Hiking Dude Blog

There are quite a few menus and food lists available online, and they are helpful for thinking of meals for backpacking treks. But, I didn't find a way to create a menu on-the-fly. This sounds like a useful tool for scouts to use in planning high adventure outings for their troops.

So, I've been working on a menu planner for backpacking over the long weekend. This Menu Planner lets you save the different foods you use on the trail, combine them into meals, and use that set of meals to create a menu and shopping list. You can share your menu so others can use it as it is or get ideas to make their own.

If you have some time to try it out, or tell your scouts about it, I'd really appreciate your feedback. It is brand new and only in the 'testing' phase with changes to be made based on your input.

Take a test run at Backpacking Menu Planner and leave some feedback. There is one menu currently saved which is the menu our troop used backpacking in Wyoming last year.

Hike On

This was a VERY Scouty day for me.

Got summer camp info together for the patrol leaders so each patrol can figure out their merit badges and activities at the PLC tomorrow.

Attended the Court of Honor for three Eagle Scouts. The cake was great!

Went on a 10-mile hike for the Hiking merit badge. At least the snow stopped from this morning. Snow on May 1st - sheesh!

Oh, and gave away a Scout gift card in the monthly contest here.

Hike On
Troop Tools

Day 75: Two crews preparing for Philmont in June had their first 10-mile hike this morning. I don't get to do Philmont this year because there's a surplus of dads wanting to go, but I get to join them on the hikes since I'm the Hiking merit badge counselor. I've been hiking about 6 miles a day on my own every day so today's walk around town was nice.

The crews have 5-mile hikes scheduled for each Tuesday and Thursday, plus 10-milers each Saturday and a couple Sundays for the next 6 weeks. There're also two 20-milers lined up so enough hike opportunies for anyone doing the Hiking merit badge.

Have you looked at the Hiking merit badge? It's probably about the simplest merit badge to earn but we've only had a couple guys complete the requirements to earn it over the past few years. Lots of guys do all the hiking required, but few take the couple minutes to make the trip plans before a hike and even fewer write the after-hike reports. They don't really need the badge for advancement since most do Swimming at summer camp, but it can still be used as an elective badge.

Hike On
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