Hi Everyone,
Welcome to Troop 46! We are happy that your scout and you have joined us.
As I was writing the April Signup email, I used the term "Basecamping", and I wanted to provide a little context around that.
Our monthly trips are generally one of two types: basecamping or backpacking. PRO TIP: It's pretty typical that we arrive at our campsites on Friday night after dark, so a decent headlamp is a critical piece of gear.
Basecamping:
Scout's personal gear should all fit in their backpack
A basecamping trip will include items like our Patrol Boxes (cooking/cleaning gear), large camp stove, dining flies, etc.
A basecamping trip provides opportunities for scouts to get creative with their menus.
Each patrol will make a menu plan on the meeting night prior to the campout weekend and a "grubmaster" will be chosen. To be clear, that means that a scout's parents will be chosen as the grubmaster.
We encourage you to take your scout with you on that shopping trip and introduce them to things like unit pricing at the grocery store and help introduce them to that.
Keep your receipts - you'll get reimbursed when the expense is submitted. It's super easy and we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. We don't generally assign really new scouts to grubmaster role right away.
We currently use a $10.00/scout budget for food (that may increase due to grocery costs), but no worries if you're over budget (within reason), we'll cover it.
For a basecamping trip, the patrol's food will be stored in a cooler and a bin for non-perishable foods.
Backpacking:
Scouts will carry their personal gear as well as food, cook kit and half the tent in their backpacks.
Backpacking meals (Mountain House, PEAK, etc.) are generally packed.
Scouts will be eased into backpacking adventures as they take some practice. They would typically involve a pretty short hike because it's a really good time to make adjustments to their backpacks.
We take breaks when anyone needs a break. A shorter hike means that there is no time pressure and if we need to break 20 times, we'll do it.
Many trips will be comprised of a split "trek": A more challenging one for older, more experienced scouts, and a less strenuous one for younger scouts so they can learn the skills and work their way to the more challenging treks.
Some useful links:
https://matthewstroop46.org/documents/Cold_Weather_Camping_Packing_List.pdf
https://matthewstroop46.org/documents/Warm_Weather_Camping_Packing_List.pdf
https://matthewstroop46.org/documents/Troop_46_Handbook.pdf
OK, whew! I know that's a lot, but if you have any questions at all, please let me know.
Please tell me if you received this email (sent from Scoutbook), I'd appreciate that.
Yours in Scouting,
Bruce Hethcote
Scoutmaster | 704-877-9109 | bhethote@hotmail.com