Yeah.. so I like to talk about gear… it’s what I do…
Hi, my name is Jerry… and I am a gear junky..
Hiiiiii Jerrrrryyy
Hey folks, ever since I was a young Scout I was told to take care of your gear and it will take care of you.. I think that is very true and with that comes messin’ with your gear. Always looking for the ‘next best thing’ or a simple way or cooler way to do this or that.
Sometimes I am a bit apprehensive about showing gear or a way I do something because give it a week.. it may change.
As you know I am a hammock camper and use a tarp over the hammock. Real hard to get a hammock in a tent.. although I have seen it done. But I have not always been a hammock camper and enjoyed camping none the less. Hammock camping was introduced to me at the 2010 National Jamboree and I have been hooked since. I find it an extremely comfortable way to sleep and it gives me new opportunities to tweak gear. It seems that with hammock camping came a whole new way of camping. I started getting my gear lighter. I started to look at new ways to set up gear and find it challenging in the way modifications can be made and gear can be set up.
I am in no way shape or form trying to get anyone to convert to hammock camping. I could really care less how you camp… as long as you camp. You gotta get out there in the woods and enjoy nature. It is a must. I encourage… nay demand that you camp!
But yes I talk a bunch about hammock camping and show that style in my videos and gear tips and tricks.. why? Because it is what I do. What I know for sure is that I just like to talk gear and I like to share. The other thing that I know for sure is that I am not the ultimate authority on camping and everything associated with it.. but I do know a bunch, I have ideas, thoughts, and certainly opinions and once again… I like to share.
If hammock camping is not your thing than I can deal with that. Maybe you can find a tip here and there that you can work into tent camping or on the ground tarp camping. Maybe there is a tip out there that you can share with your Scouts to make their outdoor experience better. Maybe, just maybe, you will be intrigued enough to try something new or motivated just a bit to step outside of your comfort zone, what ever that looks like.
So here’s the deal. I’ll keep talking gear and changing my stuff every time the wind blows and I’ll keep sharing with you, my trusty reader. You know I love ya… right?
So here’s a couple of thoughts on gear.. lessons learned you might say.
***NOTE*** What I am about to write does not comply with the Guide to Safe Scouting!
Fuel. On the last camp out I noticed that my Denatured Alcohol took some time to warm up and light. It was nothing that would cause alarm and after a few minutes under my arm pit, the fuel was warm enough to light and get some water boiling. The fix. Today I went out and purchased a little 3 oz. squeeze bottle. It is a bottle recommended to carry fluids on an airplane, essentially to get through TSA. I wrote in RED Sharpie all over it FUEL! The plan (and I am going to test it tonight) is to keep it in my sleeping bag with me at night. Then in the morning, it will be warm and ready to use.
Now some of you are going to say.. well that is not setting a good example. Ok.. but then again, I am not afraid of teaching Scouts how to do things right and even if Denatured Alcohol leaked in their sleeping bag, there would be no harm. Fact is 3 ounces of alcohol would probably evaporate before they woke up. As long as they are not sleeping with a lit torch in their pants I am sure they would be just fine.
I am not going to rehash the comments I made about teaching Scouts and allowing them to act their age and skill level. Is that not setting a good example… well to some. One day the BSA will again allow skills to be tested. That day will come when we don’t teach to the lowest common denominator and lawyers leave us alone.
I have often said that I will never compromise Safety and Propriety.. A 3 ounce bottle of Denatured Alcohol does not compromise either… besides, what does it matter to some of the car campers out there? Enough said on that.
(Please know that part of me is joking here.. the other part of me is really pissed)
Next. Gear needs to be tested. This goes for Scouts and Scouters. You need to know your gear. You need to know the limits of the gear, the capabilities of the gear, and how to use it. There is no better place to do this that your backyard.
Tonight, I am testing some gear out in the backyard.
1. My new under quilt from Hammock gear. Hammockgear.com I got this for Christmas, but since they make to order, I just got it on Friday. Tonight I will be in it and my Big Agnes Encampment 15* bag. It’s supposed to get chilly tonight, so we will see how that goes. The best part is that if I get to cold.. my bed is about 50 feet away inside the house.
2. Dutch Clip on Tarp pull outs. They pull the walls of the tarp out to give you more room as well as keep the tarp off of you in the snow and heavy rain. I have them on the tarp tonight. Mainly because I wanted to see how easy they are to put on and take off… really easy as a matter of fact.
3. I am testing.. or more to the point playing with a stove that a fellow Youtuber sent me. It is an alcohol stove… looks a lot like the white box stove. I’m gonna fire it up and have some hot chocolate tonight and my coffee in the morning.
I also did some more tweaking on the tarp. I found that if I tied a bowline at the end of the guy line, then synched up the line using the prusik it was super easy especially with gloves on. There will be no need to until the bowline and will help in take down also.
So the tarp and hammock are up in the backyard and ready to be tested… now that’s the kind of testing I can get behind.
Today I took another look at my first aid kit and got it all in a small LOCSAK. This will make packing just a tad bit easier and I still have everything I need. Reworked my ‘toilet kit’ too. Added Wet Ones single packs to it. Feels nice on the tush when cleaning up in the woods.
Ok… so did you all get that I like to talk about gear?
That’s it for now.. should have a video out tomorrow. The Sunday Morning coffee will be built into the tweaking of the gear.
As always, I am curious to know what you think. Keep in my that the tag line of this blog is “Helping to Deliver the Promise of Scouting.” Do not forget what that promise is.. a large part of that promise is fun and adventure. I’m just sayin’.
Have a Great Scouting Day!
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Modeling Expected Behavior
I often preach about how I expect more out of our young men, that nothing in life will be easy, and that there are no participation ribbons just for showing up in life. When it comes to leadership, the Scouts in our Troop hear it over and over again that we all need to “Model Expected Behavior” and they all should at least have an understanding of what that means. For the Scouts of our Troop that means that good is not good enough. It means that we do things right, we learn from mistakes, and we hold one another to a higher standard.
So what does that mean? Is is arrogant of us to act that way? Well, to the outsider looking in, yep.. but for us we look at it this way. The world around us is happy with mediocre leadership, results, and standards of living. I’m not ok with that when it comes to our Scouts.
We are not a merit badge mill nor are we an Eagle factory. We do not measure success in the amount of Scouts that earned awards or rank each year. We measure success in the way our Scouts act. We see direct results in watching older Scouts teach younger Scouts and hold each other accountable. We measure our success in growth and sustained attendance. Is our Troop for everyone.. nah.. but no troop is. Even though we all work toward the Aims of Scouting, our programs are different in their delivery. I could not be in a Troop that had more adult involvement than Scouts. I could not be a unit that did merit badge classes each week. I could not be in a Troop that produces Eagle Scouts that can not do the basics. I could not be apart of a Troop that did not seek adventure and test the limits.
This weekend, our Troop camped at a local Scout camp. There were not a lot of miles walked and the weather was great. It got real cold, and that tested some of the boys in the troop. Some Scouts pushed their boundaries by shooting Shot guns for the first time, while other Scouts increased their knowledge and leadership skills at Junior Leader Training. A few Scouts were taken out of their comfort zones as they taught the Junior Leader Training. No matter what level of the Scout there was challenge enough for everyone.
Our Junior Leader Training follows the National program, but we tend to focus heavily on communication skills, team development, Conflict resolution, and expectations of leaders.
We start the session with a talk about Modeling Expected Behavior and then everything that follows in the course of training maintains that theme. We expect our Scouts to be and act the best. Good is never good enough. The team deserves that attitude from everyone. If they all act their best.. they become the best. A high performance team.
Now you may ask.. aren’t you expecting too much from these young men. Nope. If I don’t who will? We see too much “getting by” in our world and I will not be party to it. Do we exclude young men when we expect more from them? NO.. we expect more and they give more… like it or not.. That I don’t care about. Life is going to expect a lot from them. Why treat them with kiddy gloves now.
Does this mean we are hard ass’s? Not at all. We stay within the Scout Oath and Law. Teaching in a friendly, fun, challenging atmosphere. But when things are not right, a leader (adult or youth) simply corrects the issue and we move on. Un tied shoes, un tucked shirts, gear looking like a yard sale, bad attitudes, improper set up or use of gear, not living the vlaues of the Scout Oath and Law. These are things that other Scout leaders just allow. Kids will be kids… yeah.. but bad habits last forever. Good attitudes, skills, and behavior does to and gets them a lot farther in life.
So modeling expected behavior is a cultural thing. We don’t march, we don’t yell.. yelling is for ineffective bad leaders.. we just teach, coach, train, and mentor.. oh and we model expected behavior. Adults don’t get a free pass on bad behavior either. We are expected to model what we expect.
The proof is in the pudding. Our Troop grows annually. We lose Scouts too, and that’s ok, maybe we are not the fit for them. Maybe XBox and lower expectations is what they are looking for in life. And that’s ok.. just not in our Troop.
This morning a Scout was standing under a shelter pouting. His hands were cold, after all, it was 24 degrees outside. His Patrol leader had just instructed him to get his gloves on. The Scout could not find them. So the Patrol leader and the Scout went to his pack and dumped it out. There were the gloves. I then saw the Scout standing there not assisting with his Patrol in breaking camp and wrapping up the clean up. I called him over to where I was standing watching. I asked him if he was ok. Yeah.. he said, but I’m cold. I suggested that if he would get moving he would warm up. If he would help his Patrol mates out.. he would start to feel a bit warmer. I asked him why he was pouting earlier and he told me that his hands were cold. I asked him what he did about it… fully knowing what had happened. He said that he found his gloves and put them on. Then I had him recite the Scout Law to me. And asked to him to reflect on the meaning of being Trustworthy. We talked a bit about making choices and how he was either going to develop good habits and skills, or he would develop bad ones. The choice was his, not mine, the Patrol leaders, or his parents. He would have to make a choice which path he wanted to take. He turned and walked back to his patrol and pitched in. You see, if we let it go, it won’t change. If we expect little, that is what we get. So we chose to expect more. And not surprisingly we get more.
When our Youth leaders set good examples and model the behavior that we want out of our Troop.. that is what we get.
There is nothing wrong with winning and losing. We can learn from both. There is everything wrong with not learning and not trying to learn, to push, and to find success.
I had a talk with a Scoutmaster about this a while ago. He said that “I bet they all march around and it’s all yes sir this and no sir that..” On the contrary.. In fact the Scouts in my Troop call me Jerry and we call them by their names. There is no marching, yelling, or military like behavior.. just a lot of fun and development. It is an environment that is comfortable, friendly, and leaves them wanting to come back.
At the end of each camp out we close with lessons learned, Start, Stop, and Continue. Today the Senior Patrol leader led the discussion with whole troop. As the next two camp outs will be up on the mountain, this camp out was a great opportunity to learn and get ready for the up coming outings. He had each Scout share one thing that needs to improve in the next 3 weeks. I listened as the Scouts really gave some thought to their answers. It was in some of the more experienced Scouts answers that I realized that they got it.. they are modeling expected behavior. They were critical of themselves and how they prepared for this camp out. The next one will be that much more successful.
Expect more.. get more.
Have a Great Scouting Day!
Treat them like you want them to be
Yep… that’s a lengthy title and I really do not want this to become a rant, BUT… it seems that I get in an inordinate amount of emails reminding me that we are working with boys and that these boys are not responsible enough to do this or that. They are not responsible or skilled enough to participate in this or another thing. Recently I was reminded that in my video that I talked about how I am carrying my fuel now that the G2SS suggests that fuel be carried in the original container or a container suitable for the use of carrying fuel. And I agree that is what the G2SS says. And here is the rub.
When you really look at most of the “Prohibitions” in Scouting they are place, not really for safety or to reinforce Scouting’s values. They are in place for the lowest common denominator. They are in place to protect, not the BSA, but ourselves. And why do we need them? Well, because people are not smart enough to know that coffee is hot and when it spills on you, you get burned. Every McDonalds coffee cup tells you so… why? Because people are not smart enough to figure it out.. the lowest common denominator.
The Boy Scouts of America has a certain level of protection that it must put in place so it does not get sued.. I get that. But there are common practices in the Backpacking world and elsewhere that look at the BSA and shake their heads in disbelief at the “old School” ways it is stuck in. That is but one example but to the point I am trying to make…
When are we going to treat our Scouts the way we want them to act in life. After all, we are here to teach them to make ethical choices throughout their life times right? We are here to impart some life skills and wisdom on them, right? We are not here to shelter them from the world.. no… we are here to give them a set of values that will help them navigate the world we live in.
So why do we treat them with kiddy gloves? Why not give them responsibility and let them learn. Let them explore and develop good habits.. safe habits.
I can not tell you how many Scoutmasters I know that believe that liquid fuel is prohibited by the BSA.. or they just won’t let their Scouts use it because it is dangerous. Hog wash!
It is that kind of thinking that prohibits other things in Scouting. It is that old way of thinking that holds back Scouts from learning and exploring. It is that kind of thinking that does not allow for change and new ideas, skills, and yep… gear.
I make it a point in our Troop to push the boundaries, to test the waters. We stay legal rest assured, but I want our Scouts to explore and discover. To learn and test new things. First, it keeps them interested. And second, they have fun. They love to push themselves and have something cool that is common in the “real world” of backpacking. They test themselves and how they are skilled. They are better for it.
So when are you going to treat your Scouts like you want them to be? Stop dumbing down the program and push the limits… get out on the edge and take a peak over.. the more we do it and the do it right and safe.. maybe Scouting will see what is beyond their limits and grow.
Have a Great Scouting Day!
Times Up
On one hand it breaks my heart when a Scout creeps up to his 18th birthday and has not completed the requirements for Eagle Scout. It reminds me of my biggest regret in not finishing my Eagle and I can see the disappointment in their eyes that they to will not be counted as Eagle Scouts. I tell them that all is not lost, think of the life skills you learned, the friends made, and the experiences that you had. The time spent in Scouting is worth while, even if it does not include the Eagle award. I have repeated this again and again that the goal is not to make Eagles, it’s to make men that make ethical choices throughout their life times. Men of character. Now I know that’s not what the Scout wants to hear when he realizes that he is not going to finish the trail that he started, but that is the reality and after some thoughtful consideration a look in the mirror and a glance over his Scouting record and experience, the Scout will soon come to understand that he got his monies worth and more in Scouting.
On the other hand, I am often disappointed in the Scout that he did not take advantage of the advancement program and complete the requirements in a timely manner. This leads me to wanting to say “I told you so” to the Scout, even though I won’t. Encouraging, reminding, a nudge here and a tug there to get the Scout to do the work is about all we can do. I refuse to just give it to them and I won’t take them by the hand and lead them around like a Den Mother. They all know what needs to be done and by the time they are in that 16-year-old range, well, they know how to get it done and they certainly know when their birthday is, so I tend to not feel to bad for them. After all, we are teaching life skills right?
When time is up.. time is up and you have to accept the consequence for your action or lack there of. Do I want them all to be Eagle Scouts? Sure, is it something that they all can do? Sure. I am going to turn my troop into a Merit badge mill and Eagle factory to make sure that we have more Eagles than any other Troop. Nope. The Scouts all know when they turn 18 and they all own a Scout handbook that shows them step by step what needs to be done if they want to be an Eagle Scout. Beyond that, I will help, I will guide, I will bend over backwards to work with them. But I won’t do it for them or allow other to.
I see to much of this in Scouting and it simply takes away from the meaning of the Eagle award. It takes away from accomplishment and sense of pride that the Scout has when he knows that he worked hard to get what only 4% of the Scouts in America get.
I suppose I can go on and on about this.. but when time is up.. time is up.
Have a Great Scouting Day!
Sunday Coffee 1/13
Well, here is this weeks video. I tad bit different this week. Had to record later in the day, so coffee wasn’t going to work.. so I had some calming Celestial Wild Berry Zinger Herbal Tea… boy did it relax.
This week I talk a bit more about shedding the pack weight and give a sneak peek at my newest gear addition.
Have a Great Scouting Day!
The Dance of the Blue Card
The application for Merit Badge AKA the “Blue Card, is a little piece of paper that will get even the most level-headed Scouts doing the dance of the blue card.
Just sit back and watch as a Scout realizes that he’ll be 18 in a few months. The line dance for a visit with the Troop secretary is reminiscent of scene from Urban Cowboy.
I was recently asked about the process of the Blue Card and how we do it in our Troop. The reader has asked to remain nameless, but I am glad that this question came up. I can not tell you how times I have had conversations about such a simple thing, but something that is sometimes more confusing than a rubics cube.
Our reader asks; “Anyway would you share how your Troop handles Blue Cards, from the time the Scout asks to start a merit badge and is give the Blue Card through completion and where the Blue Card goes and who handles what.”
So here it goes… I’ll let you behind the curtain of how Troop 664 does the Blue card dance. There are actually two ways that we do this. I will explain the regular way that we do it and then how we do it for summer camp.
First. The Scout expresses interest in a merit badge… He picks the merit badge and goes to the Troop Secretary and asks for a blue card.
Then, the Scout fills out the Blue card. He fills out the whole front of the card leaving only my signature space blank. He fills out the back of the card with his name and the name of the merit badge he is going to work. He can leave the name of the counselor blank.
The Scout then brings me the blue card and I sign the front of the blue card. This allows the Scout to start working on the merit badge. It also gives me an opportunity to talk with the Scout about the badge and answer any questions that he may have. If I know who the counselor for that merit badge is, I give the Scout the information, if I don’t I have the Scout return to the Troop secretary and she will look up the counselor and give the Scout the information, phone number etc.
The Scout then works the merit badge. The counselor fills out the card and confirms that the Scout met all of the requirements. Once the merit badge is complete, the counselor signs and dates it and gives it back to the Scout.
The Scout will then bring the completed blue card back to me. I then sign the card and have the Scout give the blue card to the Troop secretary. She records the completion date and merit badge into the Troop master software and takes the first part of the card and files it with the Troop records. The Scout gets the remainder of the card. Most counselors do not retain their copy.
The Applicants record is stapled to the merit badge certificate as is the actual merit badge. The Scout is presented the merit badge at the next court of honor.
That completes the Dance of the Blue card.
The only difference in this process for summer camp is this. I will pre sign a bunch of blue cards. I then hand them out on day 1 of summer camp. The Scout takes the blue card and fills it out and takes it to the first session of the merit badge class.
At the completion of summer camp, the blue cards are returned from the summer camp staff to the Scoutmasters. I sign all the completed merit badges and make a note of the partials.
During summer camp, I track the merit badges being worked daily. I keep a chart in my notebook of who is working what badge at what time. Then I follow-up daily at the “Scoutmaster cabin”. The camps in our council all make daily progress reports available. If by Wednesday, it does not look like progress is being made, I have a little chat with the Scout. It is the Scouts decision to work the badges and I will not force or push the Scout to complete the badges at camp. I do “Highly encourage” them to get them finished, but at the end of the week.. it will be up to him.
When we get home, I turn over all of the blue cards to the Troop Secretary and she records and goes through the same process as stated above.
So there it is.. The Dance of the Blue Card… I sure hope that helps.
Leave your questions, comments, and suggestions here on the blog or feel free to drop me an email.
Have a Great Scouting Day!
Character again…
We talk a lot about Character and making men of Character in Scouting. We spend a great deal of time reinforcing the ideals found in the Scout Oath and Law and expect our Scouts to live those values which will lead him to a life in which he will be counted as one that has Character.
I have talked about Character a lot here in this blog and believe that if we do nothing else with these young men, we owe them the very best training in being a man of Character.
I have said it before and I will echo it till the end of time… I really don’t care if a Scout earns his Eagle as long as he develops Character. His Character will get him much farther in life than a red, white, and blue ribbon with an Eagle suspended from it. Having said that though, you all know that I want them all to earn their Eagle, but the Eagle award does not make the man, Character does.
I was listening to some sports talk radio today and they were discussing the “steroid Ballot” for the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. Now, I am not going to bother getting into the details of the discussion and I also will not share my opinion on the ballot.. well actually I am in a round about way.
The reason that this caught my attention was that to the folks hosting the discussion made it an issue of Character. And yes sir.. that’s what it is all about. There was an argument that the guys that are on the ballot that used “Performance enhancing Drugs” were Hall of Famer’s before they used the steroids.. well if they were Hall of Famer’s then.. why did they need to cheat?
Mark McGuire who is the only player that actually admitted to the use of steroids said that it was important for him to “come clean” because at some point he had to look his children in the eye and explain all of this.. and that is what got my attention.
In previous posts I have explained the rule of “Saying it aloud“. It works every time. I really liked the idea of McGuire holding himself accountable to his kids. That is a great rule for character. We are all accountable to some one and we should act accordingly.
Along with the values of the Oath and Law, knowing that at some point we will have to answer for our actions should force us to act with character. I was listening to Dennis Prager the other day, he said something that reinforced this idea. He said he did not care how you feel.. he cares more about how you act. This too plays a big part in curbing selfish behavior and a lack of character. We live in an era where people feel entitled and that as long as they feel it is ok, then it is. On the contrary, we are still accountable for our actions and at the end of the day you will have an effect on someone else. Knowing that at some point I will have to answer for my actions and that the last people on earth that I ever want to disappoint are my children, I act in accordance with my values. Does it always make those around me feel great.. No, but at the end of the day they can see that I acted with character.
I have made it a point to always demonstrate good character to my kids. It has not always been the cool thing and at times it has left them feeling like I am mean-spirited or a jerk, but then they realize that I care and want only the best for them and all of us.
We often use the standard of the Oath and Law in our discussion of wrong and right. We know that at some point we will all have to answer for a decision we make. If more people used that standard, the world would simply be a better place. There would not be spouses cheating on each other, there would be less crime, there would be far less Congressmen… oh I just could not resist, but seriously our leaders would be driven to make better decisions… after all they are accountable to US.. right.
So Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, and Sammy Sosa all juiced and had amazing stats in baseball… they are all on the ballot for entry in the Hall of Fame. We don’t get a vote, but can they say they got in as a player that did not cheat? Just because they all did it, does that make it right? Not if you are judging based on character. If they get in they are in and will have to continue answering the questions about steroid use. If they don’t get in, they will still have to answer for why they did not get in.. the steroid use. If they were actually Hall of Famer’s before they used.. they should have use McGuire’s standard of how he would answer to those that are most important.. his kids. Personally I don’t care one way or the other if they are Hall of Famer’s. To me, they cheated and therefore lose the privilege of being in the Hall of Fame, but then my only vote is how I look at them in regard to their character. I judge.
As for me, I will use the values I have and the remember that one day I may have to look in my children’s eyes and answer for my actions. That should be enough to make anyone remember that Character matters more than Eagle Medals or statues in the Hall of Fame.
Have a Great Scouting Day!
Pot Cozy
For those of you looking at a quick and easy way to make your pot cozy.. well here’s a nice video by a guy that I subscribe to on Youtube and follow in the Hammock Forums. His name is Sean Emery, but he is known as Shug. He is super entertaining and knows a bit about the wonderful world of Backpacking. I dropped him a note to ask permission to use his video.. he said yes, so…. Enjoy. I am sure you will.
Have a Great Scouting Day!
Sunday Mornin’ Coffee 1-6
This week we talk about my pack and the small stuff in it. We brew up a nice cup of Starbucks Breakfast blend using the Snow Peak 700 pot and the Jet Boil Press.
Thanks for watching these videos, I appreciate all the feedback and comments.
Have a Great Scouting Day!
Be Prepared.. Please listen
In Oregon, when you approach a trail head that is a well used and highly frequented trail, there are signs that alert you of types of plants and animals in the area. The signs remind you that you need to be prepared for the hike you are about to take. Typically there is a map of the trail with significant landmarks and vistas pointed out. These signs remind you to have the appropriate gear for the hike and in some cases ask that you register at the Kiosk. In every case they let you know where you are and gives you information that assist you in having a great hike and not a terrible experience. Oregon wants people to get out and enjoy this wonderful land we have, but it wants you to do it responsibly.
Yesterday a couple of ladies went for a winter stroll out in the Columbia Gorge and got lost or at least disoriented enough that they had to be “rescued”. The Gorge is a wonderful place to hike, but like most places, the Gorge takes on new or at least different challenges in the winter. Just getting there sometimes can be an adventure. So if you are going to hike in the Gorge (or anywhere) in the winter.. You had better BE PREPARED. These gals wandered off picking up the trail and heading up to Nesmith Point. The hike into Nesmith Point is challenging enough in the summer, but that is the hike they chose. Now, it is fair to say that according to the News wire press release, “Both hikers have Intermediate experience climbing school training and Mountaineering First Aid and were prepared for the elements.”
The release goes on in the next update to state “The hiker’s actions and being prepared for the elements greatly assisted in their smooth and safe rescue from Nesmith Point.” So all is well that ends well. But the initial report stated that “the husband of one of the hikers reported he received a call from his wife who told him they were at the top of Nesmith Point and had lost the trail at some point while they were hiking. Their footprints were covered with snow and they could not track their way back down or see the trail.”
I suppose the moral of the story is that it can and will happen to anyone. So BE PREPARED. I am making an assumption here that neither had a map or compass.. the reason I say that is because I have hiked that area and having a map and compass could have easily put them in the right direction and regardless of snow and not finding the trail, they could have made their way back. But I don’t want to beat up on them, I just want people to listen… I want our Scouts to listen and use these cases as an example of why we want them to be prepared. It is fortunate that these two ladies were somewhat prepared and had the right attitude to make it out (with the help of SAR).
Baden Powell tells us to Be Prepared for any old thing. When the signs remind and warn, take heed. When the skills, attitudes, and gear is right, then proceed. But always be prepared.
Have a Great Scouting Day!
