We are very excited to announce that we will be having a patrol-based campout at Bagwell Farms located in McConnells, SC on Friday, February the 17th through Sunday the 19th. The cost is $15. We will be leaving the church by 5:00 and return by 1:00 on Sunday. It has been many years since we have been there and looking forward to finally go back.
This has always been a great campout and everyone has a fantastic time (ask the older scouts, they will tell you). Also if anyone needs some rank requirements items signed off, this outing presents an excellent opportunity to take care of that. Last day of sign up will be Monday, February 13th. Hope to see you all there.
Den Chief training will be Sunday, January 15, 2012 at 4:00pm.
The training will be held at the Scout House and will last about 3-4 hours. Food and drinks will be provided.
This training is open to all Scouts who may be interested in becoming a Den Chief in the future. If possible, the Scouts should complete both Youth Protection and Den Chief Fast Start Training online at www.scouting.org before the class. The pack will need copies of their completion certificates. Also, the Den Chief Handbook is a great reference and will be referred to during the training.
Please RSVP to Denise Kugler by Friday, January 13th either to 803-242-2184 voice mail or e-mail Denise at “kugler72 at yahoo.com”.
Adventure Base 100 will be at Carowinds on April 9th through April 11th in conjunction with the combined Mecklenburg and Palmetto Council Scout Shows. The event is outside the actual park, so you don’t have to pay to get into Carowinds to enjoy Adventure Base 100. You may have to pay to park in Carowind’s parking lots however.
Don’t forget that the annual Troop On Display event is happening on March 19th and 20th. Scouts should gather at the Scout Hut at around 5:30pm and we will begin setting up the model campsite for Saturday’s event.
When we’re done (or it gets dark) we’ll order pizza (bring $5 to help with the cost) and watch a movie or we will race pinewood derby cars (don’t forget to bring your car).
We’ll sleep overnight at the scout hut and then get up Saturday morning, have a light breakfast and run the Troop on Display event from 10am until 2pm. A BBQ lunch will be provided for scouts helping with Troop on Display.
Around noon we will be welcoming Webelos scouts into the troop at our bridging ceremony.
The adults will also be selling BBQ at the Scout Hut from 10am until 2pm to help fund equipment needs in the troop.
This camp out is on 200 acres owned by Bill and Anna Bagwell, longtime friends and supporters of Troop 108. this property is located next to Historic Brattonsville between Rock Hill and Chester, SC.
Scouts should bring a completed and signed permission slip and $15 when they arrive on Friday. A copy of the permission slip in PDF format is found below:
Scouts should gather to load the troop trailer so that we can depart at 6PM from the Scout Hut on Friday, April 24th. Scouts are encouraged to eat prior to their arrival or to bring a bag supper to each once we arrive at the camp out location and camp is set up.
We will return to the Scout Hut at 1PM on Sunday, April 26th, 2009.
We will be demonstrating and teaching axe yard and fire safety, backpacking stoves, fire building, primitive firebuilding methods, first aid skills and much more.
Adult leaders will be assigned to eat with each patrol at every meal, so scouts, cook extra! 🙂 (more…)
Troop on Display is the annual event where we get to “show off” for the Fort Mill community by setting up a model campsite on the front lawn of our sponsor, Unity Presbyterian Church. Often times community members will drop by to see what we’re doing and sometimes even potential members come to visit.
We will gather at the Scout Hut between 5:30 and 6PM on Friday, April 3rd to begin setting up the model campsite in the church’s front yard. Scouts who plan to sleep over should bring $8 to cover pizza on Friday night and biscuits or cereal and juice or milk on Saturday morning. They should also bring sleeping bags and clothes to sleep in on Friday night. We will be showing a movie in Unity Hall on Friday evening after the model campsite has been set up.
If you are unable to make it on Friday night, just show up on Saturday in your field uniform (the one with the patches) and join in the fun.
Each patrol should come up with a camp gadget of some sort and has also been assigned an area of responsibility for the event. These are as follows:
Bobwhite Patrol: Tent setup and placement
Eagle Patrol: Axe yard with demonstrations on how to use various tools within the axe yard. A sign with rules for the axe yard should also be displayed.
Hawk Patrol: Tent setup and placement
Owl Patrol: Kitchen area with dutch oven cooking demo (Mr. Campbell to assist with dutch oven activities). a duty roster should be displayed. A separate three-tub cleaning station should also be set up.
Venture Patrol: A gateway featuring the troop banner, and the American and Troop flags.
All areas must be set up and ready to go by 10AM on Saturday and operate until around 3PM. At that time we will strike camp and leave the site better than we found it.
During the Troop on Display event, the adult leaders will be conducting a fund-raiser BBQ sale right in front of the Scout Hut.
Hopfully some of the folks who bought BBQ will cross the driveway and come visit the model camp.
It is important that our scouts greet everyone that comes to visit the model campsite and to answer any questions about and/or demonstrate their areas, if appropriate. In years past, before I returned to the troop, I visited the Troop on Display event and felt like I was invisible because no scouts acknowledged me or offered to explain what they were doing. Lets make an extra effort to acknowledge all of our visitors and show them why scouting is so important in the Fort Mill community.
The Hawk Patrol did a good job demonstrating camping stoves and going over stove safety as the program for tonight’s meeting. They demonstrated how to use an older Coleman 2-burner camp stove that attaches to a propane bottle. ASM Britt Helms brought along three different types of lightweight stoves from his collection that were more suitable for backpacking.
Instructions for making the Penny Stove can be found HERE. Scouts should get the help of an adult to build and operate the stove.
Scouts are also required to hold a current BSA Fireman Chit card which certifies that they have the knowledge and training needed to work with campfires and stoves.
Our community has recently been reminded of the potential dangers that surround the use of fire when a young Tega Cay resident, Conner McKemey, was burned over 85% of his body in an indicent in December.
ASM Joe Rayano demonstrated the back or end splice at last week’s meeting. For those scouts that need additional help with splicing, these links to online resources might be helpful…
With our Mission Polar Bear II cold weather camping event just a couple of weeks away, we wanted to make sure that everyone was aware of how they should prepare for the cold weather event. Consult your Boy Scout handbook for additional cold weather camping information.
Cold Weather Camping
Polar Bear is a cold weather camping event, so pack accordingly.
Sleeping Bags
Pack a cold weather sleeping bag (10 – 20 degree rated bag). If you have a 30+ degree bag (or you don’t know the rating), pack an additional blanket, preferably wool, to place inside your sleeping bag for added warmth and it will allow you to stay comfortable in an additional 10 degrees of coldness.
Clothing
Take extra care to bring and wear multiple layers of clothing to adjust your body temperature to the weather. Make sure that you have clean clothes to change into each night. When it is cold, you can actually make your self colder by sleeping in the same clothes on that you wore that day. Even if you don’t notice, your body perspires and gives off moisture all day long. If you decide to wear the same clothes to sleep in, all of that moisture will stay in your clothes and make you colder; not warmer. Change all clothing down to your skin. And, don’t forget clean socks. When you are outside in cold weather, wear wool; not cotton. Wool breathes more than cotton and will handle moisture better. Don’t forget hats and gloves. A hat that covers your ears can also be worn while sleeping to help keep you warm. A surprising amount of body heat can be lost through an uncovered head.
Exposure
You can get sun and wind burned in the winter. Pack Chap stick or lip balm.
Personal Equipment List
(Pack everything in dry, waterproof zip-locks or containers):
thermal underwear
warm hat/headband
day pack or fanny pack
warm shirt/sweater
warm, waterproof gloves
lip balm
sweatshirt
wool or ski socks
water canteen
wind/waterproof jacket
waterproof boots only – no athletic shoes
personal 1st aid kit
change of clothes
warm, water resistant sleeping bag (Holofill, or Qualofill, or down) (10 degree rating)
extra wool blankets or fleece insert
warm, waterproof pants (ski bibs/powder pants, if available)
WATERPROOF, INSULATED BOOTS ONLY – NO ATHLETIC SHOES.
