Thursday, March 15, 2007
Winter Camping - Don't Worry, but BE PREPARED By now everyone is probably suitably worked up over the fact that we mis-scheduled the Winter Camping trip to occur just AFTER the 85 degree weather ended.Don't worry, it will still be a great time...just a tad colder. It IS supposed to be Winter Camping.
So, to avoid confusion: we ARE going camping. The cabins are warm and dry. We'll be fine.
Seriously, Winter Camping at Broadcreek will be great fun, so long as you are prepared and you make sure your boy is too. Right now (10p Thursday), the weather forecast says:
Friday evening: wintery mix, followed by 1-3" of snow.
Saturday: cloudy, highs in the 30's, very windy, and lows in the 20's.
Sunday: cold and partly cloudy
To be suitably prepared, consider that we will be spending as much of our time on Saturday outdoors as possible. The windchill will be in the teens (or lower), and it won't be sunny. That means any snow that fell on Friday night will still be there all day Saturday.
Spending all day in single-digit windchills is not something our Maryland blood is used to, so we need to bundle up. Here are my personal recommendations to ensure you have a good time and stay healthy. You may very well have better ideas which I welcome you to share with your fellow Scouts.
You will need, and be thankful for:
1) Many warm layers of clothes. Layers are better than a single coat. I recommend at least 4 layers - undershirt, long sleeve/long underwear/turtleneck, sweatshirt/fleece, outer winter coat with a shell. Wool is a great under-layer. You will want a top layer that serves as a solid windbreaker.
2) Don't forget your legs. Long underwear! Snowpants (there may be snow even!) Best would be snow or nylon outerpants. Again, the windbreaker effect will be important.
3) Hat hat hat hat hat hat, and a hood if you have it.
4) Gloves, and multiple pairs. We don't have a dryer.
5) Two pairs of socks (at the same time). An inner thin nylon pair and an outer wool pair. If you don't have nylon socks, just go for a pair of wool sock. Wool socks are MUCH better than cotton. Wool will keep your feet warm. Cotton will make your feet cold.
6) Boots! It will be snowy or at least very muddy.
7) Extra shoes/boots. No matter how waterproof your boots are, they will get wet inside somehow. Bring at least one spare pair of shoes, preferably two.
8) Scarf
9) Chapstick or the like
All of the above should be applied to you AND your Scout, or a better combination if you have it.
It is critically important that you use common sense and apply your common sense to your Scout. Kids this age will not realize the potential dangers of cold weather, so it is incumbent upon you to help them learn common sense and enforce it. Camping is not a beauty content (for you or your Scout). Safety, health, and warmth count far more than anything else. Fight the battle with the coat, hat, and gloves. It's worth it. You'll be able to tell if you're on the right track if you don't hear any coughing at bedtime on Saturday evening. Good luck with that :)
A note or two on safety:
1) Please don't let the boys play on sheets of ice or with the water spigots outside the cabins. Need I explain?
2) Make sure your cabin has a first aid kit.
3) If the wind is particularly high, the campground will ban large fires and enforce strict fire safety rules to prevent forest fires. We MUST abide by those rules. We've done it before and everything worked out fine. We'll let you know if we are given such instructions.
4) Make sure you're drinking water to stay hydrated, even in the cold
So enough of the safety tips.
Now, for the fun part.
Where's there's snow, there's fun! Sleds? Snowballs? Angels?
Consider indoor games (non-electronic) that people can play. If it's really cold, people may want to spend freetime indoors. Give them something captivating to do.
We will Do Our Best to put on a fantastic program for the boys this weekend. Keep them warm and healthy, and they'll have a great time.
See you tomorrow!
Andy Musliner
Pack-Man, Pack 731
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