Scoutmaster Minute - Physically Fit and Being Prepared.

I wrote this Scoutmaster Minute yesterday.  I was going to use it until I received word that one of the Scouts of my Troop was in a car accident with his dad that same morning.  He and his dad were going toward town when their car slid off the road after coming in contact with a patch of black ice.  The car slid into a pond.  As was told by the local television station, the young man cited his experience in Scouting that helped him stay calm during something that was potentially bad.  He explained on camera that he had been through scenarios where he trained for accidents.  That night at the Scout meeting, we did some work on the Emergency Preparation Merit Badge, and ran through a scenario where an assistant scoutmaster touched a broken wire that caused electrocution.  While he was being tended to (in the scenario) a fire was discovered in the wall above where the wire had shorted (still scenario).  It was a good experience for our troop to practice.

The Scoutmaster Minute I presented was the news release for the Scout who had escaped from the nearly frozen pond with his dad.  The following is a Scoutmaster Minute I will use in the future.

I remember going to Scout Camp for the first time as an 11 year old in 1980-whatever.  It had to have just finished my 5^th grade year in school.  I showed up at Camp McKee with the rest of my troop, and I’m sure you’ve heard me talking about it before, we stayed at Skunk Knob – Campsite 9.  I don’t remember too much about camp that summer other than the fact that the first few days of camp I was miserably out of shape, and it made it very uncomfortable to get around.  I remember that by the end of the week, my 11 year old legs were in shape enough to get around the camp without being miserably worn out.

I’m not sure at 11 years old I thought very much about the meaning of Physically Strong, but I think a lot about it today.  From those of you who are going skiing this weekend, how many have been training?  You don’t have to show your hands.

I have been training for the ski trip.  I try to walk in the mornings or evenings.  When I can walk, I get in 3 to 5 miles, and I can do that 4 or 5 times a week.  I walked to the top of a Civil War battle site on Saturday, and walked again on Sunday with Tyler in the snow.  I feel like I could ski on Sunday without having problems on Monday.

But there is another reason why being physically fit can help.  I slipped on the ice yesterday morning.  I really hurt myself, although I didn't break any bones.  If I hadn’t been in “training” for the ski trip, I probably would still be in some serious pain right now.  Other than a few bruises, I’m fine.  No soreness.  That is a great reason to be physically fit.  It helps with recovery from an accident as much as it does to get ready for a ski trip or in preparation for camp.

Breakfast on the Hill - testing the new Solo Stove

I hike mornings, especially when it's cold outside.  I received my new Solo Stove in the mail yesterday.  It's my belief that you have to figure out how to use something new on your own before you take it with you on a camping trip.  That's why I decided to take my stove with me this morning on my hike.  I was going to have breakfast on top of Fort Hill.

I loaded up my small backpack with water, my stove, my fire kit, and my food.  I left home at 8:20 AM,  I arrived at the bottom of Fort Hill by 8:40,  As I was walking up the path, I pulled hanging deadwood off from the trees,  I completely filled my Honduras bag full of small sticks,  When I got to the top of the hill, I laid out all my gear on a picnic table.

I filled my Honduras bag with hanging deadwood.  I pulled deadwood out of the trees as I hiked up the hill to the Fort.  I didn't realize how wet the wood was until I tried to start the fire.  It'll be dry the next time I start a fire.

I placed two cotton balls with Vaseline in the stove.  It has been my best fire starter for years.  On top of the cotton balls, and after I started the fire, I put very small sticks that I had placed in the pill bottle.  It is the perfect size.

 I put the cup with the lid on it on top of the fire.  It took a long time to get the water boiling because I used mostly wet wood to start the fire.  I think I'm going to need to buy some Fatwood to use along with the cotton balls for a good fire.  The Fatwood will keep the fire hot.

It took about 15 minutes to get the water boiling, and the entire time, I fed wood into the stove.  Since the wood was wet, I used my knife to shave off the wet bark from the sticks.  I also kept the sticks quite small.  I will have to do some prepping on the wood at home before my next trip out to start a fire.  I could let it all dry, and then split the bigger pieces in half or quarters.  That will help with the fire.

I had oatmeal and tea this morning on top of Fort Hill.  It was my plan to see how long it took to get my breakfast prepared while on the trail.  It took too long.  I will no longer try to make breakfast on the trail on a weekday.  Weekdays will be for hiking only.  I will make small meals on the trail only on weekends or on Scout trips.

I cut my finger while shaving off the bark from the wet wood.  It is so important that you put duck tape in your hiking kit even if you already have a first aid kit.  I used my first aid kit, but the bandaids in it are crap.  I had to wrap duck tape around the bandaids in order to keep pressure on my finger.  It was a decent size cut, and therefore a lot of blood.  Crappy bandaids alone would not have stopped the bleeding.

This is my first aid kit and my mess after cleaning up from my own bleeding.

This is Fort Hill.  The house in the background was moved from another part of the county, but it was originally build before the Civil War.  There was an actual battle that took place in the earthworks and surrounding in  1864.  The local militia repulsed an attack by Confederate raiders led by General John Hunt Morgan.

I love Fort Hill.  I hike from my house which is below the New State Capitol (built in 1910) to the top of Fort Hill several times a week.  Round trip it is only about 4 miles, but it is good exercise, and it gives me a chance every now and then to practice my Scout craft.

Military Road is a path that leads to the top of Fort Hill from downtown Frankfort.  It is a good path, and was used by local militia to get to the top of the hill during the Civil War.  During the Civil War, the Old State Capital was at the base of Fort Hill.  If the Confederates had taken possession of the Fort during the Civil War, the Confederate Army could have destroyed the State Capitol from the Fort.

Scoutmaster Minute - 40 Day vs a Lifetime of Pause

OK.  The following blog has nothing to do with camping.  Sue me.  No one is reading my blogs anyway.   I have something that I like to write on my own, even though there are tons of websites that I could rely on that wouldn't make me write any thing if I didn't want to.  That is the Scoutmaster Minute.  At the end of the Scout meeting, and just before closing prayer, our troop has a Scoutmaster minute where the Scoutmaster can give a minute of wisdom to the troop.  I wrote this one just now, and I wanted to share it.

February 9.

Did you know that today is the 40^th day of 2016?  I was wondering with a show of hands how many of you made a new year’s resolution at the beginning of the year?  How long did it last?  Tomorrow is the beginning of the season of Lent, which is a season of 40 days before Easter where Christians pause to focus on simple living, prayer and fasting to focus on God and in order to be the best Christian they can be.  Simple living is the reason why it is often asked WHAT ARE YOU GIVING UP FOR LENT THIS YEAR?

Did you know that every time we meet as a troop we pause and make a resolution to be the best scouts we can be?  We do this, of course, by repeating the Scout Oath and Law.  The Oath and Law is a promise we make to be the best person and citizen we can be.  This is so important.  I could keep you for hours telling stories about people who don’t live by a code of honor and duty to others, but that is for another time.  And the way our Oath and Law is different than a new year’s resolution or Lent is that we aren’t giving up anything by following it.  Instead we are adopting a way of living or a way of behaving.  Hold on to these words.  I promise they will change your life forever.  

2016 Klondike Derby - Frankfort KY January 29 to 31, 2016

Location - Frankfort KY

Mileage - I had to drive to Georgetown to pick up the Scout trailer and scouts, and then back to Frankfort to the campout.  I had to repeat this process after the campout was over.  The camping site is only about 6 miles from my house, but I drove more than 40 miles.
Weather - NO Rain.  Cold at night, windy during the day.
Clothing - Long scout pants,  t-shirt, flannel shirt, fleece jacket with no sleeves, and my Marmot rain coat.  I also used my REI Co-op at night.   I slept in wool socks, thermal underwear top and bottom. and a sock cap.  I was smart to have ear plugs in my tent since we camped with a bunch other scouts around us.  I was able to block them out.
Shoes - Hiking Boots - they kept my feet warm.
Camping Style - slept in my Slumberjack 4 tent.  It held up well to the wind.  I also had a cot in my tent, and slept on two different camping pads.  I used my accordion thermarest camping pad, and I used my air filled thermarest camping pad.  The first night I put my accordion camping pad under my air filled camping pad.  I move around a lot while I sleep.  With the slick surface of the air camping pad, this is possible.  The second night I put the air filled camping pad under the accordion camping pad. The accordion pad has a rough surface, and made it harder for me to move around on top of it while in my sleeping bag.  From now on, I'll need to make sure I have my air pad under my sleeping bag all the time.
Sleeping bag - I used my Teton 0 bag.  I had my "cheater heater" with me, but I only used it for a few minutes right before I got in my bag, and a few minutes in the morning.  This way I could change into and from my sleeping clothes depending on which side of the sleeping bag I wanted to go.
Sleeping - I slept on my cot.  I also used my ear plugs.  I slept well.  I woke up early in the morning on Saturday, and I was a little bit cold, but it was only from the air coming in the top of my sleeping bag.  It was below 30 degrees that night.  The second night I was almost too hot  In fact, while I was putting up my sleeping gear, I noticed some sweat on my camping pad.
Main Activities - The Scouts were at the event for a Klondike Derby.  It was my first.  The scouts had to take a sled around to different stations at the event where they had to do different projects or scout skills. The station that we ran was starting a fire and boiling a cup of water.  A lot of troops did some interesting things.  Troop 124 had Fatwood as their fuel source.  I was impressed with it partly because I was a member of Troop 124 when I was in Scouts.  It burned hot, and made the water boil fast.  From the time they put the fuel on the ground to boiling point was 6 minutes and 45 seconds.  I thought for sure they were going to win.  Then Troop 382 pulled out a Solo Stove.  I had heard about the solo stove before, but I had never seen it in action.  I was very impressed.  The patrol used a cotton ball and vaseline to get a fire started.  They used flint and steel to light the cotton ball.  Then they put wood on top of the cotton ball.  With in a minute they had a roaring fire.  When the cup was placed on top of the stove, within a minute or two, the water was boiling.  I have to get a Solo Stove!  In fact, right after the troop left my station, I called my wife to ask her to see how much something like that cost.  It is not very expensive, and I will get one soon.

The problem with using Fatwood or a Rocket Stove (using butane fuel) is that at some point if you use it, you will run out of the fuel source.  It is often heavy to carry around these fuel sources.  With a Solo Stove, you collect limbs and pine cones from the ground.  These get broken up and put in the stove for fuel.  If you hike in an area with trees, you will always have fuel.

Extra Gear - I had my "cheater heater" just in case the weather was horrible.   
Nights Camping - 2
Total nights camping so far this year - This was my first campout of 2016.  Two nights so far.

Next Campout - Our troop has a lock in at our charter organization in March.  It looks like the next time I get to stay in a tent is March 18 through 20, which is Kawida Lodge Spring Fellowship that will take place at Camp McKee.  I hope I can get 25 nights in a tent in 2016.  If I went to every campout that is on my calendar with Troop and Order of the Arrow, I would have more than 30 nights camping this year.  I'm not sure I want to do that much.  I'm not sure my wife will let me be away more than 25 nights.

I didn't take any pictures during the event.  The picture below was from the father of one of our Scouts.  Soon Troop 215 may be lucky enough to have this adult be part of our troop, but until then, he is working with a Cub Scout Pack.

City hike - January 4, 2016

January 4
Temp 31 degrees F
8 PM to 9 PM
Tennis shoes and low cut socks
Long scout pants
Long sleeve thermal shirt - Polarmax
REI Co-op (only) for coat
Fleece scarf
Gloves
Knitted sock cap

I was very comfortable for body heat during the walk.  I still had a little bit of sweat in my jacket when I got home, but it wasn't very much.  I don't think I could take off any more layers on my next walk.  The REI Co-op is an amazing light weight coat.  There was light flurries in the air tonight, and I wasn't cold at all.  It did a good job breaking the wind and keeping the heat inside.
The shoes weren't comfortable, and my shins were tight after the first mile.

I heard a homeless man whom I know after I crossed the bridge. It took me a few minutes to see him since he was kind of hiding.  I told him to go back to the Shelter and ask for a coat.  The idiot was sitting on a wall while wearing only a sweatshirt and jeans.  No coat, gloves, hat. 

Walking in the cold - all the right gear

January 3, 2015
Temperature - 33 degrees Fahrenheit
Time - 8:30 PM to 9:30 PM
Shoes/socks- hiking boots standard socks
Pants - long scout pants - standard.
Long underwear - none
Shirt - cotton tee - short sleeve
Mid layer - REI Co-op (650-fill down)
Outer layer - Foundry Supply Co - water resistant wind breaker polyester inside (kind of like North Face outer shell).
Gloves - yes, but took them off
Sock cap - yes

I noticed on walking out of the house that I was going to be warm.  I got too hot while walking.  In the last mile I unzipped my outer later to try to let some of the heat out. 

Upon arriving home I took off my outer shell and found that my mid layer was wet with sweat.
Next time it is above 30, but below 45, I will attempt same gear but no outer shell.

My point in keeping up with weather, what I wear, and how warm or cold I was is so I will know what gear works with different weather conditions.  This is for future camping trips.  I don't want to show up at a campout with the wrong gear.

I have been out for a night time walk 7 of the last 10 nights, but this is the first time I've decided to blog about it.  I hope to keep blogging about it until I get it right.

2015 Homeless Campout - Troop 1 - night of December 11, 2015

Location - Frankfort KY

Mileage - 1/2 mile from home
Weather - Warm.  NO Rain
Clothing - T-shirt, long pants and fleece jacket.
Shoes - Hiking Boots - for exploring under the bridge
Camping Style - I slept under a cardboard box
Sleeping bag - I brought my Teton 0 bag, but didn't use it until 2 AM.  I had my wool blanket, and was warm until about 2 AM.
Sleeping - I slept on my cot.
Main Activities - This is the third year that Troop 1 has done this campout.  They met at their chartered organization and walked to the Soup Kitchen for supper.  After supper, we walked to Capital Bridge where the man was found frozen to death in 1984.  That was the reason why the Soup Kitchen and Men's Shelter was started.  We went to the bridge this year, and a guy named Gene was asleep under the bridge. He had been drinking and was kicked out of the Shelter earlier in the day.  As of December 28,2016, he has been checked into a rehab facility in Lexington KY where he will be able to sober up.  Since Gene was under the bridge, we did not invite the Scouts under the bridge to see what the conditions were like.  This was the 2nd year in a row where someone was under that bridge during Homeless Camp.  Last year it was Bennie.  After the bridge, we went back to the church to get settled for the night.  The news crew was there, and interviewed several of the Scouts.  The video is posted on this blog.
Extra Gear - No extra gear for this trip.
Nights Camping - 1
Total nights camping so far this year - 22 nights in a tent or outside in 2015!  I also had 3 nights inside a building with the Scouts.  This was 2 nights at Aldersgate Camp in the Lodge in December 2015, and 1 night for the lockin at the beginning of the year.

Next Campout - The next campout will be in 2016.  January 30, 2016 is the Klondike Derby.

This was my cardboard shelter.  It was quite comfortable.  

Troop 1 and Tyler from Troop 215 camping area.

One of the scouts from Troop 1 being interviewed during the campout.

Same Scout being interviewed.

This is me talking to the reporter.  Nothing I talked about was put in the story.  Being on TV is not why I was there.  This was my first year at the homeless campout.

Council of the Eagles.  This is a great story, and will be used in many upcoming Scoutmaster Minutes.  As I was sitting in front of the camping area, two guys walked by.  One of them I recognized.  He had lived at the Shelter when I first started at Executive Director.  I knew it already about the guy who had lived at the Shelter, but both guys are Eagle Scouts; they are brothers too.  They ended up spending about 30 minutes talking to the Scouts at the campout about working on their goals, and if that goal is obtaining the rank of Eagle Scout, they must work hard.  They talked about all the benefits of being an Eagle Scout.  The guy who had lived at the Shelter pulled me aside later and told me that he was doing well now.  He told me that he had simply lost his way while he was living at the Shelter, and I reminded him of who he was.  I was a Cubmaster of a Pack in Frankfort when I first started at the Shelter.

Since that night, I've been thinking about why I would be in the role of a homeless shelter director, especially as someone who was a registered Scouter that loved my work with the Scouts.  The guy who talked to the Scouts that night was the only Eagle Scout that I know of who has lived at the Shelter since I've been here.  However, there have been many guys who have been involved in Scouting.  I hear about it all the time from the men who live here.  They tell me how they miss the fun times that they had as a Scout.  

These Scouts have simply wandered off the trail of life, and I feel like I have a chance to remind them that the trail is still there to be  traveled.  That has to be why I'm here.

And so ends the 2015 season of camping.  What an adventure it was!  22 nights camping outside in 2015.  21 nights outside in 2014.  I joined Troop 215 as an ASM in December 2013.  I had one campout with the troop in 2013 (one night).  That means I've had 44 nights camping since December 2013 to the end of December 2015.