Camp Packing List

PACK 157 BASIC CAMP PACKING CHECKLIST

Camping Equipment

❑ Tent or tarp, poles, and stakes (if needed)

❑ Waterproof ground cloth, tarp or plastic sheet

❑ Sleeping bag, pillow, air mattress or mattress pad

❑ Cup, bowl, plate, knife, fork, spoon, mesh bag (AKA mess kit)

❑ Clothesline – or length of rope or paracord

❑ Water bottle or backpack water pouch

❑ Backpack or day bag/hiking pack

Clothes Bag

❑ Cub Scout uniform – Class A and/or Class B as needed depending on activity

❑ Poncho or raincoat

❑ Warm jacket or coat

❑ Pajamas or comfortable clothing for sleeping

❑ Sweatshirt/hoodie, sweatpants

❑ Underwear

❑ Shoes suitable for hiking, shoe laces

❑ Hat or cap

❑ Gloves

❑ Additional Closed toe shoes

❑ ALWAYS bring extra socks, underwear and clothing suitable for the weather!

Family Gear

❑ Camp chairs

❑ Cooler or ice chest

❑ Cooking equipment as needed depending on activity

Personal Hygiene Kit

❑ Toothpaste, toothbrush, floss

❑ Brush or comb

❑ Washcloth, towel

❑ Soap in container

❑ Toilet paper

❑ Extra plastic bag or container

Safety/First Aid

❑ Personal First aid kit – every scout should have one!

❑ Water bottle

❑ Flashlight, bulb, extra batteries

❑ Sunscreen

❑ Insect repellent

❑ Whistle

❑ Safety pins

❑ Pocket knife- if you have your Whittling Chip

Extras

❑ Camera

❑ Binoculars

❑ Sunglasses

❑ Notebook and pencil

❑ Nature books

Program Options

❑ Swimsuit, towel

❑ Fishing gear

❑ Work gloves

Food

❑ Trail mix/snacks – may include fruit, dried fruit, nuts, crackers, pretzels

❑ Meal ingredients as needed depending on activity

❑ Water Water Water!

Wet Weather Camping with Kids

Rainy weather, even minor thunderstorms, do not have to interfere with your family’s camping plans. By following the simple list below, you can make your camping experience safer and more enjoyable for everyone, rain or shine.

SHELTER

• Make sure your tent has proven itself rain-worthy. If the tent is new, hose it down in the back yard several days before your trip and crawl inside to check for leaks. Let the kids help, if they’d like! Allow the tent to dry thoroughly and then apply seam sealer to the leaky areas you discovered.

• Use a ground cloth beneath your tent. Put a tarp under your tent and another one inside your tent (does not apply to wall tents). Make sure the tarp under the tent is tucked under so water running off the tent does not run onto the tarp.

• If it is raining when you arrive, either wait the storm out or pitch the tent you can set up fastest under the tarp.

• Be prepared for wind as well. Make sure all tents and flies are staked down well.

• Bring a sponge to mop up water or other spills inside the tent.

COMFORT

• Bring the appropriate clothing for everyone—rain gear, socks, “camp shoes” (shoes you don’t mind potentially ruining), —and bring plenty of spares.

• Stow items you will need for the evening/next morning (spare clothing, extra flashlight, etc.) in the tent so no one has to make a mad dash to get them when the rain hits. Store everything in re-sealable plastic bags (Ziplock) or some other waterproof container.

• Keep gear in the middle of the tent where it cannot rub up against tent walls, and make sure not to touch the walls of the tent. This will prevent moisture from getting inside. This is generally true anyway as tents tend to get wet from dew in the mornings even when it is not raining.

• Bring rain gear such as ponchos, not umbrellas. Umbrellas can be a lightning hazard and get easily messed up by the wind.

ENTERTAINMENT

• Bring “rainy day” indoor games, pass the time reading a book, such as a deck of cards and board games, for the kids to play when weather confines activities to inside the tent.

• Bring field guides for the area in which you are staying, and share them with the kids. Learning how to identify common birds, wildlife, insects, trees, and wildflowers in the area makes a camping trip more enjoyable for all. *This is also a requirement for the scouts!*

Be ready to be flexible. Oftentimes, very little will be in our control, yet we must leverage the little we have control over. Ironically, this often leads to shifting priorities to take advantage of the things in our control.

Be an ambassador. Represent the organization, not the individual. Strengthen the Boy Scouts of America image through your positive actions.

Education requires patience. The Boy Scouts of America program develops and shapes young boy’s lives through a commitment to excellence. “Be prepared” for scouts and volunteers to make mistakes—it’s part of the learning experience.

Bedding Down for Cold Nights

• A mummy style bag is warmer than a rectangular, as there is less space for

your body to heat. Also, most mummy bags have a hood to help protect your

head.

• If you only have a rectangular sleeping bag, bring an extra blanket to pack

around your shoulders in the opening to keep air from getting in.

• Do not sleep with your head under the covers. Doing so will increase the

humidity in the bag that will reduce the insulation properties of the bag and

increase dampness.

• Remember to air out your sleeping bag and tent, when weather permits.

Perspiration and breath condense in the tent at night and the water will

reduce insulating properties of your bag.

• Wear a stocking cap to bed in order to reduce heat loss.

• Wear a loose fitting hood pull over type sweatshirt to sleep in.

• Make a loose fitting bag from an old blanket or carpet padding to put both feet in when in your sleeping bag.

• A sleeping bag liner, or an old blanket, preferable wool, will greatly enhance the bag’s warmth.

• Insulate yourself from the ground as much as possible to avoid cold spots at the shoulders and hips. Good foam sleeping pads can meet this need. Air filled pads can also be used, but the foam may be better in cold weather situations. A good rule of thumb is that you want 2 to 3 times the insulation below you as you have over you.

• Use a ground cloth to keep ground moisture from your bag. Your body will warm up frozen ground to a point where moisture can become an issue. Space blankets, should not be used as ground cloth, as it will not reflect the body heat. Instead it will conduct the cold from the ground to your body.

• Cold air will be above and below you if you sleep on a cot.

• Put a hand warmer in a sock at the foot of your sleeping bag before getting into it; or fill a canteen with hot water (not boiling) and place at foot of bag to keep warm. Be careful with plastic canteens.

• Exercise before bedding down to increase body heat. This will help to warm your bag quicker. Be careful not to start perspiring, though.

• Remove the clothes you are wearing before bedding down if they are damp with perspiration

(especially socks). Put on dry clothing or pajamas and socks before entering the sleeping bag.

• Before you get out of bed bring the clothes you plan to wear inside your bag to warm them up some before dressing, or place them at the foot of your sleeping bag for the night. They will be nice and warm for you in the morning.