From: mendina@utdallas.edu
Subject: Re: Camping Ideas...
Date: 13 Aug 1994 20:21:45 -0500

> >I'm an SPL for a troop in Conn. USA.  Does anyone know of any things
> >the boys can do on campouts other than the usual?  

bicycle campout (travel by bike). Ditto horses, canoes, rafts

Ask your OA lodge for some indian program support: games, lodging, etc. 
can all be done in your local tribal style.

Signalling merit badge got scrubbed, but working on some of its 
activities can give youth a sense of knowing something very 
different--like klingon, only more useful. Many kids like this.

You could start a new troop tradition: never camp in the same place twice.

Put Scouts to work making maps with their compass and pace. Assign areas 
to "explore." Some young kids really like that. 

The mystery campout discussed elsewhere is very good. 

Do an "emergency response" activity, with troop mobilization, quick 
action, and unknown purpose. A drill can have adrenaline! My troop once 
re-created an airplane (SMALL plane) crash and based a troop mobilization 
around it. 


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From: spf@hoqst1.ho.att.com (Steve Frysinger of Blue Feather Farm)
Subject: Re: Camping Ideas...
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 1994 12:00:23 GMT

Well, maybe you already do this, but how about cooking. REAL cooking?
We had an interesting system I'd like to pass on.

We camped once per month, every month from Sept through June (no matter
the weather - BTW, in Northern NJ we get everything from hot and humid to
frigid and snowy).  There were some basic rules:

	A) No prepared foods (hot dogs, bread, &c)
	B) MUST have all food groups represented (including bread -
	   therefore, combining A and B, we baked!)
	C) Hot meals (of course), Sat supper through Sun lunch (as we
	   often hiked in to our spot, Sat lunch was a backpack lunch)
	D) NO pop (or soda, or whatever you call it in your parts)

We required each patrol to submit its menu for the next campout to the
Senior Patrol 2 weeks in advance. The SPtl first check it against the
rules, and then decided if it was sufficiently challenging. If it wasn't
challenging, the SPtl the following week gave the Patrol a different menu
to use, usually QUITE challenging. Therefore, the boys had an incentive to
make their menus challenging enough to satisfy the leaders!