Rock, Paper, Scissors Hike Activity

essentials for hiking.
map of the area, or keen familiarity.

Be sure scouts are clothed appropriately for the weather, leaders know the area, adequate time is alloted.

This is similar to the Coin Flip hike, but directions work out better and the objective of "arriving at a particular place" drives home the point of the usefulness of planning. This idea is best for an "in-town" hike.

If more than a patrol, divide into groups with 1 adult and cellphone in each group, or 2 adults in each group. 1 adult with cellphone turned on can be in contact with other groups on this single activity.
Make sure every adult knows the time limit for their hike.
Have even number scouts in each group and have them pair up with a buddy.

Tell the scouts that you'd like to hike to the store to buy everyone a candybar.
But, you'd like to leave the route we take up to chance.
Explain how the hike will go:

• One buddy pair will start out leading.
• At an intersection, the leading pair will do Rock, Paper, Scissors:
  • if Rock wins, we turn LEFT
  • if Paper wins, we go STRAIGHT
  • if Scissors wins, we turn RIGHT
  • if it is a tie, we go back the way we came
• The next pair will take over leading until the next intersection.
• Continue on the hike until you reach the destination or the time limit is reached.
• Immediately return to the starting point, or some specified location where everyone will gather.

Have the first patrol begin their hike. Once they are out of sight, start the next patrol. With enough leaders and scouts, two or more patrols that depart from the same point will end up at different places.

Reflect:
Can it be fun to travel without a planned route? (sure!...as long as you don't have a planned destination)

Can we get anywhere without a plan, just leaving things to chance? (sure!...somewhere)

Are the chances good that we will get to where we want to be? (nope!)

Can planning actually save you a lot more time than it takes? (almost always)

Did anyone try to "throw" the rock, paper, scissors competition to achieve a desired turn?

What was most fun about this activity?