The Philmont Advisor’s Guide had an excellent chapter for women who are backpacking at Philmont. The guide was retired after the 2019 Philmont season which makes that chapter unavailable. With the kind permission of Mimi Hatch, editor for the Philmont Advisor’s Guide, here is that chapter.
Is virtual camping a real thing in Scouting? Well…it can be.
Update: On April 13th, BSA national published guidelines for completing rank requirements up through First Class while maintaining social distancing. See the question “Q: What changes have been made to rank advancement/camping requirements given the need to maintain social distancing during this time?” in the BSA COVID-19 FAQ.
Update 2: The FAQ has been updated with this statement: “No, virtual camping will not count toward the 15 nights camping required for membership in the Order of the Arrow.”
Tired of the same old mylar packet of freeze-dried stuff? Here are some sources for tasty prepackaged meals and for dehydrated ingredients so you can make your own. As I write this, a lot of the dehydrated ingredients are out of stock, likely due to new converts to emergency preparedness during the pandemic. I’m sure they’ll be back in stock by the time we are ready to go backpacking again.
These are my favorite trail cooking references and cookbooks, with some explanations of why they are so good.
You cannot complete Cooking merit badge at home, but you can make a solid start on it. Plus, your parents will be thankful for you taking care of several meals.
Cooking is a core life skill. Our younger son was in Scouts before this merit badge was required for Eagle, but he learned to cook in our kitchen and on campouts. Later, he taught it to younger Scouts in his patrol. When he moved off campus in college, he was cooking for the seven people in his house, and teaching one of them to cook instead of serving expensive take-out.
As we move from winter to spring, this is a great time to step outside the house and learn about the weather. All the requirements for the Weather merit badge can be done at home.
Just two days ago, I saw puffy cumulus clouds over the Santa Cruz Mountains and long, higher altocumulus over our valley. After this merit badge, you’ll know what that means.
Ready to run an internet-based business? Entrepreneurship merit badge will walk you through the business plan and Salesmanship will track your success.
In our neighborhood, a girl is selling bake-at-home bread dough. Weekdays alternate French bread and naan, with cinnamon rolls on the weekend.
We came across this sign on our daily walk and ordered as soon as we got home. The first weekend delivery of cinnamon rolls was already sold out, so we signed up for the Saturday evening delivery (for Sunday morning). Leave a pan on your porch, pay with cash or PayPal.
I had a cinnamon roll this morning. It was tasty.
Hiking is probably not the first thing that you associate with “shelter in place”, but our California order does allow walking and hiking for exercise and well-being. These hikes must be with the people you live with. Hikes for this merit badge do not have to be Scout hikes.
It is hard to imagine a merit badge better suited for “shelter in place” than Family Life. Let’s take a look at some of the requirements.
Having a hard time judging the six foot distance needed for coronavirus social distancing? Bring along your Scout staff!
The modern BSA staff is a great deal for $5.99. It is five feet long, so you’ll need a bit of arm extension.
No, not the merit badge, the award. It even has a dedicated spot on the uniform, on the left pocket flap. This can be earned by individuals from Tiger Cubs up through council adult volunteers. There are also unit, district, and council awards. Youth awards are approved by the unit leader, so there isn’t much paperwork.
I learned a new park today, thanks to the girls in Troop 4014. We had a lovely hike at Edgewood Park in Redwood City. I’d never been there, but I’ll be back.
The Scouts chose the route, did all of the map reading and direction finding, and got us back to the trailhead without any fuss. I carried a map, but only looked at it once.
Starting a troop from scratch is a completely different experience from stepping into a functioning troop as Scoutmaster.
My “Scout Me In” neckerchief arrived! I ordered one to show I’m supporting girls in Scouting and to have something to wear while we are getting Troop 4014 ready to charter.
These were originally a restricted item, but now anyone can buy one. It isn’t in the online catalog, so you get it from the national Scout Shop by calling national supply and ordering on the phone (1-800-323-0736).
They quoted a 4-6 week lead time, but mine took about two weeks. It is a pretty fancy necker with a lot of sewing, so it isn’t cheap. With shipping, it was $40.86. I like it.
I wanted to mount my Morse code key on a base so Scouts could use it at Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) this coming October. A $15 walnut “display base” from Amazon was just the right thing for that. Now we can set up a “Send your name in Morse code!” station.
The key is a CTE-26003A “Navy Flameproof” that I bought when I was first licensed, back in the early 1970’s. I’ve never used it and it was never mounted on a base. It looks brand new. The “CTE” manufacturer code is for “Telephonics”, which matches the name on the key.
Most Casual Observer 