Be Prepared – For Adventure, For Life
Posted by Scoutmaster on May 10, 2010 at 2:32 pm
Vol. 2, No. 5
This is the National Council’s outstanding newsletter promoting our rich culture of Scouting traditions. Let the troop know what you think about it.
Taking Aim at Summer
Scouts everywhere are setting off on great adventures. Two activities that have been around as long as Scouting are tracking and archery. Each demands practice, focus, and steady nerves. For a fun afternoon or for serious sports to enjoy for a lifetime, archery and tracking offer all the challenge you can want, and more!
BENDING THE BOW
Earnest Thompson Seton and Daniel Carter Beard, two founders of Scouting in America, admired the abilities of many American Indians to handle bows and arrows. They encouraged Scouts to take up archery, too, and become accurate marksmen.
Early BSA literature also showed ways to make bows that were strong, and arrows that would fly straight and true.
Many Scout camps today have ranges where you can learn archery basics. Instructors will issue bows and arrows, explain safety procedures that must always be followed, then help you develop solid technical skills.
While lots of archers continue to find satisfaction in building their own equipment, the Compound Bow Set and Archery Merit Badge pamphlet will give you the gear and guidance to get started on your own. Both are available online from Scoutstuff.org.
From there it’s up to you to have as much success-and as much fun-as possible!
Tracking Success
The cover of a 1908 installment of Robert Baden-Powell’s Scouting for Boys features his sketch of a Scout studying tracks. Baden-Powell believed tracking was one of the most important skills that Scouts could master. It required them to be observant, notice clues on the ground, and figure out what was going on. Footprints and signs left by other Scouts provided great practice as boys made their way through the backcountry.
One of four historic merit badges that Scouts can earn during the Centennial year of the Boy Scouts of America is Tracking. The requirements are almost the same now as they were in Scouting’s earliest days.
Handbooks through the decades have given Scouts plenty of advice on becoming good trackers. Look closely at the ground to find footprints. Keep an eye on the big picture, too, as you make your best guesses as to what those footprints mean.
The signs left by wildlife can tell you much about the creatures that live in an area and what they have been doing. Broken twigs, abandoned nests, droppings, and claw marks on trees all reveal something about animals’ activities.
When your tracking skills lead you within sight of wildlife, stay hidden so that you can observe what the animals are doing. Move only when they are looking away from you. Staying downwind of wildlife with keen senses of smell can help you conceal your location, too.
Always follow the Leave No Trace principle of doing nothing that might disturb animals or their surroundings. Watch at a distance that is safe for them and for you. Take photographs, make sketches, or just keep a picture in your mind of what you have learned while in the presence of wildlife. Then slip away as quietly as you arrived.
Tracking Quiz
The Tracking merit badge asks Scouts to know and recognize ten different prints common in their area. Can you match these sets of tracks with the owners of the feet that made them? You’ll find the answers below.
Answers to Tracking Quiz:
1-c. 2-f. 3-a. 4-b. 5-d. 6-e.
For requirements and an on-line edition of the Tracking Merit Badge Pamphlet, go to Scouting.org
Mug It Up!
Everyone going camping needs a mug or cup. Yours should be sturdy enough to survive the backcountry and big enough to hold drinks and soups. If it is insulated it can keep beverages cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
From there, the sky’s the limit as you choose the cup or mug that fits your hand – and your personality.
Feeling old-school? Scoutstuff.org brings back the metal camper’s cup carried by hikers in California’s high country more than a century ago. Hanging a Sierra-style cup on your belt can still be a symbol of a true backpacker.
Clip the carabiner handle of a modern outdoor mug to a strap on your pack for secure storage and easy release. Rugged construction includes plenty of insulation and sometimes the security of a tightly-fitted lid.
Mugs with Scouting emblems can be terrific collectors’ items, too. Display a few on your shelf to show your pride in the Boy Scouts of America.
While mugs are terrific for collecting memories, the real purpose is holding beverages. There’s nothing better than an evening in Scout camp visiting with friends and sipping a delicious beverage from your own special mug.
Related posts:
- Be Prepared – For Adventure, For Life
- Be Prepared – For Adventure, For Life
- Historical Merit Badge Program
