WE have talked of Scouting's indoor activities, of hikes, and short-term camps. Valuable as those are in themselves, their greatest value is the training which they provide for the boys' greatest adventure and the Scoutmaster's greatest opportunity: The long-term or summer camp, lasting for a week or longer.

To the boy, the camp is the most intensive Scouting adventure of the year. Looking forward to it, his interest in Scouting is increased. Working toward it with his Patrol and his Troop, his enthusiasm for Scouting is strengthened. And as he lives in camp, his health is built, he learns new skills in Scoutcraft, woodcraft, campcraft. He becomes more self-reliant, more courageous. His leadership ability is developed. Camping with his fellows, he learns cooperative living, teamwork and team play, and learns to share the common duties cheerfully. And, finally, his understanding of the Scout Law and his appreciation of nature as the handiwork of the Almighty are deepened.

To the Scoutmaster, the camp offers a most opportune place to further our aim of building happy, healthy and helpful citizens. The leader knows that a boy is benefited directly by camping with his fellow Scouts. And he also knows of the numerous indirect benefits inherent in Troop camping. Here Troop spirit is fostered in a hundred small ways—a spirit which will live long after the camp is over. The Patrols are cemented together into close units that will endure. Lasting friendships are created. The boy who has participated in a well-run camp, under the leadership of his own Scoutmaster and his own Patrol Leader, is apt to stay on and on in Scouting. A bond that the boy will not want to break has been established through shared experiences.

The old Scoutmaster who has caught the vision of Scouting and knows the value of Troop camping in making that vision come true, will go camping with his boys year after year. The new Scoutmaster, on the other hand, may think of camp as a problem too full of danger and difficulties, or he may fail to realize its importance and therefore undertake it without adequate preparation. "He does not realize," says the Chief Scout of the World, "that the difficulties are not so great when compared with the enthusiasm and enjoyment gained; that the life in the open, face to face with Nature, can give the best lead to higher thoughts in the boy's soul; that till he takes the plunge and hikes with his boys to camp, the Scoutmaster is missing the lever by which he can in a few days turn the mind, develop the health, and form the character of each and every one of them, where he could not do it in months in the meeting room."

Tents among the "redwoods" or high up on the "flats." Here in the wilderness Scouts can camp and adventure out into the great woods.

But as elsewhere in Scouting, it is the well-planned and well-executed activity only which achieves the result. It is the HOW that counts.

Yet of prime importance is the attitude of the Scoutmaster. If he has made up his mind that every one of his Scouts is to gain the benefits that camping offers, there is nothing to stop him. A number of helping hands are ready to aid him in making the Troop's camping experience a great success.

Troop Camping

A chartered Troop may camp under its own leaders either on a site with other Troops or on its own independent camp site, as follows:

1. The Inter-Troop Camp (often spoken of as Council Camp on a Troop Basis)—in which the Troop camps on its own assigned spot on a Local Council-owned (or Local Council-controlled) camp site. In the Inter-Troop Camp the Troop lives its own life in charge of its own Scoutmaster, Assistants and Patrol Leaders, subject only to the Council regulations for use of the Council camp site. The Troop works in cooperation with other Troops and their leaders, and each receives the assistance and guidance of a Camp Director and staff provided by the Council. This staff coordinates and supplements the leadership of the regular Troop Leaders by furnishing additional health, safety and Scoutcraft instruction and supervision.

2. The Independent Troop Camp—in which the Troop camps on an approved spot which it has procured itself and made fit for camping purposes. In the Independent Troop Camp, the Troop is entirely dependent upon its own leadership except for such encouragement and cooperation as the Local Council may be able to give at long range—again, of course, subject to established Council regulations and National Camping Standards.

They eat, sleep, hike, play and adventure together. The real Troop camp is the sum of the Patrols camping as units.

Of these two the Inter-Troop Camp is considered the ideal condition for Troop camping. There are numerous reasons for this.

For the Independent Troop Camp, the Troop will have to find and outfit its own camp site. It must provide all of its own camping equipment, from tentage to waterfront equipment, and must develop all of its own sanitary arrangements. It must test and will probably have to treat its own water supply. It must develop its own safe swimming facilities, and must have at hand trained waterfront leaders to run the water program. It must provide its own health supervision and medical examiner. It must run its own commissary and fill the day with a self-sustained program. Of all these items, those involving health and safety must be given the greatest attention.

For the Inter-Troop Camp, on the other hand, the Local Council provides a carefully chosen camp site and often makes available certain needed equipment. Sanitary arrangements, a tested water supply and medical attention are present. The swimming and boating program and health supervision are in charge of trained leaders, and other experts are available for special features. And generally, the commissary problem is facilitated through a camp Trading Post and commissary where food stuffs may be ordered.

Obviously, then, the Inter-Troop Camp provides for the most satisfactory experience for the average Troop, although the completely equipped old Troop with efficient camp-trained leadership personnel may want to try its hand at Independent Troop camping, with the approval of the Local Council. This type of camp may also be the only practical solution of the problems of certain neighborhood situations, and may be entirely satisfactory with the right leadership, careful planning and Council supervision.

Whether one type of Troop camping or the other is decided upon, the Local Council must be consulted and its approval secured. And in either case, the procedure and the technique will be pretty much the same. We shall therefore treat them together as one problem. A simple check with your Scout Executive or your District Commissioner will quickly inform you of what is available in the Council's Inter-Troop Camp, and also what must be provided by the Troop itself for a successful Independent Troop Camp.