Some suggestions for simple winter camp meals
(January 1996)

>I need some great, easy, easy to clean lunches and dinners for winter
>camping for the upcoming winter camp!

- Sandwiches (made at home and frozen) Peanut butter and honey are
good, high energy suggestions
- Burgers in iron (burgers & veggies, or anything else that will
roast/steam well) wrapped in a few layers of aluminum foil. Rice is
good to soak up extra moisture (but the catch is that putting in a few
ice slivers before freezing it all is a good idea.) Also put in a touch
of cooking oil. Don't forget salt and pepper
- Cakes baked in orange peels (carefully take out the fruit without
tearing the peel) and eggs baked in potato skins (both tricky but
doable)
- Eggs cooked in paper bags -- grease the inside of a paper bag, and
break a few eggs into the bag. It works!
- Anything canned can be carefully heated on the fire. My favourites
are Chef Boyardee pastas
- Anything you can cook over a metal grill over the fire (meats to
roast, grilled veggies, toast, bacon, sausages, bagels) -- bury the
grill in the fire to clean it
- Bannock wrapped around a stick

Easy Great Weeklong Menu

(August 1996)

For this challenge I drew from recent Scout summer camp experiences when
the menu was fabulous. However, as a result of producing such wonderful
food I did a lot of the cooking myself and felt that there must be a
better way to have an equally great menu while both simplifying the
preparation and hopefully giving more of the preparation to the Scouts.

(From a year later: Yes, this menu was actually field tested, and it
works, with one modification: I took out the beef roll for Thursday and
replaced it knockwurst sausages and corn, etc. The kids were able to do a
good amount of the work and I only pulled rank a couple of times. It is
also very flexible and easy to shift around. Also, the use of the single
burner stove was great as it simplified a lot of the cooking and helped
on the camp run inspections: Having set the example myself inspecting
other sites looking at stoves for grease, other leaders doing the
inspections came around looking for our standard issue two-burner, box
style coleman stoves looking for grease only to find neither. :) )

Some assumptions are made:

A) A cooking fire may be made at any time on the site
B) A dutch oven or other fireproof and appropriate pot of sufficient
size is available
C) A fire grille is available
D) A single burner stove is available (typically as an emergency backup)
E) Occasional boiling of foods on the stove is allowed, though any
boiling is kept to a minimum and it is preferred that it be done over
the fire
F) You may choose to mix and match or move items around; beyond trying
to evenly space things out over the week and not have too much of a
given item too often or too close to another time it's used, placement
of a given meal or item on a given day is arbitrary.
G) You arrive around lunch on Saturday -- therefore a BYO lunch -- and
you leave before lunch on the following Saturday.
H) Usually -- but not always -- that a fridge or cooler (and as such a
constant ice supply) is available.
I) Generally the meals are complete, but a few additives may be desired.
For instance, I didn't include desserts and drinks. That allows for you
to choose drinks according to your campsite facilities (ie fresh milk if
you have a fridge; drink crystals on a hike, etc.) as well as balance
desserts versus the availability of a canteen on site and whether or not
you allow your group to bring their own snacks. The desserts we added when
this menu was used were: "May West Variety" (various small store bought
cakes), a dutch oven apple cake, a couple of pies

Saturday

LUNCH BYO

SUPPER macaroni in tomato sauce (fry onions, carrots, celery, meat,
anything else chopped up in dutch oven, then add sauce and/or tomatoes,
water & macaroni and let simmer for an hour or more) Make sure you use
enough of the tomatoes or sauce if you want it to be saucy enough! Don't
forget the salt & pepper. This was much more of a success than
anticipated -- the vegetables were cut chunky stew style, the whole thing
simmered less than an hour but overall very nice!

Sunday

BREAKY Bagels, cream cheese, peanut butter etc

LUNCH Sandwiches (lunch meats, peanut butter, jams etc.), salad

SUPPER Pork chops, baked potatoes (done in aluminum foil)

Monday

BREAKY Toast, sausages, fruit, peanut butter, etc.

LUNCH Burgers, cookies, salad

SUPPER Dr. McCoy's Secret Bourbon Beans (fry onions in dutch oven, add
beans, corn, tomatoes, a bit of dry rice, salt, let simmer for an hour)

Tuesday

BREAKY Various store bought pastries & doughnuts

LUNCH Bread, various canned pastas (one can per person -- cook
directly in can on the fire)

SUPPER Brochettes (beef cubes, onions, green peppers) made on the grille

Wednesday

BREAKY Bannock, peanut butter, jams. Make in a cast iron fry pan or in
dutch oven if wide enough

LUNCH hot dogs, chips, carrot sticks, celery sticks

SUPPER Tin can roast chicken (boil first then suspend in a large tin
can using coat hanger wire through holes in the side, put on grille with
open end down and punch holes on the side near the top) stuffed with
cooked rice & chopped veggie mix, and boiled or roasted mixed veggies

Thursday

BREAKY Boiled eggs, toast, peanut butter, jams etc

LUNCH Burgers in iron (hamburger meat, rice, onions, mixed beans, oil &
salt wrapped in aluminum foil and cooked on fire)

SUPPER knockwurst sausages, rice, corn, may west variety, milk & juice

Friday

BREAKY Sausage muffins (breaky sausage sliced lengthwise with cheese
slices on english muffins)

LUNCH Leftover soup (say chicken, macaroni, carrots, onions, rice,
peas, celery, mixed beans)

SUPPER Steaks, pita breads

Saturday

BREAKY Bagels etc.

Pinewood Derby/KubKar Rally

I was asked about Pinewood Derby advice. Here's the meat of the
conversation.

*****

>I have sketched up a decent design (30-degree top stretch, 6' rise
>total, controlled curvature down to the floor stretch, etc.) but would
>like to see what others have done.

Here in Canada I think we've kind of really beaten the issue to death -- I
ever so rarely hear about Kub Kar debates any more. :)

Your basic design sounds good.

A few suggestions:

- Have a hinged length of wood right at the top of the track fitted just
underneath with coathanger wire coming out of it, sticking straight up and
going through little troughs in the track. This is your starting gate.
- As you've already decided to do, have a length of track that is flat
along the floor preceding your finish point.
- DON'T use an automated system that opens the gate and figures out things
like who got there first and timing and so on. Use a manual opening gate
and judge the winner by eyesight. In case of doubt, re-run the race. This
comes from the idea that the races are for fun, not some big thing whereby
the terms of the end of the world are decided by the race. You can use a
computer to track the statistics and help make it all fair (such software
exists) but keep the computer's involvement light.
- Figure out a way to keep the kids who've been eliminated busy. They get
bored quickly and their egos get an unnecessary beating -- help it along
with other fun things such as carnival games.
* One friend used a system whereby all the cubs were in three races and in
three drag races (the cubs push the cars down the floor and the cars were 
ranked by their distance ie furthest 1st, middle 2nd, and shortest
distance 3rd) added up scores based on first, second and third. Both were
run simutaneously such that the participants in the previous track race
participate in the drag race. This way there would always be twice as many
cubs active in something as there are tracks, and all the cubs are in the
same number of races as everyone else. At the end, the cub with the most
points from the whole rally won. Note that in the process this also allows
the cars to be put in different tracks each race to avoid skewing the
results by a poor track.
- Have individual tracks that will keep the cars in line where they should
be, but make the height difference between the wheel base and the rise in
the center to keep them in place very small to avoid the cars getting
caught -- or conversely, just make dividers that will keep the cars in the
tracks and therefore have a space that is, say, half an inch or an inch
wider than the width of the car.

*****

To which the originator replied:

I had planned on using an automated timing system to avoid any human bias,
because, like it or not, the best cars from each pack move on to District
meets, and the pack wants to be competitive at that level. It is also
necessary for some of the other plans to work, to wit:

Keeping all of the kids interested is done by running all cars multiple
times. Clearly, small differences in the lanes can skew results among
closely-matched cars, so we have used a computer to track times and match
"close" cars plus make sure that every car runs in every lane at least
once, so a "fast" lane is not the deciding factor. (Last year when Nathan
was a Tiger, they ran the six Tiger cars just among themselves, so the
youngest kids with the shortest attention spans were done first. His
finishes varied from first to fourth depending on which lane he was in,
and ended up third of six overall. One of the six lanes on the track we
borrowed was good for about 1.5 car lengths' improvement in time over the
slowest lane, just judging by the variability in Nathan's finishes.)

My idea for the starting gate was a set of dowels riding vertically in
holes drilled through the track and substructure. That way, one avoids
any tricks like coating the front edge of the car with sticky residue to
gain a little "pull" from the starting gate (or post) pivoting down in
front of the car.

Plans I have seen use 1/4" high lath as guides, and our car test box
(which checks for length and width) also has a spot with a slightly
over-height guide rail in it, so if the car rolls easily over that, it
will clear the track, as well.

"Define a Rover Advisor"

>My challenge to you is to define the role of a Rover Advisor. This
>question obviously stems from a deeper problem, namely the inability of
>our advisor to get along with the rest of the crew.

I'm going to develop a page around the following, which I've lifted from
a text I wrote in 1993 (this page developed in 1996) and is available
at:

www.malak.ca/scouting/memo.zip

*****

A Rover Advisor should be: A member of the crew on pretty much equal
standing with the Rovers; a quiet sit-back-and-enjoy-the-scenery type
person; a kicker in the behind; a steady beacon; a regular person;
someone who takes as much responsibility as the Rovers do in crew
events; given certain privileges; about 50 and be able to keep up with
the Rovers and surpass them as often as not; married, two kids not in
Rovers, or at least not in their crew; single, without any kids;
dedicated to the members of the crew and its activities; like a Beaver
leader who literally directs, provides continuity, a program,
activities, etc.; like a Scout leader who sits back and watches his
Scouts, only occasionally stepping in; knowledgeable regarding the age
group; a motivator; should I go on?

*****

I'll have to start waxing philosophical to expand on it, but I don't
think I'll have a hard time doing that. :)

Here's part of a disscussion I participated in once:

*****

** asked:

>I am now starting my second year as assistant District Commisioner for
>Rovers and I have a situation and I need advice. I have my own idea on
>how to handle the situation but I would like to know if there is a
>procedure I must follow.

** responded:

>I think that rovers are quite old enough to decide who they want as an
>advisor.

Absolutely. That's how I was recruited to be a Rover Advisor. BUT:

** said that there is a personality conflict involved. To me that
suggests that a request for intervention was made or was anticipated.
Therefore ** is trying to fulfil his obligation under his mandate.
Otherwise, why have "Adults" (ie. advisors etc.) involved in Rovering?

My point being that an advisor's role is to advise in a situation that
is needed -- such as perhaps is the case in this one. The rovers may
not know how to proceed and need help.

Then ** said:

>Let's not lose track that all of us adults in Scouting are in it for
>the youth members. No youth members, no Scouting.

Hear Hear! (let's not let dinosaurs like myself who don't want to let
go of rovering dictate how it evolves, right? :) )

Then ** pipes in:

>The Partner, via the Group Committee hires and fires. In the case of a
>Crew, this is usually a rubber stamp of the Crew's choice. In this
>case, the Group Committee can ask the current advisor to step down
>(that is, fire him) and appoint the advisor that the Crew selects. The
>Group Committee can help locating a person if need be.

[snip]

>>How does one gracefully ask an advisor to leave?
>
>"The Crew would like an advisor with a different set of strengths."

As usual, a good, thought out response.

One note: I hate the "hires & fires" expression (as distinguished from
the intended meaning) -- take it from someone who has been "fired".
Fortunately, **'s suggestions avoids the unpleasant aspects -- assuming
that things are actually worked out gracefully, and not just "gracefully
told" about the decision.

*****

Let me say that I know it's hard from the Rovers' perspective to resolve
such a situation; we had one advisor who was very heavily involved in
the running of our crew. He to this day is very popular, including with
us, but -- myself not really being one of these but looking back I can
see the logic -- he was mildly resented for being an overgrown Rover and
overly active in the planning and participation of our events. He moved
on to another opportunity that presented itself. But alas, such "happy"
endings don't always present themselves.

Which comes back to my wildly conflicting definition as above. Besides
dealing with stereotypes (ie. 50, married & two kids :) ), it not only
embodies many of the different types of people who are "appropriate"
Advisor material, it also suggests that one person sometimes has to both
sit back and watch one moment while actively participate the next. (As
an aside, my current Rover Crew in which I'm the advisor just asked me
the other night not to be so neutral, especially since I have a lot of
expertise in the topic of discussion.) As well, the idea of the "two
kids not in Rovers, or at least not in their crew" also embodies the
notion of avoiding some potential problems that don't either follow them
home or follow them from home.

Also, a Rover and I once got the crew into organizing an area Scout camp.
Knowing how to tackle such a beast and always wanting to do such a thing,
I took the helm -- note that I was the assistant ADVISOR. In the end I was
mildly resented by the crew for the very intimate and sometimes
overwhelming role I took in almost every aspect of the planning and
running of the camp, even though as much as possible whenever an idea
came from me I tried to encourage the rovers responsible for a given
activity to develop it as much as possible. The moral? I guess as the
Advisor I screwed up. I would also advise any Rover crew in such a
position to assert their position to the end of everyone working together
instead of allowing the situation to continue.

As for your current problem, I have a few ideas:

- decide what you think is the problem with your inability to get along.
Weed out the frivolous things. THIS IS IMPORTANT.
- write it down
- suggest the advisor do it too
- bring the topic out in the open; of course, control it so that it
doesn't become a shouting match, but don't be afraid of it being painful
or causing tears. Funny how sometimes the real issues come out. (One
colleague often felt that "respect" -- sometimes a lack of it -- was the
problem. I countered with the suggestion that the word respect be
defined as well as where it was missing, ie. distinguish between
courtesy and earned respect.)

Reducing Pack Weight for Hikes

(November 1996, always added to)

Well, I went hiking with the troop for the first time in a long while and
"started reflecting on the weight of my pack, being so proud that I'd
managed to lighten it up a bit the night before leaving by taking out this
or removing that box and so on (I never was much of a lightweight camper
:) ) Ideas that had gone through my head with regard to how to lighten the
load stemmed from a comment from a big hiking friend of mine -- both big
on hiking and a large person -- a few years back on how he'd gotten to the
point of reducing candle weight in his pack when packing for hikes.

Through that reflection and a few discussions I had with a Venturer along
the trail -- and of course throughout time immemorial following the trip
-- I came up with the following list of ideas on how to lighten a hiking
pack. Note that since all weight, however small and insignificant, still
adds up and that further a lot of those insignificant weights can easily
add up to a pound or more (and unfortunately sometimes a LOT more,) I've
included all the things I could think of that can be reduced in order to
have the lightest possible pack.

Food and cooking:

- Try tin can cooking over a fire using a large 1kg coffee can with a wire
handle instead of pots, pans and stoves
- Wrap your food in aluminum foil for cooking over a fire instead of pots
and pans; as well, use any other method of cooking over a fire, such as
roasting and spits made from green sticks, and so on instead of pots, pans
and stoves
- Prepare your foods as much as possible at home. The idea here is that if
there's packaging and extra food that don't need to be brought in -- and
as such, whose packing out with your garbage can be avoided -- then get
rid of it. If you're having peanut butter sandwiches, make them ahead of
time so that you won't have to carry the bottle and 3/4 of the contents
both ways unnecessarily
* Also, by preparing it at home you can avoid having to bring the
required fuel to cook it for an hour or two but rather only the required
fuel to reheat it for about 10-15 minutes
* Further, cook all of your food first, at home, then dry it in a
dehydrator. This will also cut down significantly on your fuel
consumption
- Transfer enough peanut butter, jam, margarine, butter, ketchup, mustard,
relish, coffee, tea bags, juice crystals, sugar, spices, salt, pepper,
liquid soap, toothpaste -- or whatever the case may be -- into film
cannisters and as such avoid carrying an excess amount of the item as well
as the heavier container it comes in
- If you must bring canned food, eat it as early as possible. That way
weight reduction can be made as soon as possible along the trail and as
such as you become more tired at least you'll have less weight to carry.
The same is to be said of any other food that contains any significant
amount of water -- ie. isn't dehydrated
* Remember that canned foods represent extra garbage that must be packed
out -- therefore perhaps you're better off not bringing it at all or
putting the food into lighter freezer bags and freezing it
- Assuming that you can get water along the trail from a stream, lake or
other water source, use drink crystals instead of those boxed (or bottled)
drinks. Remember that these are virtually always much greater than 95%
water. Also, the vitamin C (as well as the flavour of the drink itself to
a lesser extent) in them helps to neutralize or at least mask the flavour
of the iodine you used to treat your water
- Again assuming that you can get water along the trail from a stream,
lake or other water source, use dehydrated foods as much as possible
- If you dehydrate your own foods at home, dry the food as much as
possible. However, try rehydrating your next meal on the trail; this will
save on cooking time by only requiring simmering the food for five
minutes. Probably only useful if you're on a longer trip but still
depending primarily on fuel as opposed to using fires, since rehydrating
on the trail requires that you therefore are carrying the extra water.
Take your pick and see what works for you
- WARNING: THIS SUGGESTION MUST BE CONSIDERED JUDISCIOUSLY since you can
always end up in a situation in which a hot meal is necessary. That said,
if you're like me, a hot meal is not an absolute necessity. By planning
your menu a bit, you can completely remove the need for a stove (and a
fire) to heat meals. Think of sandwiches, drinks that don't need to be
hot, and eating food cold instead of hot. Or arrange that your hike ends
up at a cabin that at least has a pot stove in which making a fire is
virtually guaranteed
- I'm of mixed opinion regarding carbonated drinks -- however all sides
make me recommend against them. The first is a question of water content:
these drinks are 75%+ water, therefore heavy. Assuming you can get water
along the way, depending on them for water is silly. (Also, that means
that up to 25% of the weight is wasted solids, requiring you to carry even
more to compensate.) If you want a flavoured drink, brink drink crystals.
The second is more subtle: Many have a certain caffeine content, and
caffeine is a mild diuretic (ie. make you urinate.) This could cause you
to expel water more often than needed and require that you carry more
water than you otherwise need were you to have consumed a drink not
containing caffeine. Third, you have to carry out the cans or bottles.
Fourth, if you are hiking in a very hot or below freezing climate, there
is the risk of explosion in your pack from excess pressure since the gas'
pressure increases in hot weather, and in freezing weather the gas comes
out of solution in the freezing drink and results in an increase in
pressure. Also, ice expands in the container, in and of itself possibly
causing the explosion. Of course, you could plan your hike to be
always within a few moments of a water source and drink a sugar free,
caffeine free soft drink in a plastic bottle during a mild period and
subsequently use the empty bottle as your water bottle :)
- Coffee is the same as for soft drinks, and you have to bring a perk. BUT
since some people need their coffee as much as I my iced tea, look for
small perks (I have a 2 cup perk), use the "tea bag" style coffee sachets,
buy a small funnel & some filter paper to have filter coffee, or use
instant (YUCK! :) )

Equipment

- Any pans you bring should be aluminum as opposed to cast iron or steel.
They're lighter. Learn how to use those very cheap grade pots and pans
that come with cheap mess kits. Note that I believe that cast aluminum is
heavier than sheet aluminum pots, if only because they end up being of
much heavier gauge
- Use engine block enamel to blacken the bottom of your pots. This will
slightly lower your cooking times by increasing heat absorption, therefore
slightly decreasing your fuel needs
- Bring one of those ultra-light hiking stoves instead of even a regular
Coleman single burner. Use aluminum foil as a reflector and wind break
around the stove to save on fuel (and therefore, you won't have to bring
as much of it!) Or bring a sterno (jellied alcohol) or a pocket wax stove
(in a flat lozenge can, tightly fit in corrugated cardboard with the edges
facing up and fill with melted wax. Use a candle or extra chunk of wax --
or beter yet, the stub from your expired candles -- as replacement fuel.)
- Instead of bringing two bottles of fuel, bring only one, perhaps a
slightly larger one. Either way, try to cut down on how much liquid
fuel you'll need by depending more on a fire so that you can cut out as
much fuel as possible
- Bring a Sierra zip stove -- the ones that have a small battery powered
fan and that burns twigs, bark, pine cones, and many other bits of
detritus from the forest floor. This completely eliminates the need for
fuel and uses much less wood than a regular fire. It is also lighter than
my Coleman Featherlight 400 when empty!
- If at all possible, don't bring equipment in their carrying cases --
such as the plastic boxes for lanterns, the stuff sacks for stoves,
plastic wrapping cases for KFS sets, and so on. If necessary, wrap them in
the clothes you bring
- If you can afford it, buy lightweight camping gear (such as clothing
made from thinsulate, lightweight stoves and lanterns, etc.)
- If you use the blue iodine cup to filter your water, either bring
lightweight soda bottles for collecting and receiving the filtered
water and leave the outside cup at home, or vice-versa. Do the same if
possible for other water filters
- Bring iodine or halazone tablets instead of a filter, or, if you're
using a fire, boil your water instead (note that this only saves weight if
you use a fire to boil the water and not your stove, as you would need to
bring a lot more fuel)
- Take the contents of your first Aid kit out of their box and put them
into a plastic bag that has a seal
- Fill the tanks of your liquid fuel appliances before you leave. That way
the extra fuel you bring can be in a smaller, therefore lighter bottle.
This put together with aggressive fuel management can actually eliminate
the need for spare fuel bottles
- If possible, bring one less hike stove and bring the same amount of fuel
its tank would hold in a small fuel bottle; the bottle will be lighter. Or
conversely bring a larger bottle of fuel.
- If you bring those little tea candles that have an aluminum cup, remove
the cup. Just be careful of the surface you put the candle on when you're
burning it
- Don't bring the nice cardboard box the candles came in when you bought
them
- Learn to live with a touch less light; use only one candle at a time,
and perhaps use them for less time (and therefore you'll need fewer
candles or can cut them shorter)
* If you make your own candles, use stearic acid -- it's a wax hardener
that also makes the candle burn longer (and as such, you won't need as
many candles)
- Travel in a group so that you can split equipment such as cooking gear,
food, other equipment, and so on. As well, agree in advance to stay
together or into two definite groups -- this can eliminate the need that
some people have to "bring a little extra -- just in case we get
separated!"
- Use lightweight soda bottles and bottles from commercially bottled water
to carry water if they're lighter than water bottles sold for the purpose
of camping
- Bring only as many tent pegs as your tent actually needs to stand up; if
you know that you can tie the guy lines to a tree or other fixture, then
forget the pegs for them
- Use sticks found onsite as your tent pegs
- Bring a rope and tarpaulin instead of a tent and use it as your shelter
- Use a smaller backpack. I'm shocked at how heavy my backpack is -- no
doubt a similar quality and sized pack can be made lighter
- Pack everything into a smaller pack than that which you'll be using. If
it doesn't fit (into the smaller pack) then it doesn't go on the hike. If
you can use the smaller pack -- assuming that it is lighter than the
larger pack, then use it instead
- Use twine, doubled over several times, as a belt instead of a
conventional one. Use it carefully onsite and you can reuse it; either way
it can be lighter than some belts

Personal gear:

- Leave the knife from a knife/fork/spoon combination at home. You're
carrying a pocket knife and possibly a sheath knife already, right?
- Cut part of the handles off from your fork and spoon, as well as from
your toothbrush. Bore a few small holes in the remainder of the handles
using a drill and a small drill bit
- Use plastic instead of metal or glass/ceramic plates, cups, bowls, and
cutlery. Besides being lighter -- usually, anyway -- they're also not as
likely to get hot in your hands when full of hot food, soup or drinks, and
if they break they're not dangerous or broken into small shards
- Convert your metal soup spoon into a "Spork"(tm) by cutting a few slots
a milimetre apart and a few milimetres long with a hacksaw:
      ______
     /     _\
-----|     ==
-----|     ==
     \_____-/

- Use your pots & pans to double as plates & bowls
- This goes against above-mentioned advice, but some stoves have metal
cases designed for them that can also be used as cooking gear, and are of
lightweight aluminum -- therefore you can eliminate the need for a plate,
bowl, pot and frypan by using one
- Choose between your Swiss Army knife and a sheath knife. I suggest you
bring the Swish Army knife; it's invariably lighter and has many more
functions. Granted others will choose the sheath knife instead
- Bringing a roll of toilet paper? Then forget the supply of tinder or
paper to start a fire. It can also be used to wipe your dishes and burned
before leaving. Also, take out the cardboard roll in the center before you
leave
- Bringing a bar of soap? Then leave the shampoo at home -- you can wash
your hair with the soap and the bears won't care that your hair isn't
conditioned or using whatever kind of special shampoo
- Use expensive, concentrated shampoos and liquid dishsoap --
biodegradeable, of course -- you can often get away with using half as
much shampoo for the same cleaning power. Better yet, look for powdered
versions
- Bears don't care whether or not you're wearing makeup. Leave it behind.
I also understand that by wearing it in the woods during bug season, it
just helps to attract bugs anyway
- Bears also don't care whether or not you've shaved -- guys your face and
ladies your legs. (Note that I still advocate hygiene.) Leave your shaver
or razor and shaving cream at home
- Rinse your dirty shirts and use them as face cloths

Clothing

- Don't skimp on socks and the protective bags for sleeping bags and bed
mats -- gotta protect those investments :) -- but how about bringing one
less shirt?
- Dress in layers. That way you won't overheat yourself if you manage the
layers properly, and in cool weather you can use three or four lightweight
summer windbreakers instead of one heavier jacket. Chosen judisciously
they can weigh less than the heavy jacket and still be warmer

Gadgets, odds & ends, and pocket items:

- Leave your pager, wallet, house keys, coins and other pocket
paraphenalia in your car's glove compartment or at home. The only key you
need to bring with you is the key for the car door and ignition. If
they're two seperate keys, attach them to the key ring on your swiss army
knife, or use a simple key ring with no little doodads. Only bring a PHOTO
identification card that has all details (address and phone number that
can be used in the case of emergency) -- such as your health insurance
card, driver's licence or school ID card -- and a $20 bill (even in the
middle of the woods, you may need money if you need to get someone out
fast or bribe another hiker along the trail to help you out with something
- A cell phone or two way radio may be brought for the sake of security,
IF you'll be in range of the cell phone or radio network (otherwise
they're wasted weight)
- If you're careful and your hair allows it, the saw blade on your swiss
army knife can be used as a comb. It can also replace a saw if you're
willing to only have to cut relatively small wood
- Bring all of your personal medication in one pill bottle, and only one
or two pills above and beyond what you'll need
- Remove all unnecessary jewelry, particularly costume jewelry, broaches,
pins, etc.
- Take the buttons and pins off of your coat and hat. I'm talking about
the kind that are decorative, not the kind that keep your clothing
together -- they have funny jokes, pictures of your cat, "I love my kids",
names of rock bands, "Flower Power," "Peace, Man," and "Nano Nano" on
them, and as well as name tags (you're already carrying an identification
card)

Varia

- If you're bringing a story to read to your troop/company/crew/group
either memorize it beforehand or, using a good photocopier with decent
reduction capabilities, photocopy your story instead of bringing the book
(but don't reduce it too much -- it can be hard to read at night,) and
remember to copy it onto both sides of the paper. Then burn it so you
don't have to pack it out
- Either hike in a area where there are plenty of garbage pails on the
trail or plan your route to pass a Rangers' station after an appropriate
length of time so that you can dispose of your garbage
- Burn what garbage you can along the way

And finally ...

- Bring doughnuts and bagels to eat. Surely the holes in the middle make
them lighter to carry! :)

Clasp knives and Cubs

>Clasp Knife Training -- last year boys (Cubs)
>
>When and how to train. When and how can they carry a clasp knife.

My thoughts on clasp knives and cubs is that usually the need for knives
of any kind -- put aside table knives of course -- at that level is
minimal, but it is part of the program.

Firstly I like that you're keeping it as a "Last Year Cub" activity -- not
only is it reserving a certain degree of mystique and fun to the Scout
Troop, but I actually don't like the idea of Beavers being allowed to
carry a pocket knife, and therefore I of course have reservations about
also allowing younger Cubs as well.

Timing:

As for timing within the program, two general considerations come to mind:
A) proper knife handling and safety is always a good topic
B) keep your general year long program in mind. I would think that you can
start somewhere around:
* January or when you're starting to think about the second or third camp
of the year as well as planning for your summer camp
* when you're getting into your winter cubbing, woodsman and so on badges
Such badges should have requirements on proper handling of a knife.

Before beginning, you should also get permission from the parents of the
individual Cubs -- some parents may have reservations about allowing their
child to have a knife and it is their prerogative to not allow their child
to have a knife. If they refuse to allow their child to have a knife, then
ask if they will allow the child to go through the training you provide
anyway.

Training:

- set a short list of simple rules that the kids can relate to. As a
general rule, try keeping to a "positive" rule as opposed to a list of
"don'ts", such as:
* set a rule on how big the knife your cubs will be getting -- such as a
swiss army knife with a two inch blade.
* be very specific and adamant about the passing rule of acknowleging
receipt of the knife before the other lets go, an also to always pass a
clasp knife in the closed position
* a knife is a tool, so it should be used for productive purposes instead
of playing around with it, such as throwing it into the ground or
carving up trees
* emphasizing that a knife is a tool and to be respected (not feared),
that it can hurt someone if misused, and is not a toy that to be used
for games or hurting others
- suggest a particular knife to which you're partial that brings into
consideration:
* expense (nothing too pricey)
* usefulness
* appropriateness to the age (such as not having an unusually large blade
or too many functions for a 10 year old)
* quality of the knife -- not dollar store specials which potentially can
lead to problems with the knife breaking at the least safe and opportune
moment
- keeping the blades sharp -- blades that go dull make cutting dangerous
(a dull knife can be more difficult to use and also dangerous to the user)
- basic technique on how to sharpen the blades
- identifying which situation requires what size of knife -- a small
whittling job is appropriate for a clasp knife but not cutting up firewood
unless the wood is kindling
- try working both on a group level and a one on one level -- suppose the
last stages for the one on one to determine individually when each cub may
begin carrying a knife
- Use a Totin' Chip system whereby the Chip gives the holder the privelege
to carry and use a knife, but is revokable at any time when your set of
rules is broken

(July 1997)

I saw this question on misc.scouting and put in this answer. To my
surprise someone actually -- apparently -- thought my answer was a great
idea!

>We've just returned from summer camp and will shortly need to clean our
>gear. In our case, that includes all the cooking gear too. I'd appreciate
>any and all ideas on how to take some of the drudgery out of the task.

I find that having a dishwasher helps. You can take apart your coleman
stove and put it in, less the burners, of course -- cleans up nicely. If
you have a self-cleaning oven, wait to clean it until after camp. You can
put in your griddles, fire grille, blackened fireproof pots & pans
(plastic and woooden handles removed), turn on the self cleaning
cycle, and voila! Clean oven AND clean equipment.

As for making it fun for your kids ... beats me. Have you thought of
making it into an olympics style thing where you say you'll go to
McDonalds (or somewhere else) and everyone starts off with getting a basic
hamburger, but the number of points they get from washing up/putting away
a certain number of items will increase what they get, such as fries,
double burger, large drink instead of medium, etc? The points can be given
out by the number of items they wash up/put away as well as by effeciency,
effectiveness (ie how clean they get it), helping out the younger scouts,
and so on.

>Thanks for the great tips! Hey! Why couldn't you have been my scoutmaster
>20 years ago? Clean up Olympics! cool.

Because 20 years ago I was in Cubs. :)

Making Rope

>I've been looking for information on how to make rope from twine. Seems
>all the Scout Pages I have found thus far are no longer active URL's Do
>you know how or where I can find out how to make rope. I vaguely remember
>but not well enough to pull it together.

Start of with two pieces of sqare wood -- plywood being a strong
suggestion -- and, the two of them back to back, drill through them both
three holes like this:
_______________
|             |
|      O      |
|             |
|             |
|   O     O   |
|_____________|

Then take three pieces of coathanger wire and make three hooks:
 _
(_________

Push them through one square, then bend them so that they look like
this:
 _   ||
(____||_
     || |
     || |
        |

then bend them again so that you have:
 _   ||
(____||_  ||
     || |_||___
     ||   ||
          ||
and place the second board into the ends of the hooks. The spacing in
the drawing is somewhat exaggerated but should demonstrate the point.

Put handles on opposite sides of the boards so that you can hold onto
them very securely.

With a third board, attach three screw hooks in the same configuration
as your hooks as above, and put a handle on it so that it can be held
securely.

Now -- take three lengths of twine doubled over and tied at the loose
ends. Hook each end on a hook, ie. three loops on the second board and
three loops on the rotating end:

|------------------|
|------------------|| this is the "rotating end" with the double boards
|------------------||
                    |
Now you use the handles on the rotating boards to cause the outer board
to rotate. This will cause the three double pieces of twine to twist
around themselves until finally the tension will be such that the rope
will begin forming through the three twisted strands starting to twist
around themselves.

You will need to continue until the whole rope is completely twisted
around itself and there aren't any loose spots. You can tie off the
ends or weave them through themselves such as to have a clean end.

As I recall you get about 1:18 or 1:24 for the initial length of twine
you put in (ie. if single stranded, for every 18 meters of twine you lay
down on the ground, that would be: 3X6 meter lengths; double this over
to give you 3X3 (doubled) meter lengths; and this when turned to rope
would make 1 meter. The same math would work if it's 1:24)

Finding North using an old style watch

(April 1998)

First, I'm dating myself as a Gen-Xer -- I would consider an analog watch
an "old style watch", having grown up first using one, then moving onto
the nifty "I gotta know the precise time down to the hundredth of a
second" digital watch in the early 80's, and now proudly wearing my
father's 30 year old analog watch. Also, I want to be sure that the youth
and anyone else reading this section know that I'm referring to a watch
that uses hands to tell time, not a digital watch that displays numbers.

SECOND: DOES THE OPPOSITE OF THE FOLLOWING APPLY IN THE SOUTHERN
HEMISPHERE?

>Somehow a person can use the Sun and their analog watch and be able to
>point to North. I've tried, but so far I just can't get it to work all
>the time.

This only works in daylight (NOTE NOT MOONLIGHT!)

In the temperate zone (between lattitudes 23 1/2 & 66 1/2 degrees) of the
Northern Hemisphere (stray out of it and the angle of the earth's
declination and that due to the curvature of the earth is either too small
-- near the equator -- or too great -- near the poles -- for it to be
accurate.)

- Set your watch to standard time (so as to take out errors from daylight
savings time);
- Push a thin stick into the ground so that it is upright;
- Lay the watch on the ground and turn it slowly until the shadow cast by
the stick cuts the watchface in have over the 12 and the 6 (1 and 7 if
during Daylight Savings Time)
- The bisection of the distance between the shadow and the hour hand is
the north-south line, south being the end nearest to the sun.

Assuming it's 3pm:

      O (this is the sun)

      o (this is the stick)
      |
    __|__  / (this end of the line points north)
   / 1|2 \/
  /   |  /\
 |    | /  |
 |9   -/->3|
 |   /|    |
  \ / |   /
   \__6__/
  /   |  
 /    | (this vertical line is the shadow cast by the stick)

Mystery Trips to Camp (June 1998)

>This weekend we run a cycle ride for our scouts to a campsite about
>twenty or so miles away. Has anyone got any ideas for how to liven it
>up a bit or make it have a bit more interest than just being a "cycle
>ride."

A) Do they know they're going to camp? I just realized that the camp may
merely be a benchmark for a day trip; why not make it an overnight?
Challenge the troop to bring enough equipment to do an overnight -- but of
course only what can be reasonably carried by the individual Scouts on
their bicycles. Or arrange that their equipment be secretly delivered
there during the day (therefore, you have to arrange for discreet
packing services. :) )
B) Do they know which camp they'll end up at? Try to make it a "surprise
destination" whereby the scouts are to show up at the starting point, here
is the instruction set to get to the first check point. And guess what
they find at the next check point? Instructions to the next. Having the
mystery destination can make it interesting, or at least a mystery route.
C) Ever hear the expression "Getting there is half the fun?" Why not
research the local attractions along the way and have the Scouts go to
each along the way. Or make your own. (Some offbeat ideas come to mind
such as creating a staged/planted "travelling circus", a lemonade tent
set up out in the middle of nowhere along the planned route, and a
Hansel & Grettle style Ginger Bread house ... (?!?!) )
D) Simple rally ... timed. Or give one patrol one route and the other
another of equal distance and difficulty.

Backwoods Ovens (June 1998)

>I have been asked to find out if anyone knows how to backwoods cook a
>Lasagne and a peach and raisin crumble

Depends on how backwoods you want to go -- the farther in, the less you're 
probably willing to carry.

A Dutch oven (the large, heavy cast iron beasts with 3 legs and a lipped
lid) can be used to make it by using charcoal briquets underneath and on
the lid and by layering the cooked ingredients inside for the lasagne. As
for the cobbler, do the same thing by making the cobbler however you make
yours.

Now if you really want to go backwoods, I would just bring the premade
items in normal bake tins, then build an oven. (Maybe I should do this
next week with my Scouts ... :) )

To build an oven, pile some brush tightly lengthwise about a foot high and 
wide and 2-3 feet long. Place a grille a little wider than that over it.
At one end of this, make a vertical stack of brush. Then place about half
as much on top of the grille. Pack several inches of mud over it, and in
the same fashion a vertical chimney at one end. Only the end of the brush
that does not have the vertical brush and the top end of said vertical
brush are left open.

Light the brush. When the fire has burned down, you have a baked oven
ready to use -- and if you maintain a small fire on the bottom, it's
already warm.

Place your lasagne and cobbler inside to bake and maintain a small fire.

An alternative is to take a tin can of any size convenient to your use,
put a rack in it (smaller tin cans will require that you fashion your own
racks out of coathanger wire along the height of the can.) Lay the scrub
brush as described above, lay the can on its side on top of the brush, and
build the mud walls around all this.

Of course unless you're dealing with a five gallon can, most of these tin
can ovens are personal ovens or maybe good for two people max (ie a few
biscuits, very small roasts, and the like.) Good way to encourage your
Scouts to bake on a hike!

Nylon Tent Repairs (July 1998)

This was from an answer I posted to a question in uk.rec.scouting.

>Can anyone recommend somewhere that can repair a ripstop nylon tent (that
>didn't stop ripping :-(

If it's a long, clean rip you can just fold over the edges of the tear and
sew along the tear and then use a rubberizing seam-sealing compound along
the length and stitching; allow to dry. The brand name of the stuff I use
is SeamGrip and is in a small white tube with blue writing.

The other thing I often do is take an old piece of fabric -- the current
piece I use is a thin, cheap (non cotton) material that would do as a thin
sheet on a bed -- cut longer and wider than holes/tears/weak spots on my
tent, fold over the edges, sew around the edges by hand, and then start
sewing over the whole surface of the patch. In particular make sure that
all along the length of the tear. Then I add the rubberizing seam-sealing
compound over the whole patch and over its edges; as necessary I also add
it on the underside of the patch.

My tent is full of such patches, mostly along the sleeves where the poles
go but also a few on the inside floor, the door and at the stress points
where the poles attach to the bottom of the tent. Probably stronger now
with all the patches. :)