Philmont Reminders
- 3rd payment of $400 is due January 6, 2015
- Next meeting scheduled for January 7 2015
- Final payment $250 is due March 10,2015
Baden Powell Quote
The boy is not governed by don’t, but is led by do.
Scoutmaster Minute
I love cold weather camping. There is nothing like being outdoors when the temperature drops, it’s quite exhilarating. I think the body knows reflexively to PAY ATTENTION!
After all, without preparation, training and the right gear, we really can’t survive outdoors in cold weather. It’s not our natural habitat. We’re equatorial creatures, better suited to warm days and balmy nights. It’s only our intellect that has allowed us to populate and thrive in environments where the temperature drops below 80.
We dress up, build shelters, burn fuel. But still, our body knows. Outside in the cold, something is telling us to stay sharp. Anyone can make it through a single overnight in the backcountry, in relative comfort, even if things aren’t going quite right; a forgotten sleeping bag, a tent with no poles, one meal not packed and left at home. But in cold weather a piece of malfunctioning gear, forgotten gear, loss of calories due to poor food planning, these things can have much more serious consequences.
Bear Trap should be considered a dry run for our upcoming snow camp trip to Inyo Craters. Indeed, it’s quite common to have snow there, and drop below freezing at night.
Let’s all be sure of our gear, the most crucial items being tents, sleeping bag and pad, stoves and clothing. Let’s not have any surprises. Getting by with mistakes during a summer or early fall camping with bad or forgotten gear is one thing, on a freezing night, it’s not something you want to go through.
Be Prepared!
Scoutmaster Johnson
