A Scoutmaster's Blog

Several years ago, when Myspace was the social network that everyone seemed to belong to, I created a profile and decided to join the fun. I found some of my friends, started building up a network, and joined a few Myspace groups. Eight of those groups were Scouting related. For awhile, I kept checking things out, including the groups, to see what was happening in this new virtual world. I hate to say it, but I was never quite impressed with what Myspace offered, and it seemed that most of my friends felt the same way.

I still have a Myspace profile but I seldom go to it anymore. Facebook and Twitter have taken over my virtual social life. I actually had a little time tonight so I thought it would be interesting to check out Myspace again and see what has been happening in those groups I had joined. Nothing much, I discovered.

For example, there is a group called Boy/Girl Scouts of America. It states that it has 2013 members. But yet, only 4 or 5 messages have been left in the forums this year. In 2010. Out of over two thousand members! Not very active in that group. So I checked out another group, The Boy Scouts of Myspace America. It boasts of having 1981 members. Only two of them have posted anything on the forums this year so far. And I was one of the two.

Each of the groups I checked had the same results. It appears that many of the people that once used Myspace to keep in touch with other Scouts around the country and the world have left Myspace for other social media. I guess I can not blame them. I did the same. Now granted, most people do not leave comments on group forums very often unless something catches their interest, but I have to say that I do see more activity in the other social sites.

Do I plan to drop my Myspace site? Not yet. You never know what could happen down the road. It may not currently be as good as Facebook, in my opinion, but I think it is better then another (national) Scouting based social network that some of us have tried and have been disappointed with. But my feelings about that network is another article.

Greg, our ranger,  left our crew today, August 7, 1986. Before he left he had us sit along the ridge line that overlooked the valley and talked to us about how Philmont is able to stay beautiful and bountiful. He described some of the ways the camp staff preserves the wilderness for future crews to enjoy. He told us of what we must do to preserve the beauty and splendor of the Philmont wilderness, and not mess it up for the others who would follow our tracks. Then, he had us take the Philmont Wilderness Pledge. The pledge states:

“Through good Scout camping, I pledge to preserve the beauty and splendor of the Philmont wilderness.  I commit to: a litter free Philmont; and absence of graffiti; conservation and proper use of water; respect for trails and trail signs; proper use of campfires.”

After the crew reviewed the pledge, and understood what each of the parts meant, we accepted it. Greg signed the pledge cards as our ranger, and gave them to us to sign and keep. He then left us to experience the rest of the trek on our own.

That was over 23 years ago. I have returned to Philmont four more times since that first trek, the latest in 2004. I am amazed each time how little the country has changed, even though tens of thousands of campers hike the backcountry every year. The Philmont Wilderness Pledge works very well.

Now, if we could get everyone who attend our national parks to follow the same guidelines…

“Good morning Vietnam!” blared through the speakers as the Boy Scouts of Troop 68 were awakened Sunday morning. As Robin Williams continued to do his “radio show” the Scouts quietly crawled out of their sleeping bags and began packing their gear for the trip home. Our weekend at Camp Stearns was nearly at an end.

Four of the troop’s seven members participated in the activity. Three of them left town Friday evening and the fourth joined them Saturday afternoon. It was a laid back, fun winter outing. We rented one of the heated buildings at camp but we still had fun activities outdoors.

It was already dark when we arrived at Camp Stearns Friday evening. The boys kept busy playing Risk and watching the 1970’s movie, The Posieden Adventure. (Yes, we do bring a television and dvd player with us on our winter outing.)

We worked on advancement Saturday morning after a breakfast of bacon and french toast. In the afternoon we played nine holes of disc golf while wearing snowshoes. It was a very warm February day, probably in the upper 30’s. I thought it was funny that we were walking through mud and water puddles while carrying snowshoes in our arms on the way to the golf course.

Most of us had never worn snowshoes. It took us a few moments to get them strapped onto our boots. We discovered that we still sank a few inches into the snow. A couple of the boys made a comment that they did not think the snowshoes helped very much. When a shoe came off the boot of one of the boys they discovered that the snowshoes helped out quite a bit.

On the way back to the building we noticed that the broomball field had no ice, but plenty of mud, so the boys decided to watch a another movie, The Mummy. This was followed by a religious service and supper.

In the evening we dressed in warm layers and walked to Camp Stearns’ well lit sledding hill. It is a large hill which provides great sledding. Unfortunately, walking back up the hill can wear out a person after several trips. The boys had fun sledding for nearly ninety minutes before they declared it was time to play another game of Risk.

That brings us back to Sunday morning. The boys barely said a word as they packed their gear. This group of 14 to 16 year olds have already been on plenty of weekend outings. They knew the routine. Within a short amount of time things were packed and we were sitting down to breakfast. We were on the way home before 9:00.

Don’t you just love it when the Scouts work well together and get things done without having to say anything to them?