Troop 13 Return to Camping

Parents & Scouts:Troop 13 prides itself on being scout-lead. However, this year has held unprecedented challenges for all of us, and the adult leaders and committee chair recognized that it was necessary to draft and implement guidelines for us to resume scouting activities, in accordance with state and federal directives. These include the practices that we have all become familiar with, such as masks, distancing, self-reporting, etc. Our Committee Chair, Sarah Bassett, has distributed these to the adult leadership and we have communicated these to the Scouts.

Over this summer, the troop held several meetings and outings where the Scouts worked within these guidelines, while doing many of the activities common to Scouting, such as food preparation, hiking, and other physical activities. It is our belief that the Scouts who have participated in meetings this summer have conducted themselves in increasingly responsible ways, and that Troop 13 can now safely resume some of its camping program, with some modifications. Some of these modifications for camping include:

COVID-19 Contact

Each activity will have a designated adult volunteer to ensure we comply with local and federal guidance. Outside of specific meetings and activities, please address any questions to Jim Murphy, jmurphy535@verizon.net.

Whilst Scout camping trips are not necessarily the same as a registered camp, we will look at both the CDC and Massachusetts guidance for camps and children’s activities and apply such guidance as appropriate in line with our activities.

Camping by Patrols

Troop 13 will conduct its camping program with a stronger patrol focus this year, as each patrol (group of 8-10 scouts) will camp, cook, and run activities as a unit, separate from other patrols. We are committed to 2 deep supervision, so two adults will camp with each patrol to provide supervision. If there are not sufficient adults to directly cover each patrol the adults will be centrally located between the patrol camping areas. At present there is no porta-jon onsite, but one may be ordered.

Tenting

Tenting for this year will be solo… one person per tent, unless shared with a sibling or parent. While this is not our standard practice, it is a measure that further reduces risk. Use of suitable 1 to 4 person tents from home is preferred but the troop is fortunate to have many tents that can be used if necessary.

Cooking & Eating

With the patrols camping in separate locations, each patrol will cook and clean independently. Practice this summer lead us to a strategy where a pair of masked Scouts conducts meal preparation, another pair does the cooking, and a third pair does cleanup. Meals are consumed at a 12ft distance from each other. Sanitizing via immersion in boiling water will be mandated for all dishware.

Travel

Our currently planned outings are local, as we recognize risk in driving multiple scouts to remote campsites. As such, we request that each scout be dropped off and picked up by a parent, avoid carpooling for the present time.

With these modifications, Troop 13 is pleased to offer our first post-COVID campout. It will be held in Camp Nehoiden in town forest, over the weekend from Aug 29-30. Two to three campsites will be utilized depending on turnout. Parents are welcome to attend and tent with their scouts, but the outing size will be limited to 24 total, three separate groups of 8 campers, including adults, who will gather, hike in, and setup camp separately. The focus of this trip will be the use of knives, axes, saws and hatchets, working toward the Paul Bunyan and Totin Chip badges. We will be felling dead trees near the campsites, and performing general enhancements to the campsites there, as we expect to use them more frequently this coming year.