A Scout’s Campfire

National Trails Day - Report

June 4th, 2007 spryken

June 2nd was National Trails Day and I used it to kick off work on the Hiking and Backpacking Merit Badges for our Troop.  We have approximately 65 scouts registered in the troop.  Of those 21 have signed up to work on the merit badges and 7 actually showed up on Saturday.  Some may feel disappointed in such numbers, but it was what I expected.  Due to the number of hikes required by these merit badges, I have planned on having to break the boys up into groups anyway.  Most of the boys have full schedules with sports, school, music and scouts.  No one will be able to make every scheduled activity.

The Hike

We met at the NC Museum of Art in Raleigh, NC at 9:30.  The Museum staff and volunteers were extremely receptive to our coming and offer to tailor the presentation to our needs.  They had 2 hike scheduled for the day at 10:00 and 2:00.  We were joined by several other patrons and started out on the trek.  Jerrod, our guide, pointed out that the entire Museum Park was considered Art, not just the exhibits in it.  Different structures have been placed so that from above you see the words “PICTURE THIS”.  The boys had fun trying to figure out what structures made which letters.  The biggest hit was probably the Cloud Chamber, a camera obsura.  The entire hut is a pinhole camera, it brings the sky down to your feet.

After the guided tour of the art in the park, we left our guide and continued our hike.  We crossed the Greenway bridge over I-440 and then returned to the park’s picnic area.  After the boys had lunch, we went over most of the bookwork for the Hiking Merit Badge, first-aid, leave no trace, hiking safety, hiking courtesy, hike plans and reports.  A very good start to the merit badge.

The boys learned that a hike does not necessarily mean putting on a heavy backpack and camping.  The short hike gave them a taste of what is involved and that extended walking is exercise.  I think they realize that the longer hikes required by the merit badge will take some training.  I informed the boys that our next hike will be 5 or 6 miles.  I am not going to jump to the required 10 mile hikes until I see that they are ready.  I have some 10-11 year olds along with  the 14-15 year olds.  I will probably have to split the boys by skill levels and since I have so many signed up, that should not be a problem.

If anyone has any ideas about types of hikes or how to work the younger boys up to the longer hikes,  please comment.  I have a lot of adult participation and assistance so doing multiple trips or hike should not be a problem.  I said I had 7 boys but our group totaled 14.  That’s 1 adult per boy.  I know I won’t always have that ratio but it is good to know I have that type of support!!

Hike On!

Entry Filed under: Boy Scouts, Hiking