Backpacking Wilderness Survival Ideas for Scout meetings and outings

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Backpacking / Wilderness Survival Ideas for Scout
meetings and outings

• Tim Szczykutowicz
• Assistant Scout Master Troop 254
• Grand Island, NY

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Condensed look at the Requirements for Wilderness
Survival Merit Badge

• Backcountry First Aid
• Priorities for survival situation
• Ways to avoid panic and maintain
  moral
• Climate specific survival techniques
• Make a personal survival kit
• Create fire (4 methods)
• Attracting rescue

8. Make a shelter 9. Spend a night in your
shelter 10. Protect yourself from
bears, insects, reptiles 11. Find and prepare
water for drinking 12. Proper clothing for
various climates 13. Finding / eating food?
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Focus on the blue requirements and plan an outing

• Backpacking
• Requires the proper health of leaders and scouts,
  the proper gear, and the proper experience
• Health - Individuals considering a backpacking
  trip should be able to walk stairs 5 minutes
  straight, and on level ground 30 hour. Should be
  capable of being on their feet all day. Wearing a
  pack is a necessity so back problems should be
  considered.

Practice some wilderness survival techniques and
at the same time use them to plan a Backpacking
trip.
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A good starter hiking location
Tracy Ridge trails Allegheny National Forest
Pennsylvania Ample water supplies from streams
feeding into the Allegheny Reservoir Little
elevation change (its not the Adirondacks) Provide
s a nice view of the reservoir Not so far from
help and civilization ( boating accessible
campgrounds along route)
Trail Head
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Scout meeting Activity 1
From Requirement 5, each scout should have a
survival kit. It is overkill however for each
scout to bring a first aid kit on a backpacking
trip. Backpacking is about working together to
carry the needed gear and share the tasks of
setting up tents, getting water,
cooking Activity 1 Each patrol gathers the
needed supplies to make a first aid kit /
survival kit. Then the patrols have a weigh off
and see which patrol has the lightest pack weight
per person. To do this each scout will have to
come to the meeting with a fully packed, ready to
go pack. This is a good opportunity to critique
what the scouts are bringing and also to let them
critique each other. Each scout must carry their
personal items as well as food or cooking pots or
water purifier or burners or. Share the load.
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Scout meeting Activity 1
Example of what I brought for a group of 9 hikers
for a Friday night hike in, leave midday Sunday
backpacking trip. (November)
Group Gear Toilet paper 2X1L pots 2Xpocket
rockets burners 3 Fuel cells for burners 36 cliff
bars (breakfast) 36 bagels 2 jars peanut butter
(for bagels) 4 packs tuna rice (dinner) Maps
compass GPS Water purifier First Aid kit Fire
starting materials Tents Emergency blankets
Hiking boots (Merrels with Vibram sols) 3X wool
socks Rain Suit (top and bottom) 2X fleece
jackets Nylon pants Spandex pants Polyester long
sleeve shirt Gloves/hat (cap style) 1 pair extra
boxers Head lamp (and extra batt) Camera Car
key Paper pencil Micro leatherman Whistle
Personal Gear Backpack (external frame
internal is fine too, in fact it is much more
common) Sleeping pad (needed if you want to stay
warm) Sleeping bag (20 degree bag) Hiking poles
(I made my own from XC ski poles- they take a lot
of weight off your legs) Fanny pack to hold
camera and pepper spray Dry bag (35 liters to
hold clothes and sleeping bag) 2X1L water
bottles 5 plastic bags (large heavy duty) Spoon
and cup for food
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Scout meeting Activity 2

• From requirement 10 , protect yourself from
  bears, insects, and reptiles. Activity two will
  concern bears.
• Activity 2
• BEARS are a reality in the Adirondacks and
  Allegheny. I have frequented both locations and
  only ever saw a bear around either a garbage
  dump, or a campsite where food was left
  uncovered.
• Precautions to take
• Cook 100 yards away from your sleeping area
• Leave all cooking utensils, bowls, spoons
  anything that touched the food away from your
  site.
• Toothbrushes, toothpaste, chapstick, soap, first
  aid kit (except prescription meds should be
  kept in double zip lock bag) bug spray, sun
  screen should all be put with the food.
• Place all above items inside plastic bags and
  synch them tight, them place in bear bag.

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Scout meeting Activity 2
What to do with all of these things? If you have
a tree available around your meeting place,
practice tying a bear bag. I have seen guidelines
as to how far to get your food up, and how far
away from the tree it should be in the real
world no tree look like this,
My first time bear bagging I spent 1 hour
throwing and re-throwing a stick with a rope tied
to it at a tree branch. It takes experience to do
this well, trust me. Take the time to find a nice
tree. Do the best you can, if it is high enough
so you cannot reach it and an arms span from the
tree you are ok.
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Scout meeting Activity 2
If you cannot find a tree, try a method called
the Shabango.
Have your scouts compete to see who can get their
food up and then down the quickest. See what
patrol can hang the most weight.
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Scout meeting Activity 2
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Scout meeting Activity 2
Bear cylinders are now required for certain parts
of the Adirondacks so be sure to call the
ranger where you will be heading to find out what
precautions are needed. They cost 70.
Last resort - 45 Bear Spray Bear spray can also
be used for Mountain Lions and other hikers. (ask
about drunken hiker)
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Scout meeting Activity 3

• Requirement 11, find and prepare water for
  drinking.
• A common test at Klondike is the see who can get
  water to boil the fastest game. Try mixing this
  game up to See what patrol can gather the most
  water.
• Have a rule that streams are off limits (in the
  RW this of course is where you would get your
  water stay away from ponds and lakes if steams
  are present)
• Have your scouts come up with ideas of where to
  find water and ways to gather it, maybe give them
  this as an assignment one week and have them do
  some research on it. Reward the winning patrol by
  not having to pump water come trip time.

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Scout meeting Activity 3

• So where can you find water?
• If it starts raining and you have a plastic bag
  dig a small hole in the ground and line it with
  your bag to collect water.
• If it has rained, or there is dew present tie a
  handkerchief to your feet and walk though grass.
  The handkerchief will collect the water which you
  can then ring out into a container to boil.
• If you find a water supply but it is full of
  particles, try scooping up some water and running
  it though a t shirt or handkerchief to filter
  some of the bigger particles out, then boil. This
  is advisable even if you are using a water
  filtration system (dirty water will plug up your
  filter faster).

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Scout meeting Activity 3

• In an area with ground water, one can dig a hole
  deep enough to allow ground water to seep in.
  Then start a fire and heat up some rocks. Drop
  these rocks into your hole and set up a cloth
  over the hole to collect the steam. (This method
  works to desalinate sea water also)
• Do not eat snow and Ice directly, first melt
  these phases of water and then drink them. Eating
  snow and ice can reduce body temperature and
  cause further dehydration. SOURCE Department of
  the Army Survival handbook
• See what patrol can make the best water purifying
  system (for large particles- water will still
  need to be boiled or filtered) examples include
  pant legs filled with layers of sand, charcoal
  and crushed rock.
• Have your patrols make a water still or pant leg
  system.

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Scout meeting Activity 3
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Scout meeting Activity 3
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Scout meeting Activity 3
Back to the Tracy Ridge Plan
MSR Mini Works EX Water Purifier 85 I use
this filter it pumps kind of slow but is super
easy to clean and use.
Katadyn Hiker Pro Filter 70 This guy is cheaper
than the MSR and it pumps faster. Filters down to
0.3 microns same as MSR.
Emergency Plan if your water purifier breaks and
you cannot start a fire use purifying tablets.
Cheap - 14
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Any questions?
This slideshow is available online at
Quarkquark.com/boyscouts
Sources Wilderness Survival Handbook,
BSA Survival Handbook, US Department of the ARMY,
FM 21-76