Do you have a son? Did he backpack as a scout? My nephew is heading out this weekend to do just this. He is pretty excited but my sister is a nervous Nelly. She has asked the scout leader if he can take his cell phone. No! I am sure he will be just fine.
Boyscouts and backpacking
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Bojib
Active Member
We did a few trips like this when I was a scout. It was always a great deal of fun.
I don't think my mom ever got too nervous about it, but my dad was the scout leader.
I still remember those trips well, as well as some of the large group camps we did. It will be well worth the memories for him.
I don't think my mom ever got too nervous about it, but my dad was the scout leader.
I still remember those trips well, as well as some of the large group camps we did. It will be well worth the memories for him.
A good scoutmaster will have a good idea what his boys are capable of. I would say relax and trust him to plan well.
We are taking our 12-13 year old scouts on a 50 miler backpack next summer. In fact, we are backpacking in 3 miles in the morning for an overnighter. This is the first preliminary hike to see how they will fare, what equipment will be needed and if any of our boys are unfit for the longer trek. I took them on a very rugged 10 mile day hike in September and they held up fine. Couple of the adults were dragging but the boys were in good shape.
This past summer, I did two 50 mile backpacks and each had a 13 year old along. Again, the boys did well. Having the right equipment makes a big difference when backpacking.
When my son was a boy scout, the Scout Master did "sissy" campouts so my son was not interested. Why go camp in someones backyard in between backpacking the Sawtooths or the Frank Church with Dad? Likewise, when I was a scout, the troop did little but a few of us backpacked all over.
We are taking our 12-13 year old scouts on a 50 miler backpack next summer. In fact, we are backpacking in 3 miles in the morning for an overnighter. This is the first preliminary hike to see how they will fare, what equipment will be needed and if any of our boys are unfit for the longer trek. I took them on a very rugged 10 mile day hike in September and they held up fine. Couple of the adults were dragging but the boys were in good shape.
This past summer, I did two 50 mile backpacks and each had a 13 year old along. Again, the boys did well. Having the right equipment makes a big difference when backpacking.
When my son was a boy scout, the Scout Master did "sissy" campouts so my son was not interested. Why go camp in someones backyard in between backpacking the Sawtooths or the Frank Church with Dad? Likewise, when I was a scout, the troop did little but a few of us backpacked all over.
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Hikenhunter
Well-Known Member
As a former assistant scoutmaster myself I can tell you that if your nephew has a responsible, by the book kind of guy for a scoutmaster then he will know what the boys in his troop are capable of. Hopefully the troop has been preparing for this trip at their weekly meetings. Tell your sister that she should not worry quite so much. Backpacking in a group for his first trip might be better for him just because he will be among many friends.
bsmit212
Member
Never been invloved, but pass groups often on the AT in north GA. All the groups seem very well manganged and doing great.
ponderosa
Active Member
It depends entirely on the scout leaders. I've known some who were phenomenal, and others who I wouldn't trust to take my kid to the city park. I've seen scout groups in the backcountry who were well prepared and good stewards, and others who were big accidents waiting to happen.
ppine
Forester
We started doing trips with the Boy Scouts at age 11. Soon after we got permission to go on backpacking trips without adults. We learned the most on those trips. We had to make decisions without adult leadership. My 15 yo nephew is a great kid, but he can't use a pocket knife, shoot, use an axe, or sleep in the middle of nowhere without being scared to death. It is a different world now. We grew up in a great time when parents trusted us out in the Big World and we did fine.
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I agree, it totally depends on the adult for me, whether for boy scouts or for a babysitter when we go to the movies. Some scout leaders that are both good with kids and with nature are sure to give the boys a great experience.
My brother was a scout in school. He went all the way and received Eagle. He was also a part of Venture Crew ( an offshoot of the Boy Scouts) and they went backpacking and white water rafting several states away every summer. I am sure that your nephew will be fine.
Theosus
Backpacking Noob
Never got to. I started in cub scouts, which was basically babysitting in uncomfortable uniforms. A bunch of the den mothers did crafts in the church fellowship hall with us. I don't remember ever going anywhere. I dropped out before boy scout age. I do remember the pinewood derby. The was fun, carving the car and all. Mine looked like I made it... And I went up against some kid whose father turned out this thing that looked like a miniaturized formula one racer. I don't recall many fathers actively involved in our group for the most part.
ppine
Forester
When I was a Scout in 1961, few of the Cub Scouts stayed with it. It was too boring. In our troop we had an overnight at least once a month year around. We had very little emphasis on achievement (gaining rank). We had some great Dads that could each teach us something new in addition to an old fuddy duddy Scoutmaster. We quickly got tired of the old guys and struck out on our own. My Dad had to convince the other kids' parents that we would be okay and we definitely were.
It is hard for me to imagine a Mom worrying about her kid out there with a bunch of adults and a celll phone. She could be a "helicopter parent", always hovering.
Just don't let them use an axe. That is the one thing that caused some accidents. My Dad would let us take a machete for cutting firewood, but never an axe on our unsupervised trips. Much safer he said. When I was 11, the Scoutmaster used to insist that I carry the axe because safety was instilled in us at a young age. Many kids today can't use a dinner knife safely.
It is hard for me to imagine a Mom worrying about her kid out there with a bunch of adults and a celll phone. She could be a "helicopter parent", always hovering.
Just don't let them use an axe. That is the one thing that caused some accidents. My Dad would let us take a machete for cutting firewood, but never an axe on our unsupervised trips. Much safer he said. When I was 11, the Scoutmaster used to insist that I carry the axe because safety was instilled in us at a young age. Many kids today can't use a dinner knife safely.
NWABYUCougar
New Member
ppine;90410 Many kids today can't use a dinner knife safely.[/QUOTE said:
Newanderthal
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We did so much as a family that the Scouts seemed pretty tame to me. I had a compound bow when I was 8, had been camping since before I could walk, fishing since I was old enough to poke myself with a hook, and hiking since I was old enough to get myself lost in the woods and scare my mom.
ponderosa
Active Member
QUOTE ppine: "It is hard for me to imagine a Mom worrying about her kid out there with a bunch of adults and a celll phone. She could be a "helicopter parent", always hovering."
The issue for me is that scoutmasters can sometimes be very inexperienced outdoorsmen, which is a safety issue despite their good intentions. Around here at least, the troops are most often affiliated with church or civic groups, and the leaders are recruited based on their character and talents in working with youth, not necessarily their woodsman skills. I've known of scout troops who got into some very dangerous situations, and they manage to kill a few boys every year somewhere in the country, doing dumb things. Like last year in Nevada, striking out for a long hike on day with record breaking heat. Troops in this area have gotten into trouble by attempting dangerous river crossings without the experience to safely do it. (Remember the scout who drowned in Yellowstone a few years ago...never found his body). They've gotten boys run over by horses. They've attempted to paddle across the center of big lakes in windstorms with overloaded canoes which (predictably) capsized. They've gotten boys dangerously hypothermic by camping in cold, wet weather with inadequate gear. We encountered some scouts standing within 15 feet of an agitated bull moose, hitting it with rocks, while their "leaders" were napping in the tents. Only a couple of boys were being idiots, but the others were in just as much danger as they stood nearby trying to convince the rock throwers to stop. You don't have to be a helicopter parent to recognize the risks in that sort of scenario. My point is, safety in the woods or desert or swamp isn't a given just because it's a scout activity, and it pays to know something about the leaders' experience and judgment before sending your kids off with them.
The issue for me is that scoutmasters can sometimes be very inexperienced outdoorsmen, which is a safety issue despite their good intentions. Around here at least, the troops are most often affiliated with church or civic groups, and the leaders are recruited based on their character and talents in working with youth, not necessarily their woodsman skills. I've known of scout troops who got into some very dangerous situations, and they manage to kill a few boys every year somewhere in the country, doing dumb things. Like last year in Nevada, striking out for a long hike on day with record breaking heat. Troops in this area have gotten into trouble by attempting dangerous river crossings without the experience to safely do it. (Remember the scout who drowned in Yellowstone a few years ago...never found his body). They've gotten boys run over by horses. They've attempted to paddle across the center of big lakes in windstorms with overloaded canoes which (predictably) capsized. They've gotten boys dangerously hypothermic by camping in cold, wet weather with inadequate gear. We encountered some scouts standing within 15 feet of an agitated bull moose, hitting it with rocks, while their "leaders" were napping in the tents. Only a couple of boys were being idiots, but the others were in just as much danger as they stood nearby trying to convince the rock throwers to stop. You don't have to be a helicopter parent to recognize the risks in that sort of scenario. My point is, safety in the woods or desert or swamp isn't a given just because it's a scout activity, and it pays to know something about the leaders' experience and judgment before sending your kids off with them.
I'm sure the Scoutmaster has been camping and knows what he is doing, so your nephew will be fine. I'm sure they wouldn't send the kids out without an experienced camper. Kids are resilient. I think my brother went camping as a Scout but it was so long ago I can't remember. I know he learned a lot about friendships, outdoors and how to do basic survival in the bush, from his time in the Scouts.
ppine
Forester
Ponderosa,
I am appalled to hear your stories of ignorant adult leaders. I have no experience with people like that, and don't really know how to react. My Dad was very safety conscious and instilled a lot of self-preservation in us as young kids. We were much safer by age 12-13, than the adults you describe above. We were lucky to grow up when we did.
I am appalled to hear your stories of ignorant adult leaders. I have no experience with people like that, and don't really know how to react. My Dad was very safety conscious and instilled a lot of self-preservation in us as young kids. We were much safer by age 12-13, than the adults you describe above. We were lucky to grow up when we did.
EmberMike
Member
I don't think it's a matter of when we grew up. There are plenty of adults in scouting who have the right knowledge, experience, and wisdom to safely and successfully run a troop. Leaders like the ones ponderosa mentions have always been around. It has always been a matter of knowing who the leaders are and what they are capable of, and not necessarily when it comes to woods skills and survival. You can't possibly know if they are knowledgable enough to react properly to every single possible scenario they might encounter. But you should be involved enough with the troop to have met most or all of these leaders and know, to some extent, how they operate and if you can trust them with your kids.
In the end, though, you really do have to have a little faith. The point of scouting, especially in Boy Scouts and as the kids get older, is to develop leadership skills. That can't be done without giving the kids some distance from the adults. So the adults have to pull back, not hover over the kids, and let them go out on their own sometimes. If that isn't something a parent is comfortable with, scouting is probably not a good idea for them and their family.
In the end, though, you really do have to have a little faith. The point of scouting, especially in Boy Scouts and as the kids get older, is to develop leadership skills. That can't be done without giving the kids some distance from the adults. So the adults have to pull back, not hover over the kids, and let them go out on their own sometimes. If that isn't something a parent is comfortable with, scouting is probably not a good idea for them and their family.