5 Minute blogs with tips on camping, the outdoors, and Scout Advancement.
Gaither 1- Surveying the water crossing point: Look and walk downstream to see if there are any hazards. Stream or river junctions where currents become unpredictable. Downed trees, undercut rocks or banks, “washing machine” eddies, waterfalls, low water dams. Snags and strainers kill! Change in current speed caused by narrowing of the banks. Steep, slick, icy, … Read more
1- Cooking methods. Some methods are in Sit. Rep. #75. Spit Cooking – Think Kabobs, run a skewer through the meat &/or vegetables that you need to heat up and cook. Rotate to keep from burning. Rock Frying – Get a flat, thin rock (not from any body of water), heat it up with fire … Read more
1-Remember: Print out the directions to the trailhead or camp for the driver. Electronics do not always work. Be Prepared with a backup. A copy of printed directions with each vehicle/driver/co-pilot. 2 copies of all permits, reservations, and contacts. A copy with 2 different folks. Trail maps, Topo maps – 2 copies with each Patrol. … Read more
1- As a Scout and as a member of the human race and as someone who values the outdoors and nature, we strive and practice to be considerate of everyone. And to have a conservation mindset of the natural world! This is our promise in The Outdoor Code. 2- Epictetus (pronounced Epic-TEE-tus) was a Greek … Read more
1- Map Scale seems to throw folks what the numbers mean and how to interpret the numbers. The scale is simply a ratio of the size of the map to the size of geography (in the case of a USGS Topographic Map). The scale on a 7.5-minute map is 1:24,000. That number means that 1 … Read more
1- Diarrhea is probably the worst word to associate with a camping trip. Diarrhea is simply the frequent, watery bowel discharge through the anus. Diarrhea has many possible causes: Bacterial or viral infection Protozoal infection (contaminated food or water) Food poisoning from toxins Parasites (most likely ingested) Bowel disease (such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Colitis, … Read more
1- I normally only think about Cloud-to-Ground lightning strikes when I am considering setting up camp. Lightning travels at the speed of light. But the associated thunder travels at the speed of sound. Sound travels through air at about 1,100 feet per second. To estimate the distance of the lightning strike is to count by … Read more
1- Lightning is a huge static electricity discharge. Which is hotter; the surface of the Sun or a Lightning Bolt? The surface of the sun runs about 11,000 deg. F. Lightning runs up to 50,000 deg. F. There are some estimates that say the voltage of a bolt of lightning runs as high as 120,000 … Read more
1- In Sit. Rep. #132 we talked about what to do if you get lost. Remember SSSTTTOPPASSS? Let us talk about how to increase our odds of survival in bad weather. The mental aspects are also covered in #132. Another tool in your personal kit is how to build a native shelter. In this context, … Read more
1- Scouting is a giant Brotherhood around the globe with ~38 Million Scouts. Scouting is in 216 Countries (per Scouting facts from around the world). Malta was the first overseas country outside of the UK to have Scouting 1908. 2- Last weekend I had a chance to go “out-of-council” for additional Scout training. Blue Ridge … Read more