Scoutmaster Musings

We're on top of the tower at Lapham Peak - don't know who decides when a hill becomes a peak, but it's an amazing view for 50 miles in all directions! You'll need to tilt your screen to see the tower :-)
We can see Holy Hill far in the distance to the north which was our starting point yesterday. Now, we had southwest through the Kettle Moraine.
Check out my current location on the map.

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Along the trail, there have been quite a few Eagle Projects done to improve this great resource for people exploring the natural world of Wisconsin.
Here is an example of a bench. We noticed 3 benchs in this project but there were probably more. These benchs provide welcome rest for hikers and they appear to get lots of use - not by us of course, as we walk on by all day. :-)

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I traveled about 28 miles today.
We made it to the hwy H trailhead to end the day. Bug suits were used the entire day and we got a few jealous looks from folks passing us on the trail.
At a water stop at a campground, we met Gary and his family and friends. I noticed his Philmont scout ranch t-shirt right away and we were welcomed to sit for awhile. Gary had just returned with his Hartford troop from a great trek in New Mexico.
After a cold coke, we continued the last 9 miles through the forest on a very nice trail with lots of small ups and downs.

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We got an early start with a ride from a very helpful scout back to the trail at 6am. We've hiked 7.5 miles - all on roads - and are now resting on the front porch of the old hotel at the Rhine Center intersection. Check out my current location on the map.
Today will be short with my mom shuttling us back to Potowatomi to get my vehicle and make plans for the next week or so while staying at my folks'.
Yet another beautiful day walking through the farmland of Wisconsin. A 3mile trail section is ahead and then the long Kettle Moraine forest trails.

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I traveled about 28 miles today.
Camp Rokilio Rox! We hiked here from Manitowoc today on almost all roadwalking. The hike wasn't too exciting but the destination is great! We arrived just at dinner and the staff was very welcoming. They are just starting their last session of Cub World for all cub scouts so the staff should be pretty tired - but you couldn't tell.
We've been given a cabin in which to stay and a scout staffer is driving us back to the trail early tomorrow. Oh, dinner was great too!
After dinner, I was asked to talk to the cubs and I just let them ask me questions for about 5 minutes. It was fun and there were still more hands up when we finished.

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This morning, we've walked about 17 miles from Mishicot to Two Rivers via the Point Beach state forest. We found where all the mosquitos have been hiding!!! Our bug suits worked wonderfully and were a real fashion statement.
We have about 11 more miles today - it's a long one!
Check out my current location on the map.

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We've had 3 great days of hiking and met some winderful people along the trail. We camped in one guy's backyard forest, in an old camper a restaurant, and in a family's basement. Today, we're heading to Manitowoc where we hope to camp at a scouting family's property.
The trail has been nice - if you don't mind some traffic on rural roads. I figurd we've gone about 75 miles.

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Tomorrow starts the big adventure for my summer. I leave to start hiking the 1,100 mile Ice Age Trail across Wisconsin with my friend Papa Bear from Seattle. He arrived safely by train and we've walked a few miles here while doing last minute shopping and preparation. I'll be back in about 7 weeks, but there will be blog posts from the trail.

You can follow our progress at http://hikingdude.com with a tracking map and daily blog entries. Here on Boy Scout Trail, I'll let you know when I meet scouts on the trail or other (hopefully interesting) things happen. For example, I'll probably be staying a night at two or three different scout camps along the way. I also hope to meet a few troops in towns along the trail.

To prepare for the insects in the great north woods, I sprayed my BSA zip-off pants and my shirt with Sawyer's Permethrin product today. I'll let you know how that works. I expect no problem from bugs because I also have a bug mesh jacket with hood and pants sold by Coghlan's. I also sewed a pair of bug mittens out of tent screen from a worn-out scout tent.

Once we get a cold spell, hopefully in early September, the bugs will not be such a bother. But, these first few weeks will make the prevention measures worthwhile.

Scout On

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We're on Troop 911's first campout. Just testing my remote blogging while dodging mosquitos and raindrops.

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The founding scouts of Troop 911 learned about camp stove safety and operation at their troop meeting this week. There were demonstrations of gas stoves like the one in the picture, smaller backpacking stoves with the same mechanics, canister stoves, and alcohol 'popcan' stoves.

We discussed the BSA policies on liquid fuels, when each type of stove might be most useful, and let the scouts reach their decision on which they would prefer to use for their weekend campout coming up in two days. The concensus was that the stove pictured made the most sense since they could have two burners, control the heat, and refill fuel if needed.

One of the key safety items was to be sure and light the match (or lighter) before turning on the gas. I don't think they'll forget that one.

I also mentioned the Bar-X brand that many backpackers often get. They grab the top of their backpacking stove to put it away, thinking it is cold and burn their hand. So, we discussed and demonstrated how to check if a stove is cool enough to pick up.

They also got practice in refilling a fuel tank - away from any heat!

It takes two of them to light the stove right now, but in the spring they'll be showing the new scouts how to do it alone.

Scout On

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I expect if you are viewing this blog of mine you're involved in the Scouting world online and are already aware of Scoutmaster Clarke Green's blog. (That's him in the pic)
He posts much more than I do - both quantitatively and qualitatively. That just means he posts good stuff often. :-) You really should bookmark his site!

I have to share a link to his most recent post in case one of the three folks that read my blog don't know of him yet. His thoughts on ways to improve the merit badge system, especially the Eagle-required badges, is nearly identical to what I'd like to see done. Please give him a read at this page and let me know what you think.

Giving scouts more opportunity to choose their own merit badges from categories of badges, rather than a long list of required badges, makes sense to me. It gives them ownership, flexibility, alignment to interests, and self-direction. It helps them define their path to Eagle and reduces competition between scouts to complete badges, focusing the scout on completing his own path.

Scout On

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One of the Leave No Trace principles to minimize impact is Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces. One of the ways to interpret this is to stay on trails when hiking.

As you can see, that is a good idea not only to minimize impact but also to keep safe. I found his little friend of mine along the trail this morning while doing my daily hike. With the three cute little leafs, all shiny and green, he looks harmless enough. No prickly needles or scratchy thorns, but he can cause plenty of trouble if you touch him.

It's the urushiol in the poison ivy that causes skin irritation, more on some people than on others. By staying on the trail, keeping your eyes open, and paying attention to your surroundings, avoiding poison ivy isn't too difficult. When you go off trail, chances of running into it go way up. Actually, just off the trail is one of the best places for poison ivy to grow since it likes wood edges just like the side of a trail, road, or meadow.

It takes only a few minutes after contact with poison ivy for the urushiol to absorb into the skin, but it may take many hours for the itching, rash, and blisters to develop. Immediately washing off the contact area with soap and water is your best bet. Clothes that have contacted poison ivy should also be washed.

Poison Oak and Poison Sumac are also urushiol-producers and cause similar problems as poison ivy.
Burning poison ivy is especially dangerous because inhaling the smoke can effect your lungs.

Scout On Safely

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