1. October 1: Camping Rank Advancement Reqs. October 8: Backpacking/Camping Merit Badge October 10-12 Camporee: Backpacking Theme

2. Fall Camporee Oct. 10-12 at Cathedral Pines Invite a friend that is not in the troop – (1 st Class Req.10) – Half Price for Friends of Scouts! Backpacking Theme Stations: Wilderness Survival First Aid Orienteering Course Height of a tree Local apparent noon Bear Bag Wilderness Kims Game Compress Garbage Team Building Water Purification Backpack lunch http://www.btdistrict.org/id20.htm

3. What to Bring: A Backpacking Checklist Refer to your Boy Scout handbook when you pack!!! Mess Kit Water bottle Bug spray/Sunblock Poncho/Rain Gear Matches and Firestarters Flashlight Pocketknife First Aid Kit Clothes/Toiletries Tent Compass Sleeping Bag Sleeping Pad Backpacking Stove Food for entire weekend: Check in 6pm Friday, Check out 9am Sunday

4. Backpack Check next meeting?

5. What to Bring: Food Breakfast: Granola, fruit, cereal, scrambled eggs Lunch: Bagels, pita bread, tortillas, fruit Dinner: One-pot meals Dry Foods Nuts, pasta, biscuit mix, beans, rice, seeds, Fresh foods and vegetables will keep if eaten within first day or two of backpacking trip. Cheese will stay edible for up to a week without refrigeration, especially in cool weather. Cans or pouches of tuna or chicken. Convenience foods like beef jerky, energy bars, macaroni and Cheese, other mixes that only require water. Dehydrated food packages found in camping stores. Soup mixes, pasta sauce mixes. Dehydrated fruit and vegetables. *This information taken from the Backpacking Merit Badge Pamphlet at http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

6. Tenderfoot Requirements – Taught by SPL s/Jr. ASMs 1. Present yourself to your leader, properly dressed, before going on an overnight camping trip. Show the camping gear you will use. Show the right way to pack and carry it. 2. Spend at least one night on a patrol or troop campout. Sleep in a tent you have helped pitch. 4a. Demonstrate how to whip and fuse the ends of a rope. 4b. Demonstrate that you know how to tie the following knots and tell what their uses are: two half hitches and the taut-line hitch. 4c. Using the EDGE method, teach another person how to tie the square knot. 5. Explain the rules of safe hiking, both on the highway and cross-country, during the day and at night. Explain what to do if you are lost. 9. Explain the importance of the buddy system as it relates to your personal safety on outings and in your neighborhood. Describe what a bully is and how you should respond to one. Second Class Requirements – Taught by Star/Life Scouts – SPLs/Jr.ASMs assist 2. Discuss the principles of Leave No Trace. 3b. On one of the campouts, select your patrol site and sleep in a tent that you have pitched. Explain what factors you should consider when choosing a patrol site and where to pitch a tent. 3e. Discuss when it is appropriate to use a cooking fire and a lightweight stove. Discuss the safety procedures for using both. 3f. Demonstrate how to build a fire and set up a lightweight stove. Lighting the fire is not required. First Class Requirements – Taught by Star/Life Scouts – SPLs/Jr. ASMs assist 1. Demonstrate how to find directions during the day and night without using a compass. 7a. Discuss when you should and should not use lashings. Then demonstrate tying the timber hitch and clove hitch and their use in square, sheer, and diagonal lashings by joining two or more poles or staves together. 7b. Use lashings to make a useful camp gadget. 10. Tell someone who is eligible to join Boy Scouts, or an inactive Boy Scout, about your troops activities. Invite him to a troop outing.

7. Backpacking ethics, courtesy and good sense. Backpackers have responsibilities to the land, its wildlife and to other people. Some of the following rules were created because the effects of just one person can be great. For example, a campfire which starts a forest blazing. Other rules exist because cumulative effects from numbers of people can be so damaging, like littering for instance. The idea is to leave no trace (or as little as possible) of your ever having been in the area.

8. Plan Ahead and Prepare Know the regulations and special concerns for the area you'll visit. Prepare for extreme weather, hazards, and emergencies. Schedule your trip to avoid times of high use. Visit in small groups. Split larger parties into groups of 4-6. Repackage food to minimize waste. Use a map and compass to eliminate the use of marking paint, rock cairns or flagging. Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces Durable surfaces include established trails and campsites, rock, gravel, dry grasses or snow. Protect riparian areas by camping at least 200 feet from lakes and streams. Good campsites are found, not made. Altering a site is not necessary. In popular areas: Concentrate use on existing trails and campsites. Walk single file in the middle of the trail, even when wet or muddy. Keep campsites small. Focus activity in areas where vegetation is absent. In pristine areas: Disperse use to prevent the creation of campsites and trails. Avoid places where impacts are just beginning.

9. Dispose of Waste Properly Pack it in, pack it out. Inspect your campsite and rest areas for trash or spilled foods. Pack out all trash, leftover food, and litter. Deposit solid human waste in catholes dug 6 to 8 inches deep at least 200 feet from water, camp, and trails. Cover and disguise the cathole when finished. Pack out toilet paper and hygiene products. To wash yourself or your dishes, carry water 200 feet away from streams or lakes and use small amounts of biodegradable soap. Scatter strained dishwater. Leave What You Find Preserve the past: examine, but do not touch, cultural or historic structures and artifacts. Leave rocks, plants and other natural objects as you find them. Avoid introducing or transporting non-native species. Do not build structures, furniture, or dig trenches. Minimize Campfire Impacts Campfires can cause lasting impacts to the backcountry. Use a lightweight stove for cooking and enjoy a candle lantern for light. Where fires are permitted, use established fire rings, fire pans, or mound fires. Keep fires small. Only use sticks from the ground that can be broken by hand. Burn all wood and coals to ash, put out campfires completely, then scatter cool ashes.

10. Respect Wildlife Observe wildlife from a distance. Do not follow or approach them. Never feed animals. Feeding wildlife damages their health, alters natural behaviors, and exposes them to predators and other dangers. Protect wildlife and your food by storing rations and trash securely. Control pets at all times, or leave them at home. Avoid wildlife during sensitive times: mating, nesting, raising young, or winter. Be Considerate of Other Visitors Respect other visitors and protect the quality of their experience. Be courteous. Yield to other users on the trail. Step to the downhill side of the trail when encountering pack stock. Take breaks and camp away from trails and other visitors. Let nature's sounds prevail. Avoid loud voices and noises.

11. Backpacking Merit Badge Requirements  Discuss prevention of an treatment for the health concerns that could occur while backpacking, including hyypothermia, heat reactions, frostibite, dehydration, insect stings, tick bites, snakebite, and blisters.  List 10 items that are essential to be carried on any backpacking trek and explain why each item is necessary. Describe 10 ways you can limit the weight and bulk to be carried in your pack without jeopardizing your health or safety. 3. Define limits on the number of backpackers appropriate for a trek crew. Describe how a trek crew should be organized. Tell how you would minimize risk on a backpacking trek.

12. Backpacking Merit Badge Requirements 4. Describe the importance of Leave No Trace principles while backpacking, and at least five ways you can lesson the crew’s impact on the environment. Describe proper methods for handling human and other wastes while on a backpacking trek. Describe the importance of and means to assure personal cleanliness while on a backpacking trek. Tell what factors are important to choosing a campsite.

13. Backpacking Merit Badge Requirements 5. Demonstrate two ways to treat water and tell why water treatment is essential. Explain to your counselor the importance of staying well hydrated during a trek. 6. Demonstrate that you can read a topographic map. Explain how to stay found, and what to do if you get lost. 7. Tell how to properly prepare for and deal with inclement weather. 8. Explain pros and cons of backpacking stoves and how to keep cooking gear clean. Explain how to store food properly.