A Scout’s Campfire

Care of Dutch Ovens

Add comment November 15th, 2006 spryken

Our Boy Scout Troop likes to do dutch oven cooking on our flop-and-drop campouts. We have several dutch ovens, so each patrol can have at least one and sometimes 2 for their cooking. Every time the issue comes up, “how do we clean them?”

First, never, ever use soap. Soap will remove the seasoning. Some leaders in our troop say to never use water, that it will cause them to rust. They suggest we burn the stuck on mess out. Our last campout demonstrated the error of that logic. We had 6 or 7 dutch ovens, which we burned out. The result was dutch ovens with no seasoning. Of course it rained and now they are rusted.

The situation is correctable. Here are the steps I will use to reseason my personal dutch ovens which went on this trip.

First, I will have to clean off the rust. That means elbow grease. I use plain steel wool (no soap). After scrubbing the rust off, I will bake in the oven at about 250 degrees for about 1/2 hour to remove any moisture. Let cool so that you can just handle it. Apply a light coating of vegetable oil, inside and out. Return to the oven and bake at about 350-375 degrees for 1 hour. Repeat the cooling, oiling and baking. Now cool and oil. The pan should be ready to use or store.

After each use, I will wash with water and a nylon scrubber. Then I will heat in the oven to remove any moisture. I will season for the first few uses, but eventually a good black, hard coating should form.

I found the Wagner and Griswold site that explains how to use electrolysis to clean the rust off.

Entry Filed under: Boy Scouts, Camping, Cooking, Gear

Any Camping Trip is a Chance for Learning

Add comment November 7th, 2006 spryken

Any camping trip our Boy Scout Troop goes on, sees me with my knot book some cord and a pocket knife.  It doesn’t matter if we are on a “fun” trip, leading a camporee on First Aid or on a trip designed for new scout advancement.  Even when we do an overnight Troop Leader Training, I have my supplies. 

Just bringing out my knot book and practicing fun knots for myself draws a crowd of boys.  Soon, I’m cutting lengths of cord for the boys and soon after that, I give up my book.  It is a great way to inspire learning beyond what is required in a setting that isn’t like school.  As I tie a Turk’s Head or Monkey Fist, knots become cool.  (Yes, I am a product of the early seventies.) 

The boys learn valuable skills, they are occupied when bored, they challenge each other to go beyond the bare minimum.

But it isn’t just knots and rope.  We as leaders can find other ways to engage the boys.  I’m sure we all do.  From nature, to knots, to cooking and First Aid, a camping trip is a great vehicle for learning……

Look around at what interests you, show some enthusiasm and soon you will have a group of boys gathered round wanting to see what is so fascinating.

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Entry Filed under: Boy Scouts, Camping, Gear

Lightweight Backpacking 101 - A Must Read Article

Add comment November 3rd, 2006 spryken

Backpacking Light has a great introductory article on Lightweight Backpacking, Lightweight Backpacking 101: An Introductory Manual for Lightening Your Load Today.

The article covers the why and the how of moving to Lightweight or Ultra Lightweight backpacking.  The article is split into 9 parts:

1. Basic Concepts
2. Equipment Primer
3. Clothing
4. Cooking Equipment
5. Trail Food
6. Water Treatment
7. Miscellaneous Essentials
8. Nonessentials
9. Ultra-Light, Ultra-Cheap

Looking over the areas covered you can see that all aspects of backpacking are covered.  Even the “Nonessentials”, you can have fun too.

I encourage everyone considering backpacking to read this article, especially our Boy Scout Leaders.  I have seen some Boy Scout Leaders (not in my Troop) continue to backpack the way the Boy Scouts did it when they were Scouts.  I have also seen new Leaders carrying enough weight to supply an entire patrol.  We, as Leaders, need to learn new techniques and pass these on to our young charges. 

Lightweight backpacking is less physically exhausting and can make the experience more enjoyable. 

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Entry Filed under: Backpacking, Boy Scouts, Gear, Hiking

GPS and Scouts

Add comment October 25th, 2006 spryken

Back in January, I took part in a discussion on GPS units in Scouting on MeritBadge.net (The Scouting Discussion Network). Scouters were on both sides of the issue, either to allow or disallow there use.

It is really a moot point. BSA has added a requirement to at least discuss their use to the Camping Merit Badge (Eagle Required).

I prefer my scouts to be fully grounded in maps and compass work. I believe the GPS is a tool. Just that. No miracle fix. Knowing your position lat/long without a good ToPo does no one any good.

Seems to me it is more work to rely on a GPS alone. But that may just be how I use my GPS. I typically use it more as a trip log/record. I have found that not all trails are plotted correctly on maps. Surprise, surprise. Using free software, I can download my treks and update my maps. The research I do for hikes has certainly increased and the work after the hike is a little greater. But I have accurate records.

Also, if you use digital cameras, you can actually link your track logs with the pictures. All the picture files have a date/time stamp. Sync with the GPS and you have an accurate location for where the picture was taken. I haven’t really mastered this, but according to my uncle Rich Owings, author of GPS Mapping: Make Your Own MAPS, it can be done.

Entry Filed under: Boy Scouts, Gear