DOIN’ IT RIGHT
By William H. Wadsworth
Asst. Scout Executive, Onandaga Council, Syracuse, N.Y.
⚜ There are two ways to get the know-how of winter camping. One is the hard way, by trial and error, the other is profiting by the experience of others. We did it the hard way, which has certain advantages; once you learn a trick, you don’t forget it. But, we’re happy to let you in the easy way, so let’s take first things first:
Packing
We usually have each Patrol get personal equipment together and lay it out in neat piles. Patrol equipment and food is divided equally into as many piles as Scouts in the Patrol. We consider both weight and bulk, and try to even it up.
It’s a good idea to fill your cook pots (we use five No. 10 cans) with food or small articles which might possibly be greasy, or break or freeze, and place in the top of your pack. If blankets are on the outside (get them inside if possible) protect them from the weather by rolling in waterproof groundcloth. Don’t have the end of your blanket roll exposed. (We found we could keep the Patrol canteen from freezing by putting it in the middle of a bedroll.)
Clothing and Equipment
As you travel and begin to heat up, peel off layers of clothing. Several layers are warmer than a few heavy pieces. This goes for socks as well as shirts. Air space gives good insulation. If it’s raining or snowing, be sure to wear a water-repellent outer garment, removing the inner layers and packing them in the flap of your pack. You’ll want them—dry—later at night. In snow country, specially after a fresh snowfall, you’ll find a large amount of snow constantly dropping off trees onto your pack, your back, and down your neck. Carry a small stiff brush to remove it. Keep the brush handy in an outside pocket for removing snow from clothes and equipment. “It’s easier to keep ’Em dry than to dry ’Em out!”
Damp socks may be dried during the night by laying them flat across your stomach outside whatever night clothing you are wearing. In cold country, shoes should be dried before the fire and placed inside or under your bedroll for the night. I’ll never forget the time we had the first really cold night and left our ski boots outside the bedroll. They were like rocks and it took some time to soften them enough to get our feet in them.
We are strong believers in the Swedish bow saw in country where we do a great deal of wood cutting. We cut bed logs to hold the dead leaves, boughs, or grass. We cut poles for our tents and reflector fires. We cut large base logs on which to build the fire to keep it from burning itself out of sight in deep snow. I’ll never forget the day we “lost our fire” when we were on a day hike. We were in a large frozen swamp and had made fires to cook our lunch. You should have seen the expression on one face when, with a hiss and sputter of steam, his fire disappeared into the water, leaving his hot dog dangling above floating charcoal.
One reason for emphasis on the bow saw, is that it does twice the work with half the energy. Wood fills with frost in winter and axes bounce instead of cut, no matter how sharp they may be.
In winter look for just the opposite type of campsite you would select in summer. Instead of a shaded open knoll, seek low lands, if they are frozen, where trees are thick and provide good windbreak. Places you never visit in summer suddenly come into their own for winter camping.
A small roll of copper wire will come in handy for many things. One fellow always carries about four wire pothooks of varying sizes. Oh yes, he can make a wood pothook, but that takes time, and often when we have made camp a little late because of a long trip or late start, his pothooks come in mighty handy. He also added pot bags to our list. Strange as it may seem, we don’t have one Scout who likes to wash the black off pots; thus, if we are making only one camp, we just crush the #10 cans and bury them. When we use a regular pot, we just wash the inside, pack it full of other food and equipment, and slip on the pot bag, which prevents it from dirtying up our pack.
by Remington Schuyler
Tents
Tentage is a story in itself. We use the Tab tent (Scouting, December, 1947), which is a rectangular, suspended tent. It has thirty-seven tabs which give us a chance to pitch it in many different ways, each providing twenty-inch walls, which make for more room and efficient use of the tent’s interior. For winter camping we pitch it with an open front in either winter baker, forester, or explorer style, using forty-penny nails or logs to anchor it on frozen ground, or logs or sticks buried in deep snow. We like logs best; the same logs can be used for bed logs with the Tab tent. We bank the tent well with grass, leaves, or snow—for that wind can whistle under an open edge too easily.
We have a favorite tripod fire crane which works perfectly under any conditions—frozen ground, in snow, or mud. It eliminates cutting crotched sticks and pounding them into hard or frozen ground. The three uprights may be dead or live wood fastened at the top with a small piece of rope, wire, or even a neckerchief. The lug pole is green wood about an inch in diameter. This rig can be easily moved as your fire changes, and works well with any type of fire lay.
Don’t forget a small food cloth for keeping food and cooking equipment off the ground. Keep one pot on the fire for a constant hot water supply; it will come in handy in a dozen ways and is an excellent first aid precaution. It is easier to melt snow in water than in a bare pot where it must be stirred to keep from burning. Let each individual prepare his own beverage with boiling water and the beverage powder he prefers. This saves tying up another pot.
A good ground cloth is essential. Make it large enough to go under and over your bedroll. Build your bed of dried leaves, grass, or boughs. Don’t rely on that summer sleeping bag alone—extra blankets are necessary. Newspapers are good insulation. Sleep with your head to the highest part of the tent so that your breath won’t freeze and form a hoarfrost on the tent and fall off onto your blankets.
One fellow hit on a good idea on our last trip. At night he prepared his tinder, kindling, and firewood in three neat piles inside his tent. When morning came, he extended one arm, in went the kindling, a match, and it’s lighted, with him still in bed. A stick or two of wood and things began to warm up. By the time he had to get up, he didn’t miss his warm blankets ... well, not much.
We carry two pairs of long underwear. The one worn during the day is taken off and dried at night when going to bed and when it is warm. The next morning clothes are put on over the set of underwear worn during the night, eliminating too much exposure of bare skin—an important point, especially when you are inside that bare skin.
First aid precautions in cold weather differ from regular summer first aid; shock is greatly intensified in cold weather. Blankets and canteen hot water bottle are handy. How to treat for frostbite is required knowledge. Make preparations against snow blindness in northern regions. Temporary sunglasses may be made with cardboard, cloth, or wood with slits cut through, fastened in place with adhesive tape. Watch out for your feet. Wear several layers of light wool socks with large sized waterproof shoes, shoe packs, or ski boots. Tight-fitting ski boots will cause you trouble. Lay down boughs or branches around your fire; you can walk on them and thus keep your feet out of wet snow or mud caused by the fire’s heat.
You’ll pick up other ideas as you go along. It’s not difficult, and you don’t need special equipment or skill. All you need is the spirit of adventure—the spirit your Scouts have—and the desire to try something different. It’s fun.
THE EARLY SCOUT GETS THE BIRD
⚜ Killing two birds with one stone may have been satisfactory in the old days, but in these days of inflation we figured we should be able to knock off at least six birds, figuratively speaking of course.
It all started at a Committee meeting when we were looking around for a Scout Week window display idea. A mass display of bluebird houses made by the Scouts was suggested. But just making birdhouses as a craft project did not seem too practical, unless we could put the houses to use and get birds to nest in them. But why couldn’t we do that? We could. We did. And this is how it worked:
Boards were cut and kits were assembled in the basement workshops of Committeemen and friends.
Wolf Photo
First of all, each Committeeman made one birdhouse, using the pattern shown here and an old apple crate or scrap lumber. That was to prepare the Committeeman to help the boys. It also gave us a start with ten houses.
Then each Scout was given a copy of the pattern and asked to make a house in the next week. Most of the fellows came through and we had twenty more. Now we were ready for mass production.
We scouted the lumberyards in town, and the building projects for scrap lumber—1″ thick boards in various lengths and widths. Everyone was cooperative and we got all the wood we needed. We bought the nails, and then looked around for a “basement shop” or woodworking hobbyist to help us prefabricate the birdhouses. The power saw was easily found, and we went to work sawing up the boards to the proper sizes.
Birdhouses were used first in Scout Week window display and later were placed out in orchard country.
Frederick Avery Photo
Wolf Photo
Then we tied up the boards into “kits,” each kit containing all the makings of a house. In Patrol Meetings, the Scouts assembled the houses. That gave us something over 150 more houses.
Window Display
When the houses were complete, just before Scout Week, we gathered them all together and built our window display. The photo shows what it looked like. But the photo doesn’t show all the interest it aroused.
Mapping
The craft work “bird” and the window display were knocked off—now for setting up the houses. The Buffalo Ornithological Society helped us, and we placed them along fifty miles of highways radiating out from town. The houses were placed in orchard country, with the approval of the land owners. Each group made a sketch map of the roads along which they set up houses, and we put the segments together to make a large map showing the location of all the houses.
A map was made to show the location of each birdhouse so that check-ups could be made during the nesting season.
Wolf Photo
Bird Study
Of course the chief purpose of the project was to attract birds and provide nesting places for them. So two more “birds” fell before our one stone. Weekly hikes, during the spring, gave Scouts a chance to see how successful the housing development was. Every house was checked and the tenants carefully observed. Landlords can’t be too careful these days. We found that we housed more than 400 young birds.
THE EARLY SCOUT GETS THE BIRD
By H. B. Hammill, Jr.
Committeeman, Troop 64,
Williamsville, N.Y.
In the fall too, hikes were necessary, to check on the houses to see how they were standing up, and also to clean them out. Bluebirds won’t use a house that contains the remnants of a last year’s nest. So the houses were all cleaned to be ready for the 1949 season.
Community Service
Of course there is one more “bird” that we haven’t mentioned yet—and probably the most important. This was one of the best community service projects we could try. For bluebirds are insect eating birds, and one family in one season can destroy an unbelievable number of harmful insects. Attracting the birds to orchard country should certainly help to improve the apple crop—at the same time the birds are among the first to arrive in spring and they stay all summer. They are colorful, cheerful birds and their very presence should help to make some people happier—just to see and listen to them.
So that’s our birdhouse story. It was a project that lasted for six months. It is good Scouting all the way through, and it was not hard to organize. We heartily recommend it to others. But remember! The early Scouts get the bird! Start it now, so the houses are up by the end of February. Bluebirds come early and prefer “weathered” houses. You too, can “kill” six birds with one stone.
YOUR SCOUTCRAFT
GAME FILE
|INDOOR OUTDOOR LARGE ACTIVE NO EQUIP.|
FUN HALF TROOP TEAMS FACING LINES
CROWS AND CRANES
Equipment: None.
Method: Divide Troop into two teams, lined up, facing each other in center of room or cleared space. Teams 2-3 ft. apart, one called “Crows,” the other “Cranes.” Leader calls out one of these names, rolling “r,” as: “Cr-r-r-rows” or “Cr-r-r-ranes.” All on team named must turn and run to wall or given line in back of them. If a player is tagged by an opponent before reaching wall, he is captured and becomes member of other team. This is kept up until all players are on one side. Leader can add fun by giving occasional false alarms—for example: “Cr-r-r-rabs” or “Cr-r-r-rash.” None may move, any so doing are deemed caught and moved to opposite side.
Scoring: Last player captured wins.
VARIATION: As before, excepting when player violates leader’s call, he drops out. Last remaining earns 20 points for his team.
─────────────
|INDOOR SMALL QUIET EQUIP.|
NATURE PATROL TEAMS INFORMAL
MM! U SEE ’UM (Museum)
Equipment: Collection of nature specimens that every Scout should know, such as: pine cone, wood and leaf specimens, wasp nest, insects, etc. Set of cards (file size is good) numbered from one to number of specimens collected. Paper and pencils.
Method: Troop’s nature expert collects samples of many different things. Each item is placed on or attached to a numbered card. Collection is placed before Troop. Each Patrol is given sheet of paper numbered from one to number of items displayed. Patrols write down items they are able to identify.
Scoring: Lists are turned over to judge, who gives one point to each correct answer.
VARIATION: Nature collection is viewed for designated time and each Scout matches numbers to nature specimens he can identify. Papers are handed in and each correct answer earns 1 point. Total points divided with number of boys in the Patrol gives each Patrol standing.
|INDOOR SMALL QUIET EQUIP.|
BASIC SCOUTING PATROL CORNERS
PATROL TEAMS NEWSPAPER STUDY
Equipment: One issue of the same day’s newspaper for each Patrol. Pencils.
Method: Patrols in Patrol corners, each with the same day’s issue of a newspaper. On signal, Patrols start searching for articles or news items which illustrate some Scout Law. Items are torn or cut out of newspaper and Patrols write on the clipping the Scout Law involved along with their Patrol name.
Scoring: Clippings are collected by the Troop leaders and the Patrol with the most clippings in given time, wins.
VARIATION 1: Patrols cut out news items illustrating Scout Laws broken and/or kept. First to find clippings for all twelve Scout Laws, wins.
VARIATION 2: Leaders select one of the more difficult laws to illustrate. First Patrol to find specified law, wins.
Hap—py New Year! Heave Ho and away we go into 1949.
What’s new in your Troop? New faces, new games? Send them along, games, that is; so that they might find their way to this page. Remember, we would like to know YOUR favorite game.
Don’t suppose that 1949 will change that time-tested saying, “A friend in need is a friend indeed.” We like to think of the Game File as helping that Scoutmaster friend of ours. You know the fellow.... Scout meeting scheduled for 7:30 o’clock; 7:50 and only a dozen fellows on hand and the games are planned for three full Patrols of eight Scouts. So rather than give way to complete frustration, the meeting goes on. A quick shift must be made. So we tug on the sleeve of that Scoutmaster friend of ours and steer him over to his file where he keeps his Scoutcraft Game File. Thumbing quickly through the file cards, he soon finds the games that will cover the situation.
How ’bout it Cubbers and Scouters.... Got your Game File up-to-date?