Nate, what council is Camp Hugh Taylor Birch in? I was there once and really liked the place.
On those complaining about the austerity of camping trips, it seems to me that they haven't been taught and don't understand the rewards that such camping can bring. Listen, even when I was young and invincible, the "4 lbs. and the clothes on your back" campouts all the time would have gotten old. In my current physical state, I would have a hard time making a 10 mile road hike, much less 10 miles humping through the brush with a pack full of gear. Even though I am not up to it, I can still see the attraction for such trips.
So, if I am correct, there is a lack of training and experience involved, coupled with some downright laziness. Seems to me the solution would be to develop a program that provides training and gives experience little by little while offering enough incentive to convince the complainers to overcome their laziness and exert themselves a little bit. It seems to me that such a program would need to gradually and steadily increase both the level of difficulty and the rewards as the participant progressed through the course.
Here is what I have in mind on a Council Camp level. Running 2or even 3 parallel programs, say 2 weekends a month, where the stated purpose of the camping experience progresses from a "bring the kitchen sink" campout for the first outing of the program to the "clothes on your back and whatever you can fit in a shoe box" survival campout for the last one of the program. The purpose of the parallel programs is that you are running the same program 2 or 3 times concurrently at different points along the program course. Have the program year start right after summer camp so that it and the summer camp program aren't in each other's way and nobody is starting fresh or ending off in the middle of a snow storm or the dog day heat of summer. If we allow 2 months for summer camp (about the maximum even for the largest councils), then that leaves room for a 10 campout program, provided no more than 3 parallels are run to allow for a holiday weekend each month. Let's start in September just because. In September then, we would have a weekend that had a month 1 camping trip (kitchen sink) as the focus for the first weekend, a month 4 camping trip (pack in personal gear at least 5 miles, but the trailer is @ camp) on the second weekend, and a month 7 trip (pack everything in and out 10 miles) on the third weekend. All 3 programs would progress to a month 10 trip (pack in and out at least 10 miles with barely anything and manage to survive the weekend) each in their own time.
This would allow people of different skill levels to get involved at something like the level they are prepared for without having to wait an extended period of time for the appropriate part of the program to come around. It also allow some leeway for scheduling conflicts at the troop level. I realize that many camps are not like the 1000 acre monstrosity we have here in Lincoln Heritage Council nor do many councils have 2 camps available to them like we do. In fact, it isn't uncommon for 2 or more councils to share a single camp and the cost of maintaining it. With that in mind, some councils might have to set limits on how many troops could participate in order to keep the program confined to a portion of the camp while leaving the rest of it available for use by units not participating in the program that particular weekend.
Last, before any of you overworked and underpaid rangers or district executives start screaming that you already have too much to do, that is what the volunteer Scouters are for. In our council, we have what we call a camp master program. Essentially, they are non-paid assistant rangers. They assist the ranger in maintaining the camp and also in dealing with the units using the camp on any given weekend. Also bear in mind that just because they are unpaid, it doesn't necessarily mean the job doesn't come with perks. I know at our camps, there is a limited amount of firewood harvesting that takes place with a couple of the camp masters and at least one spends so much of his time working on the camp that he doesn't have to buy fuel for his truck. The ranger insists that he top off his tanks before leaving for the day. Of course, that particular camp master spends 4 days a week, every week, working on the camp. Even at today's prices, he is probably drawing less than $100 in fuel for at least 32 hours of work. I have worked with this man before on many occasions. Believe me, he earns every penny and is still saving the council a boat load of money.
