Resources

Advancement

  • Board of Review and Scoutmaster Conference Uniform Standard

    Scouts scheduling a Scoutmaster conference or a Board of Review should appear in a full uniform that is clean, neatly pressed, and has current badges in place. This means as full a uniform as you own: at a minimum, this should be a scout shirt, neckerchief & slide, epaulets and, if you have been issued one, yourContinue…

  • Eagle Court of Honor

    Unlike the other Scout ranks, the rank of Eagle Scout is awarded at a dedicated court of honor. The Eagle Court is usually planned by the new Eagle Scout and his family. MacScouter has published an Eagle Court of Honor Handbook to help with this planning.

  • Eagle Project Workbooks

    Scouts working towards the rank of Eagle can obtain electronic copies of the Eagle Scout project workbook from the National Eagle Scout Association’s Trail To Eagle website. Hard copies of the workbook can be obtained from the Troop 85 Eagle coordinator.

  • Engineering Merit Badge

    Additional resources for Scouts working on the Engineering merit badge.

Scout Skills

Larks Head Knot

  • Contact Axemanship

    This video tutorial teaches how to use contact axemanship techniques and a small hand axe to quickly split wood to kindling.

  • Lessons learned for cold/wet camp conditions

    Camping when weather forecasts call for rain/snow showers is challenging. You’ll need to use your head and take care of yourself and your gear. Here’s some lessons learned (the hard way). Read and learn the easy way, to your advantage. Base Camp (and backpackers):— Your tents have vestibules (covered areas at the front of theContinue…

Camp Cooking

Backcountry cooking in the Boundary Waters

  • Backpacking Recipes

    Before starting with any of these recipes, you should read Menu Planning Fundamentals, which discusses how to count calories and plan an appropriate menu for your trip. Recipes on this Site Breakfast Lunch Dinner General Tips Utensils The more dishes you carry, the more weight you carry, and the slower you’ll hike. Plan for one-pot mealsContinue…

  • Breakfast Backpacking Meal Ideas

    Backpacking breakfasts are usually quick to cook, because a long breakfast means you’ll be hiking in the hottest part of the afternoon. However, be careful of the temptation to make breakfasts nothing but granola bars — they’re handy when you need to get moving in a hurry, but they’ll get old fast. Once useful trickContinue…

  • Breakfast Backpacking Meal Ideas

    Backpacking breakfasts are usually quick to cook, because a long breakfast means you’ll be hiking in the hottest part of the afternoon. However, be careful of the temptation to make breakfasts nothing but granola bars — they’re handy when you need to get moving in a hurry, but they’ll get old fast. Once useful trickContinue…

  • Dinner Backpacking Meal Ideas

    Angel-hair pasta in dried tomato sauce Even using expensive dried tomatoes, this costs less than half as much as freeze-dried spaghetti, and give you many more options for adjusting the flavor to your liking. Ingredients 1 lb angel hair pasta, broken into 2” pieces. 1.5 quarts water 0.5 cups Parmesan cheese (in a plastic bag)Continue…

  • Estimating Caloric Needs

    This calorie planning chart lets you estimate the calorie needs for a group of Scouts on a wilderness trek, with adjustments for season and weather.

  • Lunch Backpacking Meal Ideas

    Lunch on the trail should be fast and require little or no cooking. This will help you make lunch stops quick and painless. Think about trail breads, summer sausage, peanut butter, fruit preserves, and cheeses that keep well without refrigeration. Pita bread, sausage, and cheese This is a classic trail lunch — it’s fast, tasty,Continue…

Equipment

Photo by Ravindra rawat on Pexels.com

  • Lessons learned for cold/wet camp conditions

    Camping when weather forecasts call for rain/snow showers is challenging. You’ll need to use your head and take care of yourself and your gear. Here’s some lessons learned (the hard way). Read and learn the easy way, to your advantage. Base Camp (and backpackers):— Your tents have vestibules (covered areas at the front of theContinue…

  • Packing Guides

    Below are several guides providing general information on camping equipment, gear checklists for backpacking and camping, and tips on bear safety. These guides provide tips for cold weather camping and winter backpacking. Some of these guides have been recycled from handouts for previous winter backpacking trips – ignore any comments about meeting times or schedules.Continue…

  • Scout Uniforms

    Types of Scout Uniforms Class A. The “Class A” uniform is the basic Scout uniform, made up of the tan Scout shirt and a Scout neckerchief or bolo tie. Scout pants/shorts, belt, headgear, and socks are optional but encouraged. Class B. The “Class B” uniform is intended for activities and warm weather. This uniform replaces the tanContinue…

  • Selecting a Backpack

    Learn about the major types of hiking backpacks, how to select a backpack, and how to make sure that a backpack fits properly.