Being a Boy Scout

I know being a boy scout is not for every boy however I had a good time when I was in scouts. I know every boy has a reason to join or not to. I believe the major reason I joined boy scouts was my older brother was in scouts and some of my friends were in it however I did not join right away after being in cub scouts. It took me a year between cub and boy scouts to join.

I know to that every scout troop has to be different especially where you live. Living in a small town like I did scouts means more about going out in the country and go hiking. I remember once that when our troop went to this camp that was actually only three or four miles from my house we spent the weekend there. It was actually my first experience with scouting. A troop from Tacoma came out and we ended calling them city slickers because it was so obvious they were from the city. They brought things that really did not look like being used on a campout. I am sure they learned a little about being out in the country.

I know that some of the guys were really into getting merit badges and finding the way to becoming eagle scouts. I wasn’t that kind of kid. I really did not care how many merit badges I would get or how high a ranking I would go. I just wanted to have a good time. I was a kid who really enjoyed being a kid and not growing up to fast. Also there were areas that I struggled in so why make things more difficult on myself.

The main reason I was in scouts was to go hiking. Our troop would go on several hikes a year however primarily the major event was going on a fifty mile hike in August. The other hikes were more than just having fun but getting ready and be in shape for the fifty mile hike. We usually took a week or ten days to do the fifty mile hike. We gave a couple extra days just in case of rain and having some time to relax. Sometimes the hills were such that we needed to take a day off from hiking to recover.

One of the short hikes I enjoyed was the one the Enchanted Valley that you see on the right side of the page. It was about a eight mile hike and the area was very beautiful. Also we did not have to sleep in tents there either with a good size cabin however we could not always count on it because of other hikers. The one time I really remember was our scout master being chased by a bear. The assistant scout master went after the bear with an axe to have him get away from the scout master. We thought it was funny though the scout master was in danger. The bear was around to get some food for himself and his family. He was checking out the garbage cans that were lying around.  

All the fifty mile hikes we took in the Olympic Mountains. I will mention those places in some other writings. What beautiful places to see. Made the hiking fine even though my equipment in those days was not like it is today; I still remember the one person tent I slept in the first time. Very uncomfortable and my sleeping bag got wet when it rained. I have to say the food was not the greatest by a large margin as well. Today the tents that are for camping are so much better. The most important thing though is having the right hiking boots. I remember the first boots I had were so bad I could hardly walk after the first day. When you are in a group another important thing is to divide the equipment even between the hikers depending on the age. The younger ones should carry less while the older ones along with the adults can carry more.

So find out from boys what they may feel like about joining the boy scouts. You have to remember that not everyone will enjoy the scouts. Also it is OK to enjoy some parts of scouts while not liking some other parts. The most important thing is to have fun.