Originally Posted by
rpenczek
I really struggle with this entire thread. It began with the exclamation “I hike a lot, all over the place. I've seen many scout groups out there, probably a couple dozen, and not once have I been positively impressed.”
I assume this poster was certain that each youth group he encountered doing the inappropriate things he describes were in fact Scout groups. I further assume that this poster questioned every other youth group he encountered on the trail that was not doing anything inappropriate to determine they were not a Scout group; otherwise, the post would be a misrepresentation of the facts (“not once have I been positively impressed”).
One particular item in the first post is really troubling to me. In describing the inappropriate actions, the poster writes “leaving toilet paper unburied.” This portion of the post makes me wonder how the poster knows that it was a Scout that left toilet paper unburied, was he/she watching the Scout answer the call of nature.
Finally, it is clear that the poster does not understand the point of Boy Scouting. We do not exist to teach boys outdoor skills. We use the outdoors as a game to teach leadership, citizenship and fitness. Backpacking, camping, canoeing and hiking are all just games used to deliver leadership, citizenship and fitness. Yes, sometimes our adults don’t know all the rules of the game, they are learning too.
Yes, we may have cotton cloths on and no pack cover to protect our gear but I suspect you didn’t see us on Mt. Everest either. Also, we just might have learned (right here on Whiteblaze) to line our pack with a garbage disposal bag so we don’t need a pack cover (did you look in our packs to check). Also, we just might “Be Prepared” and have clean dry cotton cloths inside that garbage bag inside our pack. Yes, it is heavy and we might be cold and wet right now, but we are learning (adults and youth alike) and we will make better choices next time we backpack.
You might even hear one of our leaders tell a boy to “suck it up” but what you may not have herd is that same leader, before the hike, suggest the boy not bring along a two liter bottle of Mountain Dew and two extra pairs of cotton blue jeans. Hint, these will become learnings after the trip when to do roses and thorns (debrief the trip and discuss what worked and what did not work.) Also, you may not see that boy’s buddy’s offload his gear and help him out when they get further down the trail (what good citizens they are sometimes).
Finally, I notice the poster has a website that says he has 11,000 miles of backpacking experience and is 22 years old. Hmm, simple math says he could have thrued the AT 5.25 times. The average thru-hiker takes 6 months. Again simple math says he has hiked about 31.5 months or about 2.6 years. At 22 years old, I have to wonder if dloome has ever contributed to society or if he has ever done anything for anyone other than himself in his very short and inexperienced life (I would never believe this because to generalize and say any 22 year old that has hiked his entire adult – over 21 – life has never contributed to society would be prejudiced, I am not, I just wonder). Further, dloome’s website exclaims his desire to “share his experiences and enable others to experience these things for themselves.” I submit that dloome either put-up and volunteer some time with the Boy Scouts to help them out or shut up and go away.
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