I take my kids backpacking all the time. For me the keys have been, the right length (miles per day), the right food and a good creek or a field of rocks. That's it. They do the rest. I do bring a deck of waterproof Uno cards in case it rains all day.
Here are the most recent trip photos...
Dolly Sods Spring '07
Dolly Sods Fall '07
We didn't take a Spring trip this year, but instead my father and I went to PA on the NCT.
Last edited by tlbj6142; 07-14-2008 at 14:15.
NCPatrick -
I know what you mean about the kids. Our are best friends and worst enemies. But generally good when camping.
tlbj6142 -
Great shots of Dolly Sods and great looking kids! Looks like they had a blast out with their Dad.
i really enjoyed scouting when i was growing.but the troop me and my boys were in was a crappy troup,in fact the whole cherokee district we were in had a lot of hidden agenda's.so bad we are we never want to involved with scouting againOriginally Posted by Lone Wolf
neo
the matrix has you
My son was briefly involved in a troop, but so many of the kids were misbehaving that we also didn't want to continue our involvement. (I was VERY surprised that parents watched this type of behavior from their children without jumping in and disciplining their child)
They did little more than activities in their meeting building. Never had an outdoor trip planned while we were associated with them.
The harder I work, the luckier I get.
I take my sons hiking all the time, my daughter prefers to stay at camp and help momma. My four year old gets tired at about 2.5 miles, but after a little snack and rest he is ready to go again. I am about to take him on a 20 miler in a couple of weeks, I will report back on how he did with that. I know that we will have to take plenty of breaks and answer a lot of questions, but that is part of my job as Dad is to teach my children. He is really looking forward to it, and wants to walk around the house in his new Leki youth poles
Dwight
Psalm 19:1-3 "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard."
6ft- sent you a PM regarding the float trip.
Sorry to hear about your scouting experiences. Very different than our group. We have a lot of military folks in our pack/troop and we get outdoors a lot. Even our Tigers will camp at least 2x during the school year with an opportunity for a 3rd over summer.
At these camp out, we have organized activities geared towards outdoor skill training in a fun setting.
Our Boy Scouts camp about 6 or 7 times a year. Mostly weekend trips and one week longer summer trip.
Group brag alert.
Our Beavers (age 5-7) camp 3 times per year -- family camp style
Our Wolf Cubs (age 8-10) are out 4+ times per year including at least 1 winter camp and 2 linking camps. I hope to get the potential sixers and seconders (cub equivalent of patrol leaders) out for an overnight hike in late August.
Our Scouts (age 11-13) are out 8-10 times per year with at least 1 week-long camp. They are heading out the first week of August to Haliburton Scout Reserve, which is arguably Canada's equivalent to Philmont.
Our Venturers (age 14-17) are always on the go. Between various service activities and section outings they were out 6 weekends in a row through May and June and a total of 15-20 times during the year.
That doesn't count various single day events (Fall, winter, and spring area and council events) and regular meetings and hikes at nearby woodlots.
Putting the OUT in Scouting.
sk8- You guys rock. It sounds like you belong to a heck of a group. I bet you know a bunch of kid activities to keep them busy.
This 1st Stittsville Scout site (not my group but nearby) is a treasure trove of activities. I am sure you can find something to amuse the kids in the Fun and Games forum.
Edited to add: It's undergoing a major overhaul so some links don't go anywhere useful yet.
You can never go wrong with sticks, knives and fire. Find some green wood with a leathery bark and have the kids peel interesting patterns out of the bark. Char over an open fire then peel off the rest of the bark. Let it season then finish it to suit. As carving skills improve over the years revisit the walking stick to add more details.
Last edited by sk8rs_dad; 07-15-2008 at 14:23.
DIY!
I can remember a big "r"evolution of our troop was going from using wheelbarrows and those red fold-up boxes to carry things into the campsites to using a lot of homemade gear and being proud to use it. If possible, try mix food into the mix - use that homemade-popcorn-pan-holder to make popcorn on the fire.
Remember that you don't need expensive gadgets to keep kids entertained (hopefully). Try doing the things that you do without thinking day in and day out and put a new twist on them. And the best way to accomplish this, especially with a scout troop, is involve them in ideas!
Brian
OES
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