time in serious bear country. We hang our food when we are canoeing in Canada more to protect it from other animals than the black bears found in Algonquin (never spotted one myself)....

If you are headed out into the wild and run into a real gully washing, frog-strangling rainstorm here’s ten more tips for camping in the rain that should help you get through the storm in style (the first ten tips are here.) 1. Poncho on a stick Umbrellas are under-rated camping accessories. When conditions are right I much prefer an umbrella to rain gear. A big, sturdy, golf umbrella for car camping and a lightweight collapsible model for hiking....

What are Scouting Skills? Can you throw some things in a pack, step off the road into the woods and live comfortably for a few days without getting lost? Can you build a fire, lash a tripod together, set up a shelter, cook your food, stay warm and dry and leave no trace of your presence when you leave? If the answer is yes then you possess what I would call some basic ‘Scouting Skills’....

Published by Scouts UK with a forward by Bear Grylls The Outdoor Adventure Manual is packed with practical Scout skill tutorials ; tents and camping, fire, food and cooking, tools and gadgets, knots and lashings, navigation, first aid and survival, and more. Skills are explained step-by-step with photos and illustrations that really bring them to life. I’ve read a number of ‘how-to’ books that I suspected were written by people who had not actually tried out what they were describing....

If you are travelling in bear country follow these ten ways to avoid bears: Keep your cooking areas and sleeping areas separate (100 yards or so is the rule of thumb). Hang food and items with strong odors (ie, toothpaste, bug repellent, soap, etc.) at least 10 ft above the ground or use airtight, bear-proof containers. Don’t wear clothing with cooking or food odors to bed. Be clean – wash dishes, and people in the cooking area well away from the sleeping area....

Supplement your B.S.A. Hazardous Weather Training with the free National Weather Service’s SKYWARN training. (Rick Jameson suggested this after reading Ten Causes of Scouting Disasters in the Wild – thanks Rick!) To obtain critical weather information, NOAA’s National Weather Service established SKYWARN®, a volunteer program with nearly 290,000 trained severe weather spotters. These volunteers help keep their local communities safe by providing timely and accurate reports of severe weather to the National Weather Service....

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!...

Backpacker Magazine’s Complete Guide to Outdoor Gear Maintenance and Repair is your ticket to becoming a camping gear repair guru. Author Kirstin Hostetter’s well illustrated, carefully explained directions return your investment with the first piece of damaged gear you save. Maintaining and repairing modern clothing, sleeping bags, backpacks, stoves and tents is not a simple as slapping on a bit of duct-tape. You are much more likely to find siliconized nylon, GoreTex titanium and Fastex buckles rather than canvas, brass or leather in a Scout campsite these days....

Cold weather camping in very cold weather from Northern Tier where crews regularly face temperatures lower than -20F. That’s cold! A double sleeping bag, techniques for keeping clothing from freezing, and drying out boot liners; some good advice. Okpik, (Inuit for Snowy Owl, pronounced OOk’ pick) is a winter cold weather camping program offered at Northern Tier. From a weekend in a cabin to more ambitious adventures like dog sledding Okpik has it all....

Don’t assume your Scouts know how to sleep warm while camping, it’s important to instruct them and be sure they are properly equipped. In especially cold weather changing clothes before getting in a sleeping bag can make a big difference, as can having a pair of loosely fitting wool or fleece socks just for sleeping. Sleeping bag insulation will be compressed when it is packed ss fluffing it up and redistributing the insulation is important....

In the age of the automatic dishwasher most folks have little to no idea of how to hand wash dishes at home let alone when camping. I still see Scouts washing dishes underneath a community water spigot or, even worse, in a stream or lake. Good dish washing technique will help you stay healthy (especially on extended trips) and minimize impact in the wild. Here’s a short version Pre-Rinse – each individual uses a little bit of drinking water to rinse out their dishes and utensils, drinks that rinse water, and then puts their dishes on the wash pile....

Palca and Morning Edition Executive Producer Madhulika Sikka test if hot tea can cool you down on a hot day Keep cool by drinking hot drinks? “Trust me,” she said. “I’m Indian, I’m British. A billion Indians can’t be wrong. They drink hot tea in hot weather.” “The hot drink somehow has an effect on your systemic cooling mechanisms, which exceeds its actual effect in terms of heating your body,”...

The National Outdoor Award program recognizes Scouts for some above-average participation in challenging outdoor activities. A combination of merit badges, rank, and activities qualify Scouts for hiking, aquatics, camping, adventure and riding awards. The five National Outdoor Awards badges recognize a Boy Scout or Varsity Scout who demonstrates knowledge and experience in camping, hiking, aquatics,riding, or adventure. Scouts earning the National Outdoor Awards badges have demonstrated that they are knowledgeable, safe, and comfortable in the outdoor activity covered by the badge....

1. Go to bed Warm Jumping jacks, push ups or something similar – just enough to warm yourself up but before you start sweating. If you getin a sleeping bag when you are cold you’ll likely stay cold. 2. Fuel up If it’s going to be a very cold night consider a pre-bedtime snack that will keep the furnace burning. Slow burning fatty snacks like cheese; avoid refined sugars or caffeine....