Camping


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Camping Requirements
Current Scouts BSA requirements
as of June 6, 2026
as of June 6, 2026
1.
Do the following:
a.
Explain to your counselor the most likely hazards you may
encounter while participating in camping activities and what you
should do to anticipate, help prevent, mitigate, and respond to
these hazards.
b.
Discuss with your counselor why it is important to be aware of
weather conditions before and during your camping activities.
Tell how you can prepare should the weather turn bad during your
campouts.
c.
Show that you know first aid for and how to prevent injuries or
illnesses that could occur while camping, including hypothermia,
frostbite, heat reactions, dehydration, altitude sickness,
insect stings, tick bites, snakebite, blisters, and
hyperventilation.
2.
Learn the Leave No Trace Seven Principles and the Outdoor Code, and
explain what they mean. Write a personal and group plan for implementing
these principles on your next outing.
3.
Make a written plan for an overnight trek and show how to get to your
camping spot by using a topographical map and one of the following:
a.
Compass
b.
GPS receiver
c.
Smartphone with a GPS app
4.
Do the following:
a.
Make a duty roster showing how your patrol is organized for an
actual overnight campout. List assignments for each member.
b.
Help a Scout patrol or a Webelos Scout unit in your area prepare
for an actual campout, including creating the duty roster, menu
planning, equipment needs, general planning, and setting up
camp.
5.
Do the following:
a.
Prepare a list of clothing you would need for overnight campouts
in both warm and cold weather. Explain the term "layering."
b.
Discuss footwear for different kinds of weather and how the
right footwear is important for protecting your feet.
c.
Explain the proper care and storage of camping equipment
(clothing, footwear, bedding).
d.
List the Scout Basic Essentials necessary for any campout, and
explain why each item is needed.
e.
Present yourself to your Scoutmaster with your pack for
inspection. Be correctly clothed and equipped for an overnight
campout.
6.
Do the following:
a.
Describe the features of four types of tents, when and where
they could be used, and how to care for tents. Working with
another Scout, pitch a tent.
b.
Discuss the importance of camp sanitation and tell why water
treatment is essential. Then demonstrate two ways to treat
water.
c.
Describe the factors to be considered in deciding where to pitch
your tent.
d.
Tell the difference between internal- and external-frame packs.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each.
e.
Discuss the types of sleeping bags and what kind would be
suitable for different conditions. Explain the proper care of
your sleeping bag and how to keep it dry. Make a comfortable
ground bed.
7.
Prepare for an overnight campout with your patrol by doing the
following:
a.
Make a checklist of personal and patrol gear that will be
needed.
b.
Pack your own gear and your share of the patrol equipment and
food for proper carrying. Show that your pack is right for
quickly getting what is needed first, and that it has been
assembled properly for comfort, weight, balance, size, and
neatness.
8.
Do the following:
a.
Explain the safety procedures for:
1.
Using a propane or butane/propane stove
2.
Using a liquid fuel stove
3.
Proper storage of extra fuel
b.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of different types of
lightweight cooking stoves.
c.
Prepare a camp menu. Explain how the menu would differ from a
menu for a backpacking or float trip. Give recipes and make a
food list for your patrol. Plan two breakfasts, three lunches,
and two suppers. Discuss how to protect your food against bad
weather, animals, and contamination.
d.
While camping in the outdoors, cook at least one breakfast, one
lunch, and one dinner for your patrol from the meals you have
planned for requirement 8(c). At least one of those meals must
be a trail meal requiring the use of a lightweight stove.
9.
Show experience in camping by doing the following:
a.
Camp for at least 20 nights at designated Scouting activities or
events. One long-term camping experience of up to six
consecutive nights may be applied toward this requirement. Two
nights may be counted toward the total for each additional
long-term camping trip. Each night must be spent either under
the sky, in a tent you have pitched yourself (if a tent is
provided and already set up, you do not need to pitch your own),
in a hammock that is safely strung outdoors, in a lean-to, or
other three-sided shelter with an open front. Nights spent in
indoor lock-in events, cabin camping, hotel stays, or other
covered accommodations do not count toward the 20 nights.
b.
On any of these camping experiences, you must do TWO of the
following, only with proper preparation and under qualified
supervision.
1.
Hike up a mountain, gaining at least 1,000 vertical
feet.
2.
Backpack, snowshoe, or cross-country ski for at least 4
miles.
3.
Take a bike trip of at least 15 miles or at least four
hours.
4.
Take a nonmotorized trip on the water of at least four
hours or 5 miles.
5.
Plan and carry out an overnight snow camping experience.
6.
Rappel down a rappel route of 30 feet or more.
c.
On any of these camping experiences, perform a conservation
project approved by the landowner or land managing agency. This
can be done alone or with others.
10.
Discuss how the things you did to earn this badge have taught you about
personal health and safety, survival, public health, conservation, and
good citizenship. In your discussion, tell how Scout spirit and the
Scout Oath and Scout Law apply to camping and outdoor ethics.