An exploration of the cub and boy scouting camping experience.
Transcript:
The primary difference between boy scout camping and cub scout camping is division of labor.
In cub camping, the parent is responsible for the care and feeding of the cub. If you are cub camping as a pack, most often you are either cooking as a single group or you are at an district type event where food is provided for you in a dining hall.
Boy scout camping rarely includes the dining hall experience, and unless you are cooking as a troop, each patrol is responsible for cooking for themselves.
The good thing about boy scout camping is, for the most part, the menu is designed by the boys that are going to eat the food, so unlike cub camping where the cubs are expected to eat what is put in front of them, the boys have a say into what they eat, and are expected to help in some way with the prep.
Other than food, the first thing cubs crossing over to boy scout learn, is that they don’t sleep in the same tent as their parents. Depending on your unit, boy scouts are generally expected to tent with other boys, sometimes 2-3 or 4 in a tent depending on the size of the boy and the tent.
During the winter months, we will actually put more boys in a tent; it makes it warmer, especially if the boys are small.
For those adults who have spent time setting up these super huge tents while their cubs sit around, this is a stark difference from boy scouts, because generally, the tents are smaller and more manageable, and because the boys work together to set up and take down their own tents.
Other than lending a hand here or there in specific instances, I have never set up a tent for a scout, even my own sons.
As boys transition into boy scouts not only are they expected to cook and set up their own tent, but they are expected to be responsible enough to pack their own back pack with what they need, including sleep wear, mess kit, extra socks, and a jacket or sweatshirt if it’s cold. This is not to say I haven’t lent out an extra fleece blanket or t-shirt, but as a general rule we are trying to teach the boys to be self-sufficient.
It’s always quite gratifying to see the boys go past the basics of simple meals and puffy jackets to conquer the outdoors, by selecting equipment based on their experiences, like thermal shirts, or fingerless gloves, or even special lanterns, and choosing to create meals as experiences in their own like dutch oven or over the fire cooking, showcasing an mastery in the outdoors, and inspiration to other scouts and some day their own families. But this is what works for us.
Take what you like and leave the rest, and as we say in Woodbadge, feedback is a gift, leave yours below in the comments, with the hope we can all learn together.
I’m Scoutmaster Dave, and this was cub and boy scout camping.
