Boy Scouts are supposed to run the troop themselves; adults are there for crowd control & emergencies. But when I was Scoutmaster, one of the few hard & fast rules I imposed was “No s’mores!”
1) When you’re trying to get 11-17-y-o boys settled at night, the last thing you need is them eating graham crackers (high sugar) topped with chocolate (sugar & caffeine) topped with marshmallow (a big glob of pure sugar).
2) The odds of 11-17-y-o boys getting all that off their hands & faces before turning in is something approaching 0% – and raccoons won’t make off with your makings; they’ll open the side of a tent like it was wet tissue paper & eat it right off their faces.
True story: Camping was never my thing, but for a few years I (somewhat reluctantly) took my son on his Cub Scout troop’s annual weekend campout. The first time we went, it rained all weekend and we spent far too much time uncomfortably soaked. When we got home, I told my wife about it. She said, “I know, one of the scout leaders told me that it’s rained on that weekend for 33 of the 35 years they’ve been going.”
Me: “What?? Why didn’t you tell me??”
Her: “Are you kidding? You were miserable enough about going. You never would have gone if I told you that!”
We were unloading the car at the campsite when a raccoon jumped right into the trunk, grabbed the bag of jalapeño chips and ran off into the woods with it. We asked the ranger about that and got told, Oh, they’re used to hot food—there is no doubt it snarfed the whole thing down, no worries.
Liverlips McCracken Premium Member over 3 years ago
That’s good advice about the coons, Mike. They’re kinda cute, but they have some very strongly held opinions about food.
Gary Fabian over 3 years ago
Since civilization is only a car drive away, there is no reason you cannot restock smore supplies.
snowedin, now known as Missy's mom over 3 years ago
Are the boy sprouts now defunct because of all the child molesting lawsuits?
Doctor Toon over 3 years ago
Camping sounds great
Camping with a bunch of kids?
No
Cozmik Cowboy over 3 years ago
Boy Scouts are supposed to run the troop themselves; adults are there for crowd control & emergencies. But when I was Scoutmaster, one of the few hard & fast rules I imposed was “No s’mores!”
1) When you’re trying to get 11-17-y-o boys settled at night, the last thing you need is them eating graham crackers (high sugar) topped with chocolate (sugar & caffeine) topped with marshmallow (a big glob of pure sugar).
2) The odds of 11-17-y-o boys getting all that off their hands & faces before turning in is something approaching 0% – and raccoons won’t make off with your makings; they’ll open the side of a tent like it was wet tissue paper & eat it right off their faces.
cuzinron47 over 3 years ago
A preview of coming attractions?
cuzinron47 over 3 years ago
I can see changing the name to Kidscouts, since they’re co-ed now.
gcarlson over 3 years ago
A raccoon had a lot to say to one of my troop’s adult leaders one night.
gcarlson over 3 years ago
We had “coon cans” to keep our supplies in, but one night it wasn’t tightly sealed, and there were claw marks in the peanut butter.
paullp Premium Member over 3 years ago
True story: Camping was never my thing, but for a few years I (somewhat reluctantly) took my son on his Cub Scout troop’s annual weekend campout. The first time we went, it rained all weekend and we spent far too much time uncomfortably soaked. When we got home, I told my wife about it. She said, “I know, one of the scout leaders told me that it’s rained on that weekend for 33 of the 35 years they’ve been going.”
Me: “What?? Why didn’t you tell me??”
Her: “Are you kidding? You were miserable enough about going. You never would have gone if I told you that!”
I married a wise woman.
Mad Sci over 3 years ago
Perhaps we should head over to Hubris and ask Lowell for tips on trash panda husbandry.
amaryllis2 Premium Member over 3 years ago
We were unloading the car at the campsite when a raccoon jumped right into the trunk, grabbed the bag of jalapeño chips and ran off into the woods with it. We asked the ranger about that and got told, Oh, they’re used to hot food—there is no doubt it snarfed the whole thing down, no worries.