AY Honors/Leading a wilderness trip
This is where all that knowledge is put to use. Wilderness camping is different from "camp ground" camping and offers the Pathfinder many opportunities to practice group dynamics, responsibility, and build self-confidence. A well-organized trip is a joy to experience, whereas an ill-organized one can be a seemingly unending series of mishaps and misery.
As the leader, it is important that you do not do all the doing. The other participants will feel that they are merely so much luggage and begin to act as if they have no responsibilities. One of the most difficult lessons I have learned as a leader is that a leader should really step back and lead rather than jump in and do. When doing instead of leading, it is too easy to become absorbed in the task at hand and lose track of the overall picture. While you're busy doing, other people finish (or abandon) their tasks, and you're too busy to give them their next assignment. Rather, you as the leader should direct the activities of the others. Know what needs to be done next, and assign someone to do it. If they are having trouble, help them, but do not take over. If helping them becomes too involved, assign someone else to help them.
A highly effective way of doing this is to make a set of cards describing each task that needs to be done when setting up (or breaking) camp. Each task should be doable by a team of three or four kids with advice and guidance from an adult mentor. Sort the tasks into groups by priority, so that the things that must be done first are in one group, the things that should be done second are in another, and things that should be done last are in the third group. Label these groups A, B, and C. The number of tasks in each group should be equal to the number of 3-5 person teams that will be camping with you. Do not include pitching the sleeping tents in this list of tasks (more on that later).
Each card should also be marked with "points" to be awarded to the team who completes that task. Difficult, lengthy or unpleasant tasks should be worth many points. Easy, quick and fun tasks should be awarded few points.
Before you leave for your trip, assemble the kids into teams and assign to each team an adult mentor. Each team should have a mix of kids - some who are experienced or skilled, and some who are inexperienced or have not yet developed camping skills.
Choose the teams wisely. Best friends have a tendency to goof off. When I was a teen, my brother and I had been hired by an uncle to do some farm work. When we suggested that he should also hire our other brother, he responded with this gem that I will never forget:
- "A boy's a boy, two boys are half a boy, and three boys is no boy at all."
I understand that far better now than I did when he said it. Knowing about this tendency will enable you to head it off so you don't have to work against it. Assign juniors to teens, and assign teens to adult mentors. Go over this with the teens ahead of time so that they will have an idea of what they are to teach the juniors to do as they do it. This will not only introduce the juniors to new knowledge, but it will reinforce it in your teens.
When you arrive at your camp site, instruct all Pathfinders to pitch the tents they will sleep in, and then stow their sleeping bags and personal gear in them. When they are finished with that, have them assemble near the remaining equipment. As soon as a complete team has finished pitching their tents and stowing their gear, they may choose one of the A tasks. When they finish their A task to their mentor's satisfaction, they may choose a B task. When they finish their B task, they may choose a C task. When they finish their C task, they may choose another C task if one is available (and thereby improve their point total).
Be sure to let your Pathfinders know how the points will be used ahead of time, otherwise they will not serve as an effective incentive. You could award the team with the highest number of points the privilege of being dismissed to eat first, followed by the team with the second highest number of points, etc. Console the team scoring the fewest number of points by reminding them that the staff actually eats last.
When we implemented this plan in my club we found that it made a remarkable difference in getting the kids motivated and focused on setting up the camp site. Instead of finding kids to do the tasks I was coming up with on the spot, the kids were coming to me for their assignments. Instead of goofing around and doing a poor job, they were executing their duties with enthusiasm and efficiency, and upon completion, they were eager to take on the next task.
To give you an idea of what tasks might be described on the cards, the tasks we used are listed below. Though the tasks below are suited more for "Campground camping" rather than "wilderness camping", they still give a general picture of what is to be done. Not all of these tasks are required at every camp out.
| A Tasks | Pitch kitchen shelter 10 points |
Pitch dining shelter 10 points |
Build latrine 8 points |
Sort camp chairs 5 points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B Tasks | Set up tables (1 point/table) | Set up hygiene stations[1] 4 points |
Prepare dishes[2] 7 points |
Fetch water[3] 0-8 points |
| C Tasks | Put totes in kitchen[4] 5 points |
Propane equipment[5] 6 points |
Gather firewood[6] 3-7 points |
Build fire ring[7] 3 points |
- ^ Hygiene stations include the dish washing station, trash receptacle (lined with a trash bag), and possibly a hand washing station.
- ^ "Prepare dishes" includes hanging a dish line, pinning mesh bags to it (in numerical order), and sorting all the eating utensils & dishes into the mesh bags.
- ^ Points awarded for fetching water depend on how far away the water is and how much is needed.
- ^ "Put totes in kitchen" means the tubs of food, coolers, and kitchen gear (other than camp stoves and lanterns). Note that only the food needed for the first meal should be put in the kitchen unless it can be secured against invasion by "critters." Otherwise it is best to leave it in a vehicle, equipment trailer, or placed in a bear box.
- ^ Propane equipment includes the camp stove(s) and lanterns.
- ^ Points awarded for gathering firewood depend on the difficulty of the task. The task might entail nothing more than buying some at the camp store, unloading it from a trailer or vehicle, or gathering it from the woods (if permitted).
- ^ It might not be necessary to build a fire ring, in which case this task should be omitted from the deck.
Once you are happy with the cards you have come up with for your club, laminate them so that they can be reused in the future.
