Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book/Recreation/Camping Skills II

1. Be at least in the 6th grade.
Camping Skills II has been designed so that it is within the capabilities of Pathfinders who are in the 6th grade or higher.

2. Develop a personal philosophy of outdoor etiquette, such as courtesy to other campers and outdoor conservation.
Memorize the 7 Leave No Trace Principles:


 * Plan ahead and prepare.
 * Travel and camp on durable surfaces.
 * Dispose of waste properly.
 * Leave what you find.
 * Minimize campfire impacts (be careful with fire).
 * Respect wildlife.
 * Always ask for permission before entering another campsite.

Note: If you ever plan to go camping in a location that allows hunting- such as a national forest, bright colors is an important safety consideration. Camouflaged or dark color tents will not aid hunters in quickly identifying that there are people in the area.

4. Demonstrate your ability to protect the wilderness and your water source by proper personal hygiene and cooking sanitation.
Going on a camping trip does not absolve you from the need for hygiene and sanitation – it merely makes it a little less convenient. If you are camping on an established campground, use the toilet facilities provided. Otherwise, you will have to provide your own facilities. If you are camping with a small group, this can be as simple as digging a cat hole (no more than ) deep, depositing your waste in the hole, and burying it again. A hole of this depth will be occupied by a myriad of bacterial life which will take care of the rest for you. If camping with a larger group, you will need to dig a latrine. Whether using cat holes or a latrine, make sure they are dug at least from any water source.

When cooking, be sure to clean your dishes and kitchen area immediately after use. Again, how you do this depends on the size of your group. When camping with a small group, wipe all dishes, pots, pans, and utensils as clean as you can with paper towels. Burn the paper towels. Then you can scrub the dishes out with clean sand and rinse them off. When camping with a large group, you will need to establish a dish washing area. Fill two tubs with water – use hot water if possible (and it almost always is). You can boil a small quantity of water and add it to a larger volume of cold water, and this will do nicely. One of these tubs will be for washing, the other for rinsing. You can optionally use a third tub for pre-rinsing, which will eliminate the need to wipe the dishes with a paper towel before washing. Add of bleach to the rinse water. Wipe the dishes as clean as you can first (or pre-rinse them), then wash them in the first tub with dish soap. Then rinse. Wash the eating dishes first, followed by the cooking dishes. When finished, dispose of the "grey water" as directed by campground management (if on a campground). Otherwise, dispose of the grey water at least from any water source.

a. Leading song service
Bring a song book, or sing from memory. If your group has any musicians, encourage them to bring any portable instruments along (guitar, ukulele, recorder, harmonica, etc.). Even kazoos can be pressed into service.

b. Sabbath School lesson study
Prepare ahead of time. You can download the Teacher's Lesson for the Junior's Sabbath School from http://powerpoints.adventist.org if desired.

c. Story
Make sure the story has an aim. A story with a moral lesson is an essential part of a worship service. A story without an aim is entertainment. If you can coordinate the story with the lesson, all the better.

d. Worship thought
A "worship thought" can be a short sermon. One way to do this is to take a Bible story, figure out what the underlying message of that story is, and expound upon it. Read what Ellen White may have had to say about it (The Desire of Ages follows the gospels), or consult a Bible Commentary set. If you do not have one, perhaps your church, school, or pastor does.

7. Know how to safely light and use a camp stove and lantern.
This will depend a lot on the type of stove or lantern you have. There are two basic types of Stoves and Lanterns. Liquid fueled and pressurized gas fueled. Each type has advantages and disadvantages. When lighting your stove or lantern you should recognize the type of fuel it is using and the inherent dangers that each type fuel presents.

The simplest thing to remember is that fuel is flammable and should be treated with respect. Liquid fueled equipment must be carefully filled, and all spills must be cleaned and dried, before the equipment is lighted. Do not fill liquid fueled equipment when it is still warm to the touch or near any source of ignition. This means if you have two stoves in your kitchen, and you need to fill one of them, the empty stove must be taken out of the kitchen to an area a safe distance away (50 feet) to be filled. Also extra fuel must also be stored at least 50 feet from the kitchen area or from any open flame or fire.

On the other hand, pressurized gas cylinders are heavier than liquid fuel cans, hold less fuel per volume and can be damaged and leak. Special chemicals are added to propane or butane to give the fuel a distinctive odor. If you smell gas, turn off all flame sources and seek assistance from an adult before proceeding. A fire extinguisher should always be kept in immediate proximity when operating either liquid fueled or pressurized gas fueled equipment.

Most common camp stoves and lanterns these days use propane canisters. Make sure the canister is connected properly. Then light a stove lighter (these are long-stemmed butane lighters) near the burner of the stove or mantle of the lantern. Only after the flame is going should you turn on the gas. If you turn on the gas before you light the flame, the gas can build up and you'll have a small fireball to contend with. This can be very dangerous. If you have trouble, turn the gas off and let it dissipate before attempting again. Once the stove or lantern lights, adjust the flame or brightness as desired.

Liquid fueled equipment can be more temperamental, however liquid fuel is more compact, and there are no pressurized cylinders to contend with. The thing to remember is that the liquid fuel does not burn, only the fuel vapor burns. So the stove or lantern must first “vaporize” the fuel before the appliance will operate properly. Most liquid fueled stoves and lanterns will also require some type of pressure pump to pressurize the fuel tank. After you pump up the tank (see the manufacturer's instructions for your particular device) you are ready to light the device.

When you turn on a liquid fueled device, at first there will spray a few drops of liquid fuel. Once this fuel sprays, immediately turn off the fuel flow. Many stoves have a built in cup just to catch this fuel. Now the liquid droplets will begin to naturally vaporize. This is what will burn when you light the device using a stove lighter. Once you light this first spray and it begins to burn you can slowly begin to turn on the fuel knob again. What is happening is that the fuel will flow through a tube (often called a generator) that passes through the flame. The flame heats up the generator and the flowing liquid fuel, vaporizing it. Again it is this vapor that actually burns. If the generator has become clogged with dirty residue from previous use it will have to be replaced for the device to operate properly. Once the generator has heated up, use the control knob to regulate the brightness of your lantern or the temperature of your stove.

8. Know safety rules and demonstrate your ability to properly cut firewood. Demonstrate how to break dead wood properly.
Dig a hole to hold wood. While firewood can be cut with an axe, it takes much less effort, and less wood goes to waste if it is cut with a saw. To do this, prop one end of the to-be cut log off the ground. This can be done by laying it on a rock, on another log, or on anything strong enough to hold its weight. The end of the log should protrude past the support, and the log should be sawn just past this point. If you try to cut a log between the support and the ground, the weight of the log cause the log to sag as it is cut, and this will pinch the saw blade. If you make the cut past the support, the weight of the log will open the saw cut making it easier to saw through.

Dead wood can also be broken instead of sawn. This is often easier and quicker than sawing it, but care must be taken to do this properly, and it can only be done on smaller logs - up to in diameter or so. To do this, again, the log is propped up on a support on one end, while the other end lies on the ground. Then the camper brings his foot down sharply about 12-18 inches (30–45 cm) from the support, between the support and the ground. Be careful to keep your footing while doing this, and watch that the ends of the log do not fly off.

11. Build two different camp cranes.
The pictures here are worth many thousands of words. A simple crane propped on a forked stick will hold a cooking container over a fire. It is best to use green wood for any sticks that will be close to the fire, as green wood will resist catching fire better than a dry stick. Be sure to secure any vertical members so that the crane will not fall over when you hang the pot on it. Drive them deeply into the ground, or pin them in place with large rocks. Test the crane before committing your soup to it. If the pot topples, you will extinguish your fire and lose your soup in one sad incident. But at least you'll have a story to tell.

Tent site selection
Find an area that is large enough to pitch your tent and that is also flat. It is difficult to sleep on an incline. Avoid ridge tops as they will be windy and there is significant lightning danger there. Likewise avoid dry stream beds, especially in desert areas. Flash floods can be caused by rains many, many miles away. If camping near a river, camp above the high water line. The river may rise in the night. You can determine the high water line by observing trees on the river bank - they will have debris in the lower branches deposited there by flood waters. Camp on the lee side of a hill to avoid the wind.

Carefully examine the space above your tent site, making sure there are no dead branches, icicles, coconuts, or anything else that could fall on the tent and cause harm.

Cleaning a tent
Sweep the tent out before striking it. Remove muddy shoes before entering a tent, or take them off as soon as you enter the door. You can clean the floor in front of the door with paper towels. A stiff broom will also clean most debris from the walls, but you may need to use water and a mild detergent (such as dishwashing soap) to clean messes deposited by birds.

a. Show proper ways to stuff or roll your sleeping bag or bed roll for travel.
If your sleeping bag came with a stuff sack, all you have to do is stuff it in. It's really that simple. If it did not come with one, you can purchase one separately. Otherwise, you'll have to roll it up. That's a little more difficult, but not that hard. First check for the tie-strings. They are usually at the foot of the bag. Zip the sleeping bag closed and fold it in half lengthwise with the tie-strings down - one tie string will be located near the center of the bottom, and the other will be located near the edge. Then go to the end opposite the tie strings and start rolling, keeping it tight as you go. When you get to the end, draw the tie strings around the bag and tie them with a shoelace knot.

b. Tell how to keep a sleeping bag or bed roll dry on a camping trip.
The most important thing you can do to keep your sleeping bag dry is to keep it in the tent and keep the tent door closed. Take off your shoes when you enter the tent (or before going in) so you do not track water all over the place. Keep your sleeping bag on your sleeping pad, as this will raise it off the floor slightly so that any water that drips off wet clothing cannot reach it.

c. Describe how to properly clean your sleeping bag or bed roll.
Turn the sleeping bag inside-out, throw it over a clothesline, and beat it with a stick. Unzip it and let it air out completely. Do not put a sleeping bag in a washing machine unless the washing instructions on the bag specifically say that you can. A washing machine will crush the fibers inside, reducing the insulation and padding value. A bed roll can be shaken vigorously like a rug, and it can also be beaten with a stick after hanging it on a clothesline.