Camping:

Camping Tips/Traps:

• Always bring a cell phone! Let parents know the troop cell phone number.

• Make sure that everyone KNOWS and everyone FOLLOWS the buddy system!

• Bring a broom to clean spiders from camp latrine floors/walls and permanent camping shelters.

• Bring dry fire wood - don't assume that there will be split, dry wood where you are going.

• Bring a waterproof tarp, large enough to cover your wood pile.

• Bring a snack for late evening and mid afternoon. Everyone gets much hungrier than usual while camping. This is not the time to skimp on calories.

• Bring extra flashlights and extra flashlight batteries.

• Bring a deck of cards.

• Bring a song to share and have a sing-along at the campfire.

Fire Building Tips

• Safety Rules:

  • Water bucket must be present; SafetyWise says shovel also

  • No more than 3 girls in fire pit

  • Tie back long hair

  • No loose clothing; nylon windbreakers not good (they melt)

  • No running, etc in fire pit

  • If you poke the fire, the poker stick stays in the fire

• 3 sizes of wood: tinder (thinner than a matchstick), kindling (thinner than your thumb) and logs (fuel).

• Green wood (bends when breaks) will smoke and is harder to light

• Fire needs oxygen as well as wood

• Fire always burns up: heat rises.

• Fire starters can be crumpled newspaper, or for difficult conditions commercial fire starters or homemade ones made from egg cartons filled with paraffin and sawdust, or dryer lint or charcoal.

• The easiest fire to start is to make an "A" with ~1’ thick wood. Point it so the wind is blowing towards the top. Place your fire starter under the crosspiece and a little toward the bottom. Neatly lay a large handful of tinder across the crosspiece. Have small kindling ready. Light the starter from underneath. When you hear crackling, the wood is catching; start to lay bigger pieces of wood on the fire.

Simple Meals for the Fire

• If you do "stick" cooking (cook food on the end of a stick) be very watchful, especially with younger girls.

• Foil packets are very easy and actually taste good! (Frozen hash browns, hamburger or other meat cut small, canned or frozen vegetables. I sprinkle onion soup mix over it because it can be pretty bland. Seal up everything in aluminum foil packets. Write initials on with fingernail polish (won’t burn off). Toss in coals – allow at least 15 minutes.

• One-pot meals are fairly easy – taco meat, chili, stew (if you can get them to eat it), etc. Pasta can be hard to deal with on a fire.

• If you can find a cast-iron griddle and you have a fire pit with a grate, pancakes, sausage, grilled cheese sandwiches, etc go fast.