Cub Scouts

[ScouterMom]

I have never heard of any 'rules' regarding using campers on Boy Scout or Cub Scout campouts, except at BSA camps - most are not equipped for RV's, and would not encourage them.  However, on TROOP campouts - it's whatever the TROOP decides to do.

I haven't heard of many Pop-ups or campers on troop trips, and no one in our troop has ever wanted to bring one (but then again, it would be pretty hard to tow a PUP with a canoe down the Wisconsin river, or carry it on a bike or hiking trail....) Most of our campouts with Boy Scouts (age 11 to 18) are aimed at training for High adventure camping - hiking, biking, canoeing, rock climbing, survival camping, caving and the like. 'Roughing it' and being totally self-sufficient with what a boy and his patrol can carry in on their own are the main goals of Boy Scout camping.

However in CUB scout camping, the guidelines from  BSA National call for camping one-on-one parent and child.  While some councils allow cub scouts to overnight camp without 1 parent or adult guardian per child, it's not part of the national organizations policy.  So, if we were to have cubs camp- we had to get parents to camp, too - which meant that we did more 'car camping' or 'family camping' and many families did bring RV's, Campers, PUP's and tents to the parks.

You have to consider, too - that while a 7 - 12 yr old boy may WANT to carry a backpack or paddle a canoe and do minimalist camping - they simply don't have the upper body strength to carry a loaded pack, the reach and strenth to paddle a loaded canoe or portage it.  With the One child / One parent rule, many parents aren't capable of that kind of camping, either! (We hook the adults by starting them off easy with their kids in Cub Scouts, too  I never camped in winter before my son was in Boy Scouts - and I loved it! No bugs!!!).

However, don't dismiss BSA camps, either - I think that some of the National High Adventure bases DO have facilities for visiting families with RV's - and at least one BSA Summer Camp - Napawon, in Wisconsin and owned by the Northwest Suburban Council, had plans to put in a 'family campground' for visiting families at the camp.

Laura

[ColemanCampingFamily]

My boy who just turned 7 recently is showing a lot of interest in joining the cub scouts.  I'm real happy about this cause when I was a boy I was in the scouts and have some great memories from it.  I always told myself that if my boy wanted to do scouting I would be involved either as a scout master or assistant.

One thing that I'm wondering about is whether or not I can bring the PU on scouting trips.  I heard once it's against the rules, of which the scouts have many.  Can anyone confirm or deny this?  Thanks

Nope, can't take the PUP....I am a Den Leader and my DH is the Cubmaster (7yo son is working on his Wolf Badge). We had given away our tent when we got our PUP and had to go out and buy a new tent just for one night of camping. Personally, I think it sucks, lol....but those are the rules!! I tell you, that was the worst night of sleep that I have ever had in my entire life!! DH would not let me bring the air bed because that was not the "scouting way"...needless to say, there were ALOT of adults that were sleeping on air beds at that campout (not to mention a few scouts), and this adult will be sleeping on one in May when we have to tent camp with the Cub Scouts again.

As far as your involvement goes, I would suggest starting out as a Den Leader or Assistant Den Leader. Scouts takes up alot more time than you would think. At the Cubmaster or Assistant Cubmaster level, you will have to give up even more of your time, plus it will be with the entire pack, and not just your son's den. If you want to be involved in what your son is doing on a weekly basis, I would suggest DL or ADL, but again, this is just the suggestion of a seasoned veteran.

[ColemanCampingFamily]

Congratulations!  My 8 yo DS son has been involved for three years now.  Just a week ago, at his Pack's Blue & Gold ceremony/dinner he became a Wolf Cub! :tent:  This week we get to build his regatta boat! :p

I'm an Eagle Scout and in my scouting days it was very common for the Cub Pack/Scout Troop LEADERs to have Truck Bed Campers, PopUps, and ClassA rigs.  However, back then, parents were not invited on camping trips.  Even the hard-core Woodbadge leadership would be seen stepping out of their rigs in the mornings.

Nowadays, for Cub Pack and Den participation by families, they expect you to sleep like everyone else.... in a tent!  While it's not a written rule anywhere, it's just expected that you participate as much as possible with the rest of the group in basic tent style camping.

If you must buy a tent, I highly recommend that you purchase a simple elastic connected two-pole dome tent that you can stand up inside of.  You can find some very nice 5-8 person tents in this category that can be set up in under 10 minutes!  Everyone makes these ultra-simple tents from a four season $1,200 NorthFace to a Walmart house brand $35 model.  When you are at a campout with fifty kids running around and other families squeezing together, you  don't want to mess with a huge TajMajal type of hotel-style family tent.

Also, there are no rules against cots, airbeds, or memory foam!  As long as you don't encounter any rain, you can sleep quite comfortably inside of your tent!

Another recommendation is a cart or dolly of some kind to handle all of your stuff.  While you are kinda car-camping, many Scout camps do not allow the vehicles to actually drive through the campground.  You will probably need to cart all of your equipment hundreds of yards from the parking lot, check your Cub Pack's camping locations ahead of time.

What's kinda funny about this for my 8 yo DS is that he has been going PopUp camping since he was 4 yo.  While he get's a kick out of sleeping in a tent, he really does still look forward to his mattress covered King Size bed, A/C/Furnace, hot and cold running water, and a refrigerator full of snacks PopUp!


.

In our Council, only Tents are allowed...ABSOLUTELY NO CAMPERS OF ANY KIND are allowed. We do, however, normally get to drive right up to our campsite and set up. We purchased the "Walmart Special" that came with a good sized tent, 2 chairs, 2 sleeping bags, a lantern (that was useless, btw), and a soft-sided cooler for the bargain price of $65. The best part of that deal was that everything was in a rolling tote. Now, if someone could please explain to me how I can get all of that stuff BACK into the tote, I would greatly appreciate it.