First hike

“in about 6 months. With out this site, and you guys I probably would have forgotten what hiking is all about. Well I am happy to say that my Boy Scout troop and I will be camping this weekend (we camp about 3 times a year) unfortunately we will be in cabins with heating. I personally like camping in the snow with a 3-season tent in the 4th season. So much more of a challenge, but I will take the outdoors any way I can get it.”

“I hate to bust ya bubble, but stayin in a heated cabin ain't zakly campin. Especially if it's got electricity. Maybe you could crash on the porch. We'll give credit then.”

“Yay for you!
Whatever outdoors you can get,is right tea!
:o)
So, where ya goin'?”

“I know its disturbing but WD if you haven't camped in 6 months I'm willing to bet that you will take the cabin too.”

“LOL @ dude! I hafta' agree with him though T... you could sleep on the porch, or bring your tent & show those wimps how a 'real Boy Scout' wants his outdoors! ;-)”

“Actually I have been that long between BPing trips before. I went nearly a year and a half once. The trip that broke the ice was a 15 mile loop in a downpour. What a way to get back in the groove.

I'm not dissin ya or nothin, but I would keep my dignity and crash on the porch. LOL!!”

“I think I will”

“I just sleep with the window open. I have a big cooshy blinket that feels like a sleeping bag. I sleep great.”

“WD, I completely agree with you all. However these are the same people that dis the Gossamer (the world most godly tent). In addition they dis all my alcohol stoves.”

“Those B@stards!”

“Thats what rad said.”

“They should be dipped in hot oil.”

“Do the rest of those posers think they're actually camping?”

“My question to my self now is, do I take my new sleeping back (15 deg.) or my old (15deg. but now 40) sleeping bag”

“yeah”

“WD, can you sign on to ICQ so we can chatt”

“I think it may be better to be inside & have the camoraderie of his friends if he wishes. He has plenty of time ahead of him to camp the way he really wants to. What would really be the difference of being on the other side of the door?”

“ones cold and the other is colder”

“Hey LH. He's my friend too. I'll rag him if I want! LOL”

“Eat good prior to the ride to the cabin. Baked beans, mustard and hard boiled eggs make great energy food!”

“LOL @ Buddur. GOOD ONE!!”

“A few nights ago, looking for an old textbook, I found my 1975 Boy Scouts Handbook. After skimming through the pages I almost posted because of some of the hillarious (outdated) info and old photographs.

"The poncho is man's best friend in a downpour. With water-repellent hike shoes and your waterproof poncho you move inside a walking tent. And man, that's a smart place to be; only green-horns don't know when to come out of the rain."

Ever make a "dangle stick"? Anyone know what one is?

It shows how to cook eggs in a half-shell (an onion skin or orange peal) on hot coals. Even show you how to cook hard boiled eggs by skewering the egg with a long thin wood skewer and cooking over the heat.

Cooking bread between two green leaves, or wrapping the dough around a stick and cooking that way.

I could go on and on. Lots of great info, and the text is humorous as it is written for gradeskool kids. Wish everyone could take a gander at the book.”

“well i'm going on my first hike ever, and my first camping trip in 2 years, and I'm doing a 4 day with packs only.

Would you like me to bring you back a pine cone or a blade of grass Ice Tea? Maybe a small rock? =P”

“Ice Tea, just have a great time however you do it. My Scout handbook is copyright 1962. On the inside cover I have a note taped "Patrol hike to Milhem Park, 1:00 p.m., Feb. 8." I give us credit that we went hiking in winter in Michigan, but going to Milhem Park was not exactly wilderness. I think, though, we followed the banks of Portage Creek, once pretty natural, now overshadowed by suburban development. Each experience has its own rewards.

BTW, Buddur, I have some BSA merit badge pamphlets from the late 1920's and 1930's: Pathfinding, Cooking, Camping, Pioneering, and Signaling, of course, but also Automobiling and Salesmanship! Also the First Class Helps pamphlet from 1931 that covers knowledge required for that rank. For your signaling requirement, your choices were sending a message in Semaphore (30 letters per minute), Morse code (16 letters per minute), Manual Alphabet for the Deaf (30 signs per minute), OR Indian Sign Language (30 signs per minute).

Okay Tea and everyone else, time to dust off your Indian Signs for the next campout. Or do Scouts today just use emoticons?”

“Tea, can you take your tent and sleep outside. I would hope that others in your troop would be envious. This hopefully would be a signal to your adult leadership to encourage tents in the future. Are you the SPL? If so, you have the opportunity to show the boys how its done, and illustrate who is soft. Granted, your new scouts (recently upped Webelos) may not have quality gear for the temps. Also, its nice that the cabin is available in case of inclement weather. I'm certain you'll have a good time. Get up early and lead a 5 miler (req'd for 2nd class) and show 'em how its done!”

“Winter overnight camping for us Scouts in the '60s in lower Michigan consisted of a big canvas Army tent (floorless) with straw spread on the ground as an insulator. Then we used the same sleeping bags as summer (cotton covers with some crappy fluff inside, but cute camping scenes on the flannel liner), plus extra blankets and all our clothes.

One of those trips and amazingly no one is available for next year's outing. Klondike Derby daytime activities were a blast though. Youthful pyromaniacs and ax murderers unite! We have an organization for you to learn the basic skills! LOL”

“I'm a patrol leader. Her is a link to how messed up things got when I was running for ASPL http://www.thebackpacker.com/trailtalk/today_mess.asp?threadid=6994&age=9999”

“Sorry Walkindude, let me step aside and let you give it to your friend, lol.”

“Mr. Flyguy has a great idea, Mr. Tea. You'll be breakin' new ground for most of the kids...you may start a trend.

Really couldn't tell "how messed up things got"! Anyways, ya learn more by making mistakes.

btw - when I cut 7 pasted the link, the format of the site was much different than what I see onscreen. Was that an old TT format, or just another type of viewing the site?”

“I use TT today, maybe I did not get it not the nity gritty details like my running mate could not make every meeting before the voting, it was planed and replaned because of his absents. They felt that he should at lest be there for the voting. Then after 3 weeks of that on Friday (when we have are meetings) it snowed so I did not go. And what did they do? they held the elections. They waited 3 weeks for my running mate but when it was a blizzard they would not put it off for me. There are a lot of things that happened during that month that should never have happened. It is sickening.”

“5 miles is nothing to me. I'm in great shape. I can walk 6.5 mph on a tred-mill.”