Campout Planning Guidelines

• Bill Eidson plans and runs our outdoor program along with Greg Hagood and Bobby Krupczak as his loyal minions. Greg typically handles trip permits and BSA paperwork and Bobby handles signup and web site organization.
• Moms are welcome on campouts. I have yet to see anything, on a campout, that a Mom cannot see. I have seen lots, on campouts, that maybe Moms don't want to see (e.g. pancakes made with Mountain Dew instead of water) but thats another story.
• Because we are a volunteer organization and we need adult participation on campouts, the troop asks that parents of each scout volunteer to drive or attend at least two campouts per school year.
• Arrive at our Scout Hut @ 5:30 PM Friday for gear and food distribution, vehicle assignments, and to eat dinner.
• Bring $5/person (person equals both adults and scouts) for CFA dinner prior to departure. A scout will collect and count the money before handing it over to Bill Eidson.
• If you need Class-B t-shirts, see any of the scoutmasters.
• We leave promptly at 6pm and we typically drive for 1-2 hours. Consequently, plan on setting up in the dark. If you have a new tent or if you are not familiar with it, please practice setting up your tent prior to Friday night.
• We typically arrive back Sunday early afternoon. Scouts will call their parents when we get within 30-minutes of of the Westminster summer camp.
• Signup for campouts by emailing [info@supertroop197.com] Cancel, withdraw, or request specific accommodations by emailing [[1]] Camp prep is usually done at the normal Sunday scout meeting prior to the campout.
• Two or three-man tents only -- no family tents.
• Keep all outside patrol/tenting/travel planning to a minimum as it increases the difficulty of the overall campout logistics coordination. We prefer that you email info@supertroop197.com, prior to camp prep, with such requests so that we can take them into account when planning.
• We ask that scouts refrain from bringing portable electronics and soda on campouts. Scouts often bring cellphones but please make sure they are turned off and kept packed away. We often camp in locations where cell phone coverage is spotty at best and we often deal with inclement weather.
• Stuff happens and people get sick; if you have to withdraw from campout, let us know ASAP by emailing [[2]] Withdrawing before camp prep is easy. Withdrawing after camp prep makes our planning much more difficult but we will improvise. If you withdraw after the camp prep, let your PL know and let us know so that we and your patrol can adjust or assignments. If you withdraw from a campout after Wednesday, you scout is still responsible for getting food assignments to his patrol by Friday.
• Two scouts per tent on campouts; please no party tents. Skunks usually tent by themselves unless backpacking or other conditions dictate.
• Individual and patrol gear lists are on the troop website; the troop has a lot of gear that can be borrowed including dutch ovens, tarps, ropes, etc.
• Scouts should plan, prepare, and cook delicious meals -- no pop-tarts.
• Adults that attend are assumed to be drivers. Please make sure the troop has updated auto information, DL, insurance info, and cell-phone numbers. If we end up with enough adults, we will then kick start carpooling.
• The BSA trip permit requires us to have auto insurance information and DL numbers for all drivers. We will distribute printed maps and driver assignment sheets (with cell phone numbers) prior to departure from the Westminster summer camp pavilion.
• Scout patrol leaders *should* call (if you email, that's great, but you should also follow up with a phone call) their patrol members by Wednesday evening to reaffirm patrol planning, menus, and tenting assignments. If your scout is a patrol leader, "help" him remember to do this.
• Starting in November 2017, Scouts that cannot attend an entire campout or Troop activity (summer camp, high adventure, NYLT, etc.) should not sign-up nor attend. Thus, there will be no more late arrivals, early departures, etc. For campouts, this means Scouts must attend from Friday departure through the Sunday morning "Thorns-n-roses" ceremony. For summer camp, this means Scouts are *not* permitted to arrive late nor leave before the final Troop checkout. Finally, this policy applies to Scouts only, not adults.
• Guidelines for parents attending campouts can be found here.