Changing Times

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sgtmike88

Joined
Oct 15, 2000
Messages
799
Over the weekend, my gf and I decided we'd go to Gettysburg, PA and give our gear it's first workout of the season by hiking the battlefield trails. To our surprise, there were literally thousands of Boy Scouts there.
I really had my eyes opened to changing times watching these kids. The vast majority of them were sporting gear of exceptional quality. I saw kids with everything from Camelback Packs to NorthFace gear, to Benchmade and Spyderco knives along with the standard Camillus Scout knife, to Merrill hiking boots, Photons, CMG Infinitys, etc, etc.

What a contrast to my days as a Scout, when we relied heavily on WWII milspec gear and anything we could beg or borrow. Looking back, my best piece of scout gear was my Camillus Scout Knife. What I would have given back then to have the gear I saw these kids with.

I had thought to myself that I hope these kids learned the same skills that I had learned from the Scouts, when I saw several of the Scoutmasters at work. I saw several teaching means of water purification, several teaching first aid for cuts and blisters, and several more teaching knife skills.

I had to walk away with a smile, but it sure seems times are changing.



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It's not the pace of life that concerns me, It's the sudden stop at the end.
 
Hi Mike,

Perhaps times for the US Boy Scouts are changing but over here in Holland we still try to teach them basic skills and also let them see that you don't need expensive equipement to be able to camp and have fun.

One of the most expensive small items our kids have is a decent scouting folder and I've spend ages on trying to convince the kids that it's better to invest in a regular real SAK then a China copy that looks like it has 4 times as many tools but most times they are all useless crudely made copied "tools".

We still have camps were the scouts make their own "storm huts" utilizing nothing more then a sheet of thick plastic for the roof and cover the ground they sleep on with pine needles etc. They will have of course a decent sleepingbag but that's mandatory when they do these kind of camps as it can get pretty cold sometimes.
They cook on "ground ovens" which they dig themselves and use pinecones and twigs as fuell and they have FUN and thats what scouting is about, having fun and learning valuable things while having fun.

Best Scouting wishes from Holland,

Bagheera


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When I was in scouts (4 years ago), we were mostly using military gear. I think the main reason was the price. It is also pretty durable, but usually not that comfortable. Also, we didn't know about a lot of the gear that was available. Now I keep up on what is new and if I see something I like I save up for it, usually it is worth the extra money. Case in point: my first backpack was a military ALICE pack. I went to Isle Royal, Yellowstone, and the Porcupine mountains with that thing. It did the job, but a few yards down the trail each trip I would regret not getting a better pack. After my first year in college I saw an Osprey Silhouette, which I saved up and bought about a year later. It was worth every penny. I think spending a lot of money on gear isn't bad, as long as you make sure its what you really want and then keep it clean and maintain it so that it will last.
 
That is great news! When I was a scout, our leader was kind of fat and lazy and didn't take us on many trips at all. Then later, we got a new leader who was in his early 20's and an avid backpacker. He was a great teacher and a great guy in general, he taught us a lot of cool things. He would also bring friends of his on trips who had other skills we could learn. One guy was a rock climber, so we learned a little of that. Another guy was a Green Beret, and to our fifteen year old "Rambo" infatuated minds, it was the greatest! I am still friends with that scout leader to this day, even though he has moved away. He even came down for my wedding.
 
tknife, You're right. I was impressed by those Leaders. Some were wearing Hiawatha Council patches (from the Syracuse, NY area) which meant that those chaps had taken the initiative to take those boys almost 350 miles on that excursion. I really was impressed by some of the teaching I saw occur as well. The Scoutmasters I observed were doing a fine job. Not only were the kids getting a real history lesson, many were getting true skills training.

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It's not the pace of life that concerns me, It's the sudden stop at the end.
 
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