Re: [Philmont]: Challenges with our reputation and relationships with Parks & Such

I don't think we have ever had any problem with our scouts making too
much noise in the backcountry. After a full day of backpacking, we are
usually so tired when we get to camp that we make dinner and go to bed.

Dan Preston
Troop 319
Louisville, KY
Philmont 1970, 1972, 2002
On Nov 18, 2005, at 10:25 AM, Pete Swiggum wrote:

> Hi Kevin, and welcome to the Philmont list!
>
> With well-thought-out posts like the one you posted today, I would
> hope you
> become less of a lurker and more of a participant. You sir, I
> believe, hit
> the nail right on the head.
>
> Part of being a high adventure trekker is to understand the type of
> "requirements" (if you will) for the participants. That means knowing
> and
> learning how to do the actual activity, but it also means how to act in
> those wilderness settings. LNT principles aside, it's not really
> acceptable
> to others traveling in the backcountry to see and hear lots of loud,
> screaming youth when a large part of the joy of trekking into the
> backcountry is to get into the quiet.
>
> Not all backcountry trekkers appreciate being camped next to a group of
> young people, and I think it behooves all of us as adult advisors to
> present
> a good image. It's hard to do at times, and I think most "neighbors"
> will
> understand a certain amount of excitement by young people, but I think
> it's
> as important to teach young people proper backcountry etiquette as it
> is to
> prepare them physically for the trail.
>
> Many well-intentioned adult advisors who aren't strong high adventurers
> themselves often times miss this part.
>
> Pete Swiggum
> Troop 1173
> Green Bay, WI
> Philmont 2005
> Peter.Swiggum@sbcglobal.net
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <kevinaldrich@insightbb.com>
> To: "Multiple recipients of list philmont" <philmont@troop47.com>
> Sent: Friday, November 18, 2005 9:22 AM
> Subject: [Philmont]: Challenges with our reputation and relationships
> with
> Parks & Such
>
>
>> Hi, I'm new to this list and have been lurking. I appreciated the
>> string
> of
>> discussion on the federal agencies that have had difficulties with Boy
> Scout
>> troops.
>>
>> My observations and understanding coincides with some comments, but I
>> have
> one
>> thought that I didn't notice in the string.
>>
>> Many of our scoutmasters, and this includes assistant scoutmasters,
>> except
> for
>> being outdoors with the boys are not backpackers or wilderness folks.
>> Out
> of
>> the goodness of their scout spirit they take their boys out for
> adventures, but
>> hiking, backpacking, canoeing, climbing and wwRafting are not
>> necessarily
>> hobbies or avocations for these men and women. Many of our leaders are
> novices
>> at these activities themselves, but they have maturity, common sense
>> and
> life
>> experiences to keep them safe and limit their risk during the
>> activities.
>>
>> As a result sometimes these leaders aren't on the same page as those
> people and
>> groups who instead of "Scouts" being their thing or hobby, the
>> wilderness
> and
>> the outdoor activity is their thing, their hobby.
>>
>> I'm aware, and have often been told or read, that many wilderness or
> outdoor
>> associations or clubs are not high on Boy Scouts when it comes to LNT
>> or
>> wilderness activities. We go in large groups, we have huge fires and
>> worse
>> we're noisy. They do however, respect the Boy Scouts for community
> service,
>> First Aid, and in general working with youth.
>>
>> That said, I've also heard from these same people that anyone that
>> gets
> bent
>> because a group of boys is "noisy" needs to get over it. But the
>> fires and
>> large groups causes others to have concerns about us.
>>
>> In my troop LNT is a sore spot for me, because we will plan an outing
>> and
>> because we're "Boy Scouts," it's okay to ignore the rules
>> establilshed by
> a
>> local national forest or wilderness area that has a group size
> restriction. IMO
>> this sends the wrong message to both our scouts and the people we
>> meet on
> the
>> trail. A scout is trustworthy and obedient.
>>
>> I recently, along with my son a star scout, took 4 scouts and 1 dad
> backpacking
>> who had never backpacked before. We were a group of 7. Before we
>> started
> out
>> the scouts and dad wondered if it was okay to go with such a small
>> group.
> By
>> our first evening the dad came to realize that this was a great size
>> group
> of
>> scouts to have out. They spent a lot of time with each other, some of
> these
>> scouts hadn't hung together before and they found out that they had a
>> good
>> time. The dad also got to spend time with some scouts that he had only
> been
>> around at the large group events. He really appreciated the quantity
>> time
> he
>> got to spend with these scouts getting to know them better. There are
> benefits
>> to the smaller crew.
>>
>> Anyway, I believe that the hearts and intentions of scoutmasters is
>> in the
>> right place, but sometimes innocently and unintentionally we alienate
> others
>> because we don't know their etiquette expectations.
>>
>> Happy Turkey Day to Everyone, Hope to see you on the trail,
>>
>> Kevin
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>> As you gather around this virtual campfire with fellow
>> Scouts and Scouters, do your best to be trustworthy,
>> loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient,
>> cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
>> -------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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> -------------------------------------------------------
> As you gather around this virtual campfire with fellow
> Scouts and Scouters, do your best to be trustworthy,
> loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient,
> cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
> -------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
>
>
>

-------------------------------------------------------
Scouting E-mail Discussion Lists @ usscouts.org
Subscribe/Unsubscribe at http://usscouts.org/lists/
Listserv Commands at http://usscouts.org/lists/lc.asp
-------------------------------------------------------
Send listserv commands to: listserv@troop47.com
Send postings to: philmont@troop47.com
List FAQ found at: http://usscouts.org/lists/faq.asp
List Administrator: philmont_owner@troop47.com
-------------------------------------------------------
As you gather around this virtual campfire with fellow
Scouts and Scouters, do your best to be trustworthy,
loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient,
cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
-------------------------------------------------------

 
Received on Fri Nov 18 17:03:23 2005