Scouting in the 21st Century

[boyblue]

In a world where more and more real life experiences are being replaced with virtual reality in the form of video games, theme parks, and YouTube, even the Boy Scouts of America have hitched a trailer to this trend.

Below is a photo of my son's troop on what once would have been a backpacking / camping trip during the previous century. But, real backpacking sometimes involves negative experiences such as blisters, mosquito bites, poison oak, etc. So much better to just pitch your camp on a flat bed trailer and let a Ford F350 do all the work. Some merit badges earned on this trip included paper-machete fire safety, creative camping meal creations (from the menu at the local Burger King), and safe hand waving- not one Scout was accidentally knocked in the head by the over enthusiastic waving of another Scout.

Troop 186, Newark, California. Newark Days Parade. 09/19/2015.

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[RaymondShevsky]

Ha ha! You are taking the p*ss, surely? My son just started Scouts, and it is like going back in time to the days of Burnham and Baden-Powell. Outdoor awesomeness (and most of the parents are backpacker/hiker/climber types: one dad used to ice climb in Alaska). I want to be one!

[boyblue]

Ha! Yeah, just kidding. It seemed pretty ironic to see these guys riding around with a faux campsite pitched on a trailer behind a pickup truck. They do a lot of great outdoor activities. Hiking, backpacking, peakbagging, sailing, horseback riding, etc. thanks to some great scout masters and (ahem) some devoted parents. They do cool stuff almost weekly and I wish I was a member of a troop like this when I was a kid.

[simonov]

Ha! Yeah, just kidding. It seemed pretty ironic to see these guys riding around with a faux campsite pitched on a trailer behind a pickup truck. They do a lot of great outdoor activities. Hiking, backpacking, peakbagging, sailing, horseback riding, etc. thanks to some great scout masters and (ahem) some devoted parents. They do cool stuff almost weekly and I wish I was a member of a troop like this when I was a kid.

My troop was a pure backpacking troop, one hike per month, except for one month in the spring when we did the only car camping of the year, at the district camporee. The Scoutmaster had a big class A RV that could haul all the boys and their gear, so he usually didn't even need parents to drive. I think there was some kind of rule about having more than one adult leader on an outing, and since he had a grown son he had that sewn up as well. He literally didn't need the parents, and ran the troop entirely as he saw fit. That could have been a disaster, but it was the opposite of a disaster. He was more dependable than any group of parents.

Since then I have discussed Scouting experiences with others, and have never heard of another troop that was as dedicated to regular overnight backpacking trips.

It was a truly life-changing experience for me.

[DukeJH]

Retired Scoutmaster here. The BSA has been watering down the program to make it appeal to a more general audience but there are still a few strong hold out troops that believe in the old school, boy led, high adventure way to build leaders and men. I retired when my troop landed back home in Texas from a 10 day trip to Kandersteg (Switzerland). I was moving to California to climb (but also had a really good job offer).

Troop 17, Fort Worth, TX: http://www.troop17.net