Good Tips for Great Outdoor Experiences Camp Preparation Checklist: Registered Adult with Troop Camp Training and First Aid/CPR Training Make camp reservations (6 months in advance) Finances (Leader and girls decide) Parents informed Prepare troop to camp: help them plan menus, make the kaper chart, schedule, check first aid kit, learn care and use of lanterns. Discuss health & safety - then have girls make up rules. Arrange transportation Basic Girl Personal Camping Gear List This list is NOT intended to be a complete list of all items the girls will need to take along on your troop camping trip. It is being provided as a basic list to get you started. Outing Permit Permission Slip – Must be turned in to the Troop Leader Sleeping Bag (NOT a Slumber bag) & extra blanket, if needed Small Pillow, if needed Warm sleepwear (such as a sweat suit) Flashlight and (extra batteries - Lots of extra batteries if camping more than one night) Mess Kit (unbreakable plate, cup, bowl) Knife, Fork, Spoon or Spork Drip Bag Water Canteen Sit upon Personal Kit (Plastic bag with soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, brush, comb & other personal needs) Hand towel and washcloth Insect Repellent and Sunscreen (Non-aerosol) Two complete change of Clothing - ***** Note: Layer clothes 1 pair of Extra Shoes – should be sturdy shoes Sweatshirt and/or warm jacket Extra Socks Work gloves Rainwear – Rain Poncho, Jacket, etc. (plastic trash bags work as well in a pinch) Duffel or Large Sack, to carry all personal items Small Notebook & Pencil Hat or cap Bandanna Plastic bags for dirty or wet clothes Cards or some kind of (small) bad weather game (just in case). The girls' names MUST be on everything. Pack gear in backpack or duffel bag. Carry sleeping bag in waterproof bag or large trash bag. If you have any special medications, bring them and a note from your parents to the leader. REMEMBER: Bring only necessary camping items. Do NOT bring valuables. No food in sleeping areas. Leave hair dryers, or anything that plugs in at Home. Avoid taking anything in glass containers. Slumber bags are not warm enough for camping. Suggested Basic Troop Gear (Leader) List This list is NOT intended to be a complete list of all items you will need to take along on your troop camping trip. It is being provided as a basic list to get you started. First Aid Kit Insurance form and Girl Individual Medical cards Kaper Chart, Menus & Schedule Paper products: Paper towels, Toilet Paper, Napkins, Tissues Cookware and all cooking utensils as required by menus. Fire-Proof Cooking Gloves Dial Liquid Pump Soap Liquid dish detergent (biodegradable) Clorox (in a small container) Cooking Oil for iron skillet Scouring pads Dish cloth, Towels & Potholders Coolers & Ice Clothesline, Clothes pins Cleaning Supplies: cleaning powder, toilet bowl cleaner (septic tank friendly), biodegradable soap for floor cleaning and cleaning rags Lighter or Kitchen matches in metal container Wood (Tinder & Kindling) and Charcoal Fire starters Utensils as needed for menus (Long Handle Grill tools for open fire). Can opener Aluminum foil Ziploc bags for storing leftovers Trash bags Marshmallow Safety Forks Food & Drinks and High energy snacks Salt & Pepper S'mores Stuff - Hershey bars, Graham crackers, and marshmallows. Sprinkle Can & Stuff to make sprinkle cans (nail, coat hangers, pliers, hammer, cans). Tape, Scissors, Needles, Thread & Safety Pins Safety-Wise & campground papers/packet Alarm Clock Extra batteries Outdoor Cooking Recipes Chicken Veggie Dish 4 cans Campbell’s Cream of Chicken soup 2 bags of frozen mixed vegetables (corn, peas, carrots) 1 large package Tyson pre-cooked Chicken patties (not breaded) about 12 patties 2 rolls of Pillsbury biscuits Line Dutch oven with aluminum foil. Pour soup and mixed vegetables into pot and mix. Cut up Tyson chicken patties into 1 inch cubes. Add chicken to the pot and stir mixture. Place Pillsbury biscuits over the top. Cover and cook on camp fire. Cover with 6 charcoal briquettes. Cooking time varies. Check in 12-14 minutes. Brown Bear in an Apple Orchard 3 small cans applesauce 1 pkg. gingerbread mix Line a Dutch Oven with aluminum foil. Prepare gingerbread mix according to package directions. Put applesauce in the bottom of Dutch Oven. Drop gingerbread by spoonfuls over top. Cover Dutch oven and place coals on lid. Steam about 15 - 20 minutes over slow coals. Variations: Use crushed pineapple with white cake mix. Use fruit cocktail with spice cake mix. Shipwreck 2 lbs. bacon 1-2 onions, chopped (optional) 1 bag sliced or frozen hash browns 18 eggs salt and pepper 2 cups grated cheddar cheese NOTE: The order ingredients are cooked is important. In a large skillet, fry bacon, pour off some of the grease, and remove bacon strips. Optional: Brown onions in grease. Then add and brown hash browns. Pour into a Dutch oven lined with aluminum foil. Add eggs and cook until firm. Pour all ingredients into Dutch oven and add cheese and bacon (crumbled). Stir until cheese melts. Serve immediately. Banana Boats Peel back one section of banana skin. Scoop out some of the banana and fill the cavity with chocolate bits or pieces of almond Hershey bar and small marshmallows. Press them down slightly into the banana. Replace the skin to cover the opening and lap over each side. Wrap in foil. Place on grill over coals or low fire for 10 - 15 minutes. Eat with a spoon out of the skin. Raisins may also be used. ENJOY! GRACES God our Father (to the tune of "Frere Jacques") God Our Father, God Our Father Once again, once again We will ask Thy blessing, we will ask Thy blessing Amen, Amen. Thanks be to God - (to the tune of "Windy")  Thanks be to God, The Father Almighty.   Thanks be to God, Who gave us this bread.  Thanks be to God, The Spirit Eternal.  Thanks be to God, Forever. Bless Our Friends - (to the tune of "Edelweiss") Bless our friends, bless our food Come, O Lord, and sit with us. May our lives glow with peace, May your love surround us. Friendship and love, May it bloom and grow, Bloom and grow, forever Bless our friends, bless our food Come, O Lord and sit with us. Johnny Apple seed  Oh, the Lord's been good to me. And so I thank the Lord For giving me the things I need The sun, the rain and the apple seed; Oh, the Lord's been good to me. Oh, and every seed I sow Will grow into a tree. And someday there'll be apples there For everyone in the world to share. Oh, the Lord is good to me. Oh, here I am 'neath the blue, blue sky Doing as I please. Singing with my feathered friends Humming with the bees. I wake up every day, As happy as can be, Because I know that with His care My apple trees, they will still be there. The Lord's been good to me. I wake up every day As happy as can be, Because I know the Lord is there Watchin' over all my friends and me The Lord is good to me. Friends - Grace Oh, the Lord is good to us And so we thank the Lord For giving us the best of friends The kind of love that never ends The Lord is good to us.  Outdoor Dish Washing using 3 Beaver Buckets Scrape waste into trash. In the first bucket, wash in warm soapy water. In the second bucket, rinse in warm water. In the third bucket, sanitize in cold solution. 1 Tbs. Clorox to 2 gal. water. Place mess kit items in drip bag and hang on the clothes line to dry. Trail Markers There are special trail signs for hikers. Girl Scouts have used these trail signs for many years. The last person picks up trail markers. Leave the area as you found it. Hiking Songs What Musical Instrument do you carry with you at all times? Your Voice! Girl Scouts Hiking Song She wears a G for Generosity. She wears an I for Interest, too. She wears a R for Responsibility. And an L for Loyalty, for loyalty. She wears an S for her Sincerity. She wears a C for Courtesy. She wears an OUT for the Outdoor Life, outdoor life. And that Girl Scout is me. Oh that Girl Scout is me. I Love The Mountains I love the flowers, I love the daffodils. I love the mountains, I love the rolling hills. I love the campfire, with everyone around. Boom de adda, boom de adda, Boom de adda, boom de aye. Tips for Game Leaders Establish a happy atmosphere. Check mistakes as you go along. Encourage girls to participate and do their best. Be patient. Be fair in your judgments. Show respect for each girl. Encourage fair play and safety at all times. Be flexible and prepared to change or vary the game. Emphasize cooperation and playing for fun rather than winning. Appreciating the Wild Above all, take time to look, listen, and learn about the beauties of the area. Leave all electronic devices at home so that your group can enjoy the peace and serenity of the wilderness and preserve it for others. Take time to observe the wildflowers; listen to the songs of birds and insects. Take along a small magnifying glass for a close-up look at flowers, birds, or lichen. On hands and knees, carefully examine a small patch of ground, and share your interesting finds with a friend. Keep a diary of what you see in a small notebook --add sketches--write a poem. Watch the sky for weather changes, constellations, and meteors. Enjoy the smell of evergreens, soil, ferns, and clean air, and record your adventures through photographs to share back home.  At trail's end, you'll know that you have "taken only pictures, left only footprints." A Girl Scout leaves a place better than she finds it.   Outdoor Terms: Beaver Bucket - large galvanized bucket used in dishwashing.   Buddy Burner - fuel made by coiling cardboard into a small flat tin can (like a tuna can) and filling with melted paraffin wax.   Drip bag - a loosely woven bag used at camp to hold clean dishes and eating utensils to drip dry on a line.   Fire Bucket - a bucket of water, sand or dirt placed near a fire to use for extinguishing.   Fire starters - an assist to starting a fire such as:   Kisses - small pieces of candle twisted in wax paper.   Trench candles - 2 to 4 inch strips of tightly rolled newspaper, tied with string and dipped in melted paraffin wax.   Egg carton starter - dryer lint and then sawdust or wood chips (such as pine hamster bedding) is packed in a cardboard egg carton and covered with melted paraffin.   Firewood - comes in three sizes: Tinder - small, dry wood, no thicker than matches  Kindling - dry wood the thickness of a pencil to a thumb  Fuel - large wood that keeps a fire going  Foundation or A frame fire - made with tinder on a small triangle of kindling. Other fires are made from this basic fire after it starts.   Green wood - wood that is not dead and dry. It bends rather than snapping and breaking.   Kaper charts - charts showing jobs assigned to individuals or patrols. Provides rotation and fair distribution of jobs.   Latrine - outdoor toilet.   Mess kit - individual eating equipment. Plastic is better for younger girls.   Nosebag - a sack lunch containing a well-balanced meal that does not have to be cooked.   Patrols - small groups comprising the camp or unit.   Primitive camping or wilderness camping - advanced camping where you set up your own campsite including tents, latrines, and cooking area.   Round-up tent - a small tent without a floor that girls set up for primitive camping.   Sanitizing - after dishes are washed and rinsed they are sanitized with a solution of Clorox or sanitizing tablets as a health safety factor.   Solar cooking - cooking with the energy of the sun through reflection.   Sit upon - a pad to sit upon to protect from cold and dampness. Soap pans - coat the outside of containers used for cooking over the fire with a thin coating of dish soap to aid the clean up process - do not soap cast iron cookware.   Tarps/ground cloth - large waterproof sheet of canvas, plastic, etc. used as a floor for a tent, a temporary shelter, to cover a wood pile, etc. TP - toilet paper.   Vagabond Stove (tin can stove) - individual stove made from a #10 tin can.   Waterproof matches - matches dipped into thin nail polish or wax.   Yellow soap - strong soap used at camp to soap pans and wash skin after exposure to poisonous plants.