Backpacks Basic Personal Gear Knowladge

What should the well prepared Boy Scout be wearing? As with all outings, scouts in
Troop 288 should wear their Class A uniform shirt when traveling.
While hiking, scouts should be comfortable. Cotton is a very comfortable fabric, but it
can also be a dangerous one. Cotton absorbs quite a lot of water,
which robs it of any thermal value. It also is a wonderful breeding
ground for bacteria, which makes it smell pretty bad after a day or
two on the trail. Denim is not a useful fabric on the trail, it is very
heavy and once wet, blue jeans take forever to dry! Various types
of synthetic fabrics work great on the trail, and long pants will help
a scout avoid cuts and scrapes.
Layers are important and work much better than bringing a single, bulky coat. Thermal
underwear, a long sleeved shirt, a sweat shirt or synthetic fleece and a shell or
windbreaker will cover almost every situation.

Footwear

There are several schools of thought regarding good footwear for hiking. They are
usually boiled down to two main camps: Boots vs. Sneakers. Boots provide support and
protection, while sneakers are lighter. It’s been said that one pound on your feet is the
equivalent of six pounds on your back. However, for young people, the ankle support
and protection from rocks are very important.
There are many types of boots, but for young hikers on a weekend outing it’s not
imperative to spend hundreds of dollars. KMart, WalMart and Target all stock
inexpensive hiking boots that are usually under $25.00. They don’t last forever, but they
will do fine for weekend outings. For longer trips a slightly more expensive boot might
be needed in order to take the pounding a 50 miler might entail. Be sure that the boots
are broken in, although most of the inexpensive boots don’t need
too much to soften them up.
Skater shoes, or other casual wear that is not properly tied is not
acceptable. Blisters on the trail can ruin an
otherwise great trip. All shoes must provide
adequate support. It’s very important that scouts keep their feet clean
and dry, and wear appropriate socks. Wearing two pair of socks is the
best system, with a lighter, polypro liner underneath a pair of wool, or
synthetic socks.

Toiletries

There isn’t much that’s needed in the backcountry in the way of toiletries. A toothbrush
is good, but toothpaste isn’t essential. 90% of the value of brushing is completed by the
brush itself, not the toothpaste. Toothpaste is a “smellable” and needs to be put away in
the bear bag at night. It also leaves a mess when the scout spits it out. Soap is useful, but
mostly for washing dishes. A small bottle of Campsuds is useful, but it needs to be used
far away from water sources like a stream or lake. Even if it says it’s biodegradeable, we
never foul the water. A small towel can be useful, but small is the operative word. Even
a regular bath towel is too big. A hand towel is fine. Deodorant isn’t needed; much of
what can be accomplished with it is better suited to baby powder. Baby powder helps the
scout rid himself of chafing, or foot problems. Besides, the best defense against others
smelling bad is a good offense!

Bathroom Etiquette when there is no bathroom

When nature calls while you’re in nature, what do you do? There have been books
written on the subject (really!) so we won’t go into intimate detail here. But the
important things to remember are that you should always take care of business at least
200 feet away from any water source, trail or campsite. Never urinate directly on a tree
or a plant, the salts will often cause wild animals to chew or claw at the plant, soon
killing it. For solid waste, a cathole 6 to 8 inches deep should be dug, and then covered
and hidden after use. All toilet paper should be packed out as trash. If you’re not sure
that your crew has a trowel, you might want to make sure you have one.
The best way to handle soiled toilet paper is bring along some brown lunch sacks and
Ziploc bags. Put the toilet paper inside the brown paper bag, and then inside a Ziploc.
This keeps the paper from being highly visible and it is kept clean and separate by the
Ziploc bag. If open fires are permitted, then we may have the ability to burn the lunch
sacks along the trail. But be prepared to pack it all the way out.
Wash your hands! There’s nothing worse than getting sick in the backcountry. Use
Campsuds, away from any water source. You should also get in the habit of using a hand
sanitizer, that way all the dirt on your hands will be clean!

Safety

There are a few rules of hiking that we must cover. Always stay together. We don’t
separate our groups, keep within yelling distance. Whenever you come to a fork in the
trail, stop and wait for the whole group to come together. We do this to make sure
everyone stays on the same trail.
When you come across a horse on the trail, always listen to the rider of the animal. If
they don’t have any specific instructions, then move to the uphill side, facing the trail.
Your backpack can look odd and scary to a horse, so you want to be facing the animal.
You can usually speak softly to the horse, this often reassures the horse that you are in
fact, a human.
Officially, bicyclists are supposed to yield the right of way to hikers. The truth is, they
really can’t yield much when they are flying down a trail! When you see a bicyclist, alert
those around you and move off the trail.

 

Bears

One of the the things that worry parents the most is the thought of their child
encountering a bear. This rarely happens, but it is something that we must always be
cautious about. Each boy should have a “smellable” bag in his pack. This bag should
contain everything that might attract animals. This includes all food, snacks, any sugared
drinks and any container that might still have food odor. It should also contain all soaps,
toothpaste, sanitizers and lotions. There should be nothing left in a pack over night that
might attract a bear, or other animals.
We will hang all smellable bags in the trees, using the patented Troop 288 method. Each
boy will be taught how to hang a bear bag correctly.
When we arrive in camp, we will set up a triangle, called the “Bearmuda” Triangle by
those at Philmont. The three points of the triangle are our cooking area, our “sump,” and
our bear bags. We will then set up our tents outside the “Bearmuda” Triangle.
Each scout should also have a set of clean clothes to sleep in. These should be clothes
that are not to be used for anything else. This way, there are no left over smells from
cooking or spilling in the tent. No scout should ever bring food into his tent.

Lightning

In the Sierras, lightning can strike with little warning. The safest way to avoid lightning
is to keep an eye on the weather and be ready to move if it looks like rain. Stay off peaks
and saddles, and don’t be caught as the highest object in meadow. It’s not usually a good
idea to be under a tree, but if you are in a forest or near a bunch of trees of similar height
it should be ok.
Stay clear of areas that might have falling debris and wait out the storm. Don’t try to
“just get over the next ridge.” Stay low and play cards for a while.

What to do if you are lost

You may have heard the adage, “Hug a tree.” The idea behind this is to stay put. It
doesn’t literally mean to hug a tree. Try to stay in the same place, out in the open a little.
Give rescuers a chance to see you. Remember to stay warm. Hikers have the most
trouble with exposure. You can stay well for several days without water, but you might
not last long in severe cold. Signaling devices, like mirrors or whistles are good, but
staying in one place will help the most. You can pack an old CD in your pack as a
mirror, it even has hole in it to help your sighting.