About Scouts – Page 13 – Scout Life magazine

This Summer, Get a Job Outdoors

There are few better ways to be helpful than getting a summer job in the great outdoors.

Iowa Scouts Forge Their Own Dutch ovens

It's easy to cook up a killer cobbler in a Dutch oven. But watch as these guys actually make their own Dutch oven, too.

Troop 175’s Unique Challenge

Boy Scout Troop 175 in Simsbury, Conn., participates each year in an 18-hour exercise that tests the Scouts both mentally and physically.

Volunteers of the Year

The Scouts of Troop 131 love their hometown of Wrentham, Mass. Turns out their hometown loves them right back.

Three Peaks, One Week

Four Scouts from Georgia climbed three different peaks higher than 14,000 feet over a period of seven days last summer.

Take a Survey, Win a Trip

The BSA's newest high-adventure base has a new Web site, and there's tons of cool stuff to see.

Get Your Philmont Field Guide

Whether your headed to Philmont anytime soon or not, you'll enjoy the new Field Guide.

Christmas For Soldiers Year Round

Bryce Thornton, a Boy Scout from Troop 48 in Eagle Point, Ore., is serious about supporting U.S. soldiers who are stationed overseas.

Earn Your National Outdoor Badges

If you can demonstrate your knowledge and skill in the outdoors, you can earn five new BSA badges, and maybe even a new medal as well.

Vote For The American Spirit Award

The Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation and Boys' Life need your help.

New Boy Scout Requirements Arrive

Along with the new year, there are new Boy Scout requirements.

Winter Reminder: Wear a Helmet!

Nothing beats skiing and snowboarding in the winter. Just remember to wear a helmet.

Philmont: The Movie

Four words: Philmont ... in ... high ... definition

Check Out the New BSA TV Commercials

Forward these videos to your friends who aren't in Scouting and see if you can get them to sign up.

The word geocache is a combination of “geo,” which means “earth,” and “cache,” which means “a hiding place.” Geocaching describes a hiding place on planet Earth—a hiding place you can find using a GPS unit.

Get Ready to Geocache

Grab your GPS, your map and your Geocaching merit badge pamphlet and get ready to earn the newest and coolest badge.

Write A Slogan; Learn About Robots

National Robotics Week is significant to the BSA for many reasons the biggest of which is this: It's when we're going to officially announce the availability of the Robotics Merit Badge and the requirements that go with it.

To Campfire, Or Not to Campfire?

Many campers these days are moving away from traditional outdoor campfires and opting instead for chemical-fueled equipment, not only for cooking, but also for heating and lighting.

Consider Recycling, not Burning, a Retired Flag

The most common way for a Boy Scout to properly dispose of an unusable U.S. flag is by burning. But if the flag is made of nylon, burning is not necessarily a good idea.

A Year of Celebration

Tell us how you celebrated BSA's 100th birthday.

Scout’s Movie Tells Story of First-Ever Scout Camp

Blake Cortright, a Boy Scout from Latham, N.Y., has written, directed and produced a fascinating documentary film about what is believed to be the first-ever Boy Scout camp in America.

Record-Breaking Rocket Launch

Several thousand Texas Scouts gathered this fall to launch more than 3,000 rockets into the sky. They also launched themselves into the Guinness Book of World Records.

The Best of Boys’ Life

In 2011, Boys' Life will celebrate its 100th birthday. Between now and then, you can find some of the best writing in our history in one book.

Popular Artist Earns Distinguished Eagle

The Southeast Louisiana Council will be presenting a Distinguished Eagle Scout Award to one of their local favorites: artist George Rodrigue.

Eureka! Scouts Find New Inventions in Oregon

Oregon Boy Scouts will be among the first in the country to earn the Inventions merit badge when they gather at EurekaFest at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry this weekend.

The Screamin’ Eagle is One Long Pinewood Derby Track

Imagine a Pinewood Derby track nearly as long as football field. That's the Screamin' Eagle, a 263-foot, 2 1/4-inch track that was featured at a Cub Scout event in Illinois last summer.

NY/NJ Scouts: Get Ready for Adventure Base 100

Adventure Base 100, a traveling interactive BSA camp, is on its way to the Northeast, where it will be open for business next month.

Boy Scouts Interview TV Star Mike Rowe

At the 2010 National Scout Jamboree last summer, a couple of star-struck Boy Scouts got to interview Mike Rowe, an Eagle Scout and host of the hit TV show Dirty Jobs.

Cub Scouts Use Bike-A-Thon to Collect Food for the Hungry

Watch as Texas Cub Scouts put a new twist on the old Scouting for Food tradition.

Scouting Heritage

Inventing

Inventing involves finding technological solutions to real-world problems. Inventors understand the importance of inventing to society because they creatively think of ways to improve the lives of others. Explore the world of inventing through this new merit badge, and discover your inner inventiveness.

Eagle Scout Eric Fiala Talks About His Epic Bike Ride From Alaska to Argentina

Eagle Scout Eric Fiala biked 20,000 miles from Alaska to Argentina in the name of adventure and autism awareness. Listen to BL's interview with Eric as he talks about the trip's memorable moments.

Share your Eagle Scout service project ideas

Looking for ideas for a good Eagle Scout service project? Wondering what type of Eagle Scout projects that other Scouts are doing? Use this message board to share ideas or tell others about your Eagle project.

Scuba Diving

Johnny Strange Talks About Climbing the Seven Summits

Johnny Strange was the youngest person to climb the Seven Summits -- the tallest peaks on each of the seven continents. Listen to exclusive excerpts of our interview with this former Cub Scout.

Video of Okpik Winter Camping at Northern Tier High Adventure Base

Okpik at the Northern Tier High Adventure Bases is not a winter survival camp. Okpik is a winter fun camp. Watch these videos to get a taste of Okpik fun.

Video of a Super-Fast Pinewood Derby Track

Watch video of Indiana Cub Scouts experiencing a whole new speed of pinewood derby at this giant track.

Day 12: Ponil to Base Camp

Guess what? We broke Ponil’s 24-day streak of bear sightings. I can’t believe that we’ve made it through a place reportedly crawling with bears and never saw one.

Day 11: Flume Canyon to Ponil

I dreamed last night that I was at work and hadn’t taken a shower since getting back from Philmont. (Which would serve my boss right after sending me on this assignment.) The crew gets a kick out of this. “You’ll be traumatized by Philmont and will be setting up bear bags in your office,” Blake says.

Day 10: Miranda to Flume Canyon

Burro packing is on our program itinerary today. We’re supposed to get a couple of the four-hooved beasts of burden and load our crew gear on them. But when we get to the Miranda corral, the staff tells us that thunderstorms are predicted for the day (oh, joy). Since burros can be skittish in bad weather, our crew has the option to pass on the burro packing, which we do.

Day 9: Baldy Mountain

Today is the day that we tackle Baldy Mountain, which will have us climbing 4,000 feet up from Miranda to the summit. It’s a day hike, so we don’t have to break camp and pack up. We just shoulder our day packs and take off.

Day 8: Upper Dean Cow to Miranda

It’s a fairly short hike to Head of Dean staffed camp this morning. Head of Dean is a cool place because it has a big challenge course, which is designed to get the crew working together as a team to accomplish different tasks.

Day 7: Visto Grande to Upper Dean Cow

This morning, we take a left instead of a right at the Cimarron River and end up flailing around in the underbrush when our path runs out. When we backtrack to where we took the wrong turn, Blake points out the logs placed across the trail. “I guess we could’ve paid attention to the trail markers.” Live and learn.