It's summertime and you know what that means? Summer camp! OK, maybe your not so excited about it but I am. I can't wait to get up in the mountains up above Park City and let nature do the rest. I love camping and their is no better way to spend it then with some young men. Why? Because they are learning to be men. We can be hiking, swimming or just building and evening fire it is a great time to share experiences and wisdom with the boys. So get out there and volunteer to go with your boys to camp.

2012 Is Almost Here

2012 is almost here in fact next week is it! What do you have planned for next year? I have my boys plan a 12 month calendar and we add to it each month so it is always 12 months out. I just started doing this for 2012. I usually would try to just do 12 months in September or October and not plan beyond that.

It's not easy! Planning far in advance almost seems like a waste of time because things are always changing but after doing this for several months you will get the hang of it and before you know it you will have a thriving program.

Summer Camp is six months away but now is the time to plan it out! Get your committee to get parents involved. Boys can and probably should earn the money for camp but that's up to you. some troops do fundraisers to help out with camp. In my troop we don't but the boys should learn how to earn and how to work for the money they need. Often parents don't want to hassle with it so they must pay for it. The boys could learn a lot from earning their way to camp. Just a thought.

Now that the holidays are almost over it's time to thing about camping and doing things outdoors again. Winter campouts are some of my favorites. Yes it's cold but I have learned how to stay warm and do fun activities even when it is only 20 degrees outside.

Winter camping has its challenges but learning how to deal with them is the journey. Learning how to cook meals over a camp stove and learning how to start a fire with semi dry wood. Learning how to layer clothing and how to stay warm in a tent during the night can be a great tool for boys to understand survival skills.

My troop has about three winter camping places that we like to use in the January-March. In April things are beginning to melt so we can pretty much go anywhere and be warm. Make sure to pick a 3-6 places your troop can get to in the cold months.

In 2012 we plan on doing some hiking and biking as well as our campouts. By planning way in advance you can get things ready such as secure the dates, get the gear and allow time for parents to get involved. It's much easier to commit a parent to help out or even join the activity if they were planning on it in advance. I remember disastrous hiking days where no one was really prepared and the assistant scout master was sick and couldn't go so at the last minute I tried to find a parent to join us. We ended up canceling that trip but we shouldn't have. The boys were disappointed and one parent didn't even know we canceled and well that became a big messy failure on my part. Planning way in advance and having plan A, B and C will give your activities a greater success rate.

So, let me know what you have planned for 2012 and what tips can you offer other Scout Masters?

Have a great week!

David Lane

Visit http://www.scoutingstrong.org

212 Degrees

October 7th and 8th, 2011
The First Ever
Camp Wanbli Mani
Youth Leadership Training

It's Been A While!

Well I have been busy but it's time to get back to basics. I have had a great summer and the last two months have really changed my life. I attended Woodbadge in August and I have been going at it ever since.

I started our own troop youth leadership camp. We call it Wanbli Mani which means Eagle Walking. This exciting new camp is to train boys on their leadership skills. Teaching the EDGE method in great detail and allowing them to use object lessons to practice it.

We also talk about the four stages of team development. The four types of learning styles. The Start, Stop and Continue used by the military. Using SMART Goals and more. I also have taken on a new team development program called 212 degrees. This is an exciting way to motivate boys and leaders to give a little more effort in everything we do.

I am excited for the next year even though I am losing most of my boys to the Varsity Team we are going to have some fun in scouts. I have got a new vision and new attitude. We can always do a little more.

Friends of Scouting

We are collecting donations for the Boy Scouts of America. The Friends of Scouting money stays here in Utah. No it will not go to any troop but this donation goes to help pay for upkeep on camps and other council needs so we can keep the Boy Scouts of America going strong.

You can donate any amount at anytime. The boys and leaders should be coming to your neighborhood with in the next month so "Be Prepared"

Have a great day!

David Lane

Summer Camp

We went to Camp Tomahawk located on the east fork of the Bear River. This was a great week for the boys. I had a hard time but I'll bore you with that info later. The boys earned several merit badges and has allot of fun activities. There are great opportunities for the boys to do service projects and learn about no trace camping.

The boys did canoeing, rifleing, archery, leather work, wood carving, wilderness survival, environmental science and much more. The cows were grazing near by infact they almost came into our camp site but they didn't bother anything. Our boys one the swamp your canoe race and we couldn't have had a better time.

We paid the extra money for the meals. The meals were ok, not great, but ok. Some other troops brought there own food. I suggest paying for the meals but bring some other food that can be easily made. Keep these items in a lockable trailer so animals can't invade them.

I am out of time right now so I'll have more to say later. Camp Tomahawk is a great camp and I can see us returning next year.


David Lane
Scout Master Troop 1755

Klondike Derby

We went on our troops first klondike derby at Rockport State Park in Utah. This is about 1 hour away from home. Follow I-80 east from Salt Lake City. Turn right at Wanship/Kamas exit. Go South for about 2.5 miles. We made a sled starting 3 weeks before the derby. The boys looked at a few different ideas and decided on how to make their sled. We didn't have much time to plan since we waited until we got the instrucstions from our Scout District. We need to start making the sled in September for next years klondike. We all had fun. The snow conditions didn't allow the sled to slide how we hoped so for next year we may add ski's. I think this will allow us the best possible sledding for all snow conditions. We had slush that got compacted down and froze making the terrain rough. It was easy to fall over or twist an ankle.

We also ran out of firewood. We had two bundles but because of the cold weather it didn't take long for the wood to be gone. If we doubled or had 5 bundles we would have had no problem.

Each boy stayed warm. One boy was bringing two bags to slip one inside the other however he forgot one. We had pack inspections but I think that because this boy was one of the scout masters boy his pack wasn't inspected. In the future we will inspect all packs with no acceptions.

We all had a great time on this campout and I am looking forward to next year.