Home.1 April 1998
Troop 111 Summer Camp
Guide
Troop Equipment
- 25 Items the Leader's Guide Doesn't Mention -
Summer Camp! The Ultimate Car-Camping Experience! The following list has been "refined" by Troop 111 over the last few years. In each case, an explanatory "short" is included.
Note: If your Troop is going to camp via Council bus, the following represents simply too much gear to bring. However, don't just throw in the towel - you can still manage it if one of your leaders drives down on his/her own. Note that we have found that having an independent source of transportation at camp is extremely useful in itself (not just for bringing gear) - consider it!
1) Binder's Twine - One of the 1/2 mile rolls. A thousand uses, from re-stringing your cots, to putting up your Bulletin Boards, to outlining your Totin' Chip area, etc., etc., etc.
2) Bulletin Board - 1 - 2 thin sheets of plywood, depending on the size of your Troop. Requires plenty of thumb-tacks, several sheets of plastic (to keep dry), some light rope to suspend it from the trees and - most importantly - a large, battery powered clock. It helps immensely if you've pre-drilled holes at each corner of the plywood sheets to tie the ropes on; you'll need to jury rig the clock. We bring these because the permanent camp Bulletin Boards are usually located quite a distance from the actual campsite (usually by the latrine), where they're essentially useless. THE PLACE for all your Scout's Merit Badge Schedules, the Camp Schedule (meals, extra activities), the fire-plan, etc. In our experience, far and away the single most useful item to have at camp.
3) Brooms - 1 - 3, depending on the size of your Troop, for sweeping out the tents (and the latrine.)
4) Clothes-Line - For drying out perpetually wet swimwear. A hundred clothes-pins are useful but not critical. We also bring about a dozen 6 - 8 foot poles to set up tripods out in the open to suspend the clothes-line from; experience has shown that clothes lines set up in the woods are only poorly effective due to the constant shade and high humidity (and worthless if it rains even once every 2 days). If you use the tripod method, don't forget to also bring a few heavy-duty tarp stakes to pin the ends of the clothes line to the ground.
5) Coffee Makings - A just-awakened caffeine-deprived Scout Leader is indeed a terrifying sight. A standard Coleman Peak-1 (or equivalent), a small coffeepot and standard coffee makings (instant coffee, sugar, non-dairy creamer) can go a long way towards making an easier week. Whichever type stove you bring, don't forget the fuel.* (* Note: Remember, bus-riders can only bring propane on board the bus - nothing else!)
6) Coleman Lanterns - (Or equivalent) Absolutely vital for getting Merit Badge work done at night! Note that if you just bring one or two, everyone in the campsite will gather around them and no work will get done at all. Our experience has been that 1 for each 5 - 8 Scouts works out just about right. Don't forget extra mantels and fuel.* (* See #5)
7) Cookware and Utensils - For Dining Hall, quite useful for making something edible out of the mid-week "foil dinner." Elsewhere, the comment has been made by many Scoutmasters I have talked to that having your own gear both ensures that you have useable stuff, and also saves you from being held hostage on your last day while your Scouts struggle to clean the camp-provided gear to the exacting specifications of the Camp Quartermaster. If you're not cooking over fires, don't forget to bring stoves and fuel,* and (regardless,) bring plenty of Brillo pads and other, standard cleaning gear. (* See #5)
Specific items above and beyond standard cookware which have been suggested include: Teflon coated pans, Dutch Ovens, and 1 - 2 colander(s) for straining noodles.
8) Drink Coolers - Sick and tired of fighting the endless Coke Machine Battle? Had it with dehydrated strung-out Scouts? Try tackling the problem head-on. Troop 111 brings several standard 5 gallon spigot coolers to set up a constant supply of cold water and Kool-Aid right in the campsite. Helps keep your Scouts well hydrated and away from the blankety-blank Trading Post. Requires an additional standard cooler and a trip to town every other day to pick up ice. You'll need to bring a copious supply of Kool-Aid drink mixes (see Junk Food Locker below); I also recommend bringing a bunch of standard plastic cups, a 5-gallon wash-tub and a small bottle of Chlorox to prepare a supply of Chlorox'd water for on-the-spot cleaning/disinfecting of the cups. Sounds like an overly complicated pain in the behind, but has really helped us out the last few years, especially when our week was overly hot and humid. Probably the second most useful item we bring (after the Bulletin Board.)
9) Extra Tarps - We've gotten burned in years past with inadequate campsite tarp coverage. You can scream, or you can come prepared. Note that you'll need adequate tarp stakes, rope and - yes - poles; the inspectors take a dim view of you tying your tarps to the trees, and most will force you to remove them. Bring equipment as if you were going to set up in an open field, and you'll be OK. No big deal if it's a dry week - a real lifesaver if it's a wet one. Don't forget a rubber mallet or two for pounding stakes.
10) Extra Tent(s) for Troop Gear - Helps keep your loose Troop Gear dry, semi-organized, off the picnic tables and - last but not least - a lot more secure. Not necessary if you've got extra tentage in your campsite - a different story altogether if every cot and every tent are taken (re-read the first line in #9.) A valuable ounce of prevention.
11) Extra Tent Rope and Stakes - For "repairing" your site's tents, which are often in atrocious condition with respect to set-up - rotted or missing ropes, broken or missing stakes, etc. We bring a 1/2 mile box of 1/4 inch sisal and a bunch of "picket-fence" wooden stakes (the type the campaign signs are stapled to, cut to desired lengths.) An excellent Totin' Chip and knot-tying exercise for your young Scouts. Don't forget those mallets and Totin' Chip gear!
12) Fire Buckets - Nothing personal, you understand, but the guy who thinks that a couple of rusty old #10 cans of water are going to put out a tent fire has obviously never seen one. I have. We bring 3 - 4 standard 2 1/2 gallon plastic buckets, and keep them centrally located and full. Hey, if nothing else, they're great for immersing and softening your basket-weaving reeds! A "real" fire extinguisher (for the area around your stoves) is also a prudent ounce of prevention.
13) Fishing Pole Tarp - It's been my experience that fishing poles, tackle, etc., are at least as dangerous as Totin' Chip Materials. I also suspect that a lot of those teeny, tiny little holes in the lower half of your tent roofs are due to Scouts leaning fishing poles - still equipped with fish-hooks or lures - against the sides of their tents. Seeing like-equipped fishing poles laying on the ground in close proximity to (illegally) barefoot Scouts also tends to set my teeth on edge. Our Solution? We set up a separate, small tarp for all poles and tackle boxes. A piece of rope stretched at about 4 feet allows all poles to be leaned safely. An additional benefit? - it keeps everything dry. (Note: See additional tarp equipment comments under #9.)
14) Garbage Cans - Depending on the size of your Troop, 2 - 4 of the old standard metal trash cans will do absolute wonders for keeping your campsite a lot cleaner. Don't forget trash bags (that fit!) and secure covers to keep the local wildlife and insects at bay (a few mothballs in the bottom of each trashcan also helps).
15) Garden Hose - 50 - 100 feet. An absolute lifesaver in cleaning out your latrine - yes, they provide a short piece of hose, but it's only long enough to fill the fire-barrel, not to reach the inside of the latrine. (P.S.: Don't forget to remove the TP before hosing out the latrine!) If you get a longer piece (or 2 or more hoses linked together), the hose can also provide super-enhanced fire protection in and around your campfire site(s); in this case, it's a good idea to bring a nozzle in good working order. Beware of having a "live" hose in your campsite, however, as a water-fight inside someone's tent is the inevitable result. Additional Note: I've had 2 hoses "permanently borrowed" over the last 10 years - use a Magic Marker to multiply inscribe your Troop Numbers on your hose(s). Words from the wise(r).
16) Junk Food Locker - (Stocked) Another effort to tackle the Trading Post head-on. We keep a footlocker well stocked with "acceptable" junk food - hard pretzels, various snack chips, cookies, etc. - all far better than the overpriced candy bars being "pushed" at the Trading Post. In addition, as was mentioned above, we also keep our supply of drink mixes in the locker. Finally, we bring some additional items to supplement the mid-week "foil dinner." Re-stocking of the more popular items is possible during your runs to town for ice. It's an integrated approach to the Trading Post problem - and keeps the Scouts a lot healthier - and wealthier. Consider it!
17) Latrine Cleaning Materials - Many camps provide wholly inadequate latrine cleaning supplies. Again, you can scream, or you can come prepared. We bring a standard metal bucket, a stiff scrub-brush mop, some Brillo pads and a bottle of Pine-Sol. Between these and the garden hose(s), we do just fine with our latrine cleaning. Finally, it never hurts to have a few extra rolls of TP - just in case (one never knows when they're going to cut the TP supply!)
18) Lawn Chairs - If you can spare the room, a simply delightful alternative to sitting at a backless picnic table for 7 straight days. However - fair warning - lawn chairs tend to cause a lot of problems between the Scouts constantly wrestling for the few open seats. Options to handle: 1) Adults Only; 2) Owner's Only; or 3) Everyone must bring one. Up to you.
19) Merit Badge Library Box(es) - Far better than just a loose pile of Troop Merit Badge pamphlets. The old wooden ammo boxes are perfect, but a little hard to find anymore (sometimes spotted at Surplus Stores); however, they're easy enough to make for anyone with a little woodworking skill. If you make your own, I'd suggest a hinged cover as part of the project. Don't forget to mark your Troop number prominently on the front cover of each Pamphlet - this way, believe it or not, you'll actually get them back when the Scouts leave them at the program areas.
20) Plastic Tablecloths - Not just a "touch of elegance" but a very practical solution to a vexing problem - carving graffiti into the picnic tables. Believe it or not, it works. Don't forget thumb-tacks to staple them down.
21) Tent Ridge Pole Line and Coat Hangers - Vital for keeping those Scout Uniforms in passable condition through the week. We run a very light line just under the ridge pole of the tent, and bring 4 coat hangars per tent. (Note that anything heavier than thin binder's twine is considered to be a serious safety hazard by the inspectors - don't ask me why.) Without this, your Scout's uniforms will be a crumpled-up wad by Monday morning.
22) Sheets of Thin Plywood or Stiff Cardboard - For augmenting those wonderful cots. A must for all Adults and older, heavier Scouts. There's a limit to what you can achieve with binder's twine alone. Most cots measure 72 x 30. Stiff cardboard and liberal use of binder's twine will make it for one week - barely.
23) Totin' Chip Materials - Including rope and blaze-orange safety ribbon for outlining your Totin' Chip area. I recommend 1 ax, 2 hatchets and 2 bowsaws, plus standard sharpening materials (so you can teach Totin' Chip to your new Scouts).
24) Wood Shivs - For levelling your tents and picnic tables. More important for campsites on a distinct slope. It has been our experience that most tents and picnic tables in such campsites are not set up even close to level, and that finding adequate pieces of timber to properly re-set them is problematic, especially late in the summer. Therefore, we go ahead and bring a couple of boxes filled with trash pieces of standard lumber to "cure" the problem. P.S.: It's a one-way trip; we don't take them home. If you ask around your Troop, someone's likely to have plenty of sufficient pieces laying around in his garage or basement - ask! Absolutely no nails, please!
25) Writing Materials - For completion of Reports and Diagrams for Merit Badges. No, most Scouts will not bring adequate stuff. We bring a box full of pens, pencils, a pencil sharpener, rulers, protractors, etc., plus plenty of loose leaf paper (a 1/4 ream of xerox paper is more than enough). Warning - bring 3 - 4 times as many pens and pencils as Scouts; with luck, it'll be enough. Again (and for the last time) - you can scream, or you can come prepared.
Hope there's something there for you.... Have a Great Summer Camp!
Dr. Bob, Scoutmaster, Troop 111
1997 Printing
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