Permission Forms And Finances – We put together a
permission form for each campout. We distribute it at troop meetings, send
it out by email, and post it in the calendar portion of our web site. We
would like to have a Scout’s permission form and food money turned in at the
troop meeting that is a week and a half before a weekend campout. We will
accept permission forms and money at the troop meeting the same week as the
campout, but, if turned in then, the money must be in cash and must be turned in
at the beginning of the meeting so we can get the food money sorted out and
ready to issue at the end of the meeting. It is troop policy that on
weekend campouts the troop treasury pays for campsite fees, park admission fees,
and camporee fees, so the only direct cost to a Scout or adult is the food cost.
On longer trips, the troop treasury will reimburse drivers for gasoline
expenses.
Departure And Arrival - We meet to depart for our campouts in the parking
lot of Asbury United Methodist Church, 2200 Lake Lansing Road, on the Lansing
side of Route 127, across the street from the Krispy Kreme. Both our
smaller, newer troop trailer that was at Fenner last night and our older, larger
troop trailer are stored in the parking lot there. We usually plan to meet
15 minutes before the scheduled departure time so we can get everything
organized. On our permission form, we state a time that we expect to
arrive back at the Asbury parking lot at the end of a campout. If it turns
out that we will arrive significantly earlier or later than the planned arrival
time, we make cell phone calls from our vehicles.
Equipment - The troop supplies tents, canopies, patrol cook kits, camp
stoves, and other group equipment for a campout. We are gradually
converting to Eureka Assault Outfitter 4 tents for our Scouts (http://www.eurekatent.com/assault_out.asp).
We have 8 of those now plus a number of Eureka Timberline 4 tents. If
tents are wet at the end of a campout, one of the Scouts who slept in each tent
is designated to take the tent home, pitch it or hang it so it will dry, and
return it at a troop meeting. We have 4 sets of canopies and poles and 4
free-standing two burner camp stoves. Individual Scouts are responsible
for their own personal gear including eating gear (knife, fork, spoon, plate,
bowl, cup. etc.).
Meals - We use patrol cooking for our meals. Each patrol plans the
menu for their patrol and adult guests. We collect food money with the
permission forms ($3.00 per person per meal rounded up to the nearest dollar).
The patrol makes up its list of ingredients. (We have a large bin full of
condiments that patrols can use so they don’t need to spend money on those
items.) At the troop meeting the Tuesday evening before the campout, one
or two members of a patrol are designated to purchase the weekend’s ingredients
for their patrol. They are given the patrol’s food money. With their
parents’ help, they purchase the ingredients and bring them to the Asbury
parking lot. During the campout, the patrol follows a duty roster,
rotating the positions of fire and water, cook, and cleanup from meal to meal.