A frustrating weekend of camping

[Jagiven]

Originally Posted by muckinfuss

Once upon a time: A Scout is:

TRUSTWORTHY. Tell the truth and keep promises. People can depend on you.

LOYAL. Show that you care about your family, friends, Scout leaders, school, and country.

HELPFUL. Volunteer to help others without expecting a reward.

FRIENDLY. Be a friend to everyone, even people who are very different from you.

COURTEOUS. Be polite to everyone and always use good manners.

KIND. Treat others as you want to be treated. Never harm or kill any living thing without good reason.

OBEDIENT. Follow the rules of your family, school, and pack. Obey the laws of your community and country.

CHEERFUL. Look for the bright side of life. Cheerfully do tasks that come your way. Try to help others be happy.

THRIFTY. Work to pay your own way. Try not to be wasteful. Use time, food, supplies, and natural resources wisely.

BRAVE. Face difficult situations even when you feel afraid. Do what you think is right despite what others might be doing or saying.

CLEAN. Keep your body and mind fit. Help keep your home and community clean.

REVERENT. Be reverent toward God. Be faithful in your religious duties. Respect the beliefs of others.


These scouts grew up to be fathers who, often times, used these words to teach their own. I know I did. Not sure when it ended, but it did.

I do not think it has ended with the current scouts. There are just a lot less scouts out there now days. When I was a scout our troop was much smaller than it had been previously. While my son has been a scout the troop is much smaller yet. Our scouts are very respectable. They also all know there are consequences if they are not. As a scoutmaster, a few times a year, a scoutmaster's minute consists of reminding the boys to consider what they are doing, maybe what their friends want them to do. Think back to the scout oath and law, and let it guide you to making the correct decision.

As for campsite etiquette with scouts:

Our troop has been going to the same summer camp, and same campsite since 1971. Our site is closest to the dinning hall. There are two trails side by side, near the dinning hall, one to our campsite, and the other loops around to the sites past us. We use to get scouts and adults walking through all week long, always coming from the direction of the dinning hall, never from their sites. Not asking permission to enter camp, just passing through. Sometimes, the older scouts would realize they are coming into our camp, and they would take everyone off trail through the woods, and cut back over to their trail. 3 years ago I put up a small sign with our campsite name at the intersection. It almost completely stopped the accidental traffic coming from the dinning hall.

Last year I do not recall a single scout walking through. We did have an adult on a bike ride through a few times at high speed while I was in camp (way faster than the camp's bicycle speed limit), The speed and trail condition probably made it so he did not see the sign. After a few times passing through (going way to fast), I said something, about proper campsite etiquette and the BSA bike policies in camp. He apologized and walked out of our campsite (he was not wearing a helmet which is another policy he was breaking).

We had no issues after that.

[Retired mountain folk]

Originally Posted by Gary_LHC_Arizona

After 1.5 years my wife and I went camping over the weekend. We were disappointed to see so many people walking thru other occupied campsites. I will give some slack with children walking thru the campsites, but there were children, adults (ages 20 - 40s), and adults with their children! My wife were sitting outdoors and 3 young boys walked thru our site. I asked them not to walk thru.. they just stared. When I was young, my parents told us not to do what we observed.

Has camping and campsite etiquette changed?

I agree we’ve had them walk right thru our campsite lift the bbq cover that we use to cook over the open fire to see what we were cooking. Unfortunately, we now bring two yellow plastic posts and fifty foot of chain and put across our site. Other people, who remember the etiquette of camping love it, and have said they will start that two. We’ve had it where they walk between our chairs right thru the site. We’ve taught our grandkids to walk around and never thru someone’s site. People nowadays just have no courtesy of others space. We too tell them to walk around our spot, they look at me like, “ what do you mean “. Crazy what the world has come too, not when we were young, unfortunately I guess they weren’t taught and neither were their kids how to show respect.

[JDug66]

Some people have the mantra: "I paid for this spot and I can do whatever the H_ll I want to!" Last week we were treated to a camper dousing his campfire with a gallon of used cooking oil just as a storm was moving in and winds had kicked up. Did you know cooking oil burns and emits billowing black smoke just like any other oil? Amazingly idiotic people we're all camping around!

[Mr Bee]

I HUGE help would be OF n during checkin the camp employee would point to the rules and make sure the adult hears them and also ask that they explain them to everyone at their site. Not enough is being done by campground managers to make sure the incomeing campers know the etiquette rules.

[Retired mountain folk]

Think that’s bad, we took our granddaughters to sequoia last year, had to go get the camp host/ranger. Kids were picking up long sticks, putting them in the fire, then running all around the camp with blazing sticks, hitting brush, and then hitting their tent with the lighted sticks. We said to the parent to stop them, they said, they are on vacation and can do what they want. Not that they might catch the entire forest on fire. After ranger came over, and saw them, they left. Don’t know if they did because their kids were told not to, or if the ranger kicked them out. I’m sure wherever they went kids went back to that behavior when the parent won’t say anything…,,crazy.

[Seaninnj]

Originally Posted by curver900

all of society is this way now.. it has been beat in that we all "share" and we are all equal etc... so what's yours is mine... you are seeing the results of all the years of this socialistic banter...

Get used to it, it is going to get far worse before it gets any better.. on a positive note though there will be far fewer people camping shortly.. the price of gas is going to keep allot of people home...

I couldn't disagree more. This has nothing to do with politics but thanks for trying to make it into that.

I agree with the others that there are more newbie campers than ever before so they just need to be schooled on what's appropriate.

[KMateri]

I don't really mind if kids are zipping through our site so much, as long as it doesn't get "too personal". Sometimes I'll even throw a ball or frizbee with them or start a fun conversation. Now, if someone lifted a bar b que cover to see what was cooking? That is bizarre and way out of line. Here is something that happened to us last year that really set me off. We had pulled into a beautiful campground in The Black Hills of South Dakota. I had finished setting up and The Wife and I stepped inside to change clothes and clean up a bit to head into town for dinner. I stepped out of the trailer where there was a slight incline beneath and actually slipped in a gigantic loaf left by some massive dog. RIGHT BY OUR REAR STEP! It was not there when I entered the trailer, so someone had to watch their dog pop a squat right there and let fly...or maybe a dog got loose and used our site as a dumping ground and our step for a back rest...either way, I was furious as I had to spend the next 45 minutes cleaning dog crap out of my shoe, and sanitizing everything in an attempt to get rid of the reek. We don't have dogs because we are too irresponsible, but sadly there are those who don't see this as a deterrent to pet ownership.

[curver900]

Originally Posted by Seaninnj

I couldn't disagree more. This has nothing to do with politics but thanks for trying to make it into that.

I agree with the others that there are more newbie campers than ever before so they just need to be schooled on what's appropriate.

okay....

[TWP723]

Originally Posted by Seaninnj

...they just need to be schooled on what's appropriate...

They shouldn't need schooled in anything. It's all about manners and what's correct behavior. Courtesy and etiquette taught from a very young age. I don't just let people cut through my property and I don't do it to them because I respect their privacy and was raised correctly. There really is no learning curve or schooling needed with camping, just basic everyday manners.

[videoarizona]

Agreed! It's all About manners.
Simple....straight forward...manners!
Supposedly taught at home.

[bgelyhome]

People in general don’t respect others. We had adults drive a golf cart thru our site once.

[RWK]

I agree there are more rude people camping these days between loud music, late night noise and out of control kids. But it is still a small percentage of the folks we run into in campgrounds. Often times my very territorial Bluetick coonhound is on a cable in our camp area and he is very vocal towards uninvited campers!
Times have changed and lots of newbies are camping which is good and bad.

[Old and soft]

The weekend before the holiday, we stayed at a popular floaters (canoe, rafts, ect) resort and the campground was almost empty. Like 20 campers with at least 200 sites. Camped directly across the street, without another camp within 50 yards, was that guy. You know the one, the one with the car horn that is always making some kind of racket in an otherwise quite, peacefull campground.
Now, kudos to him for taking his young boy camping, at least he is trying.
Drinking and fighting isn't as fun as it used to be, I prefer for management to handle it. Even our state parks have campground hosts that seem to take pleasure in telling people what they are doing is wrong.

[16WhiteColly]

Was in a state park on July 4th once and had kids riding bikes thru the campsite and under our canopy. No respect for others.

[spoon059]

Originally Posted by muckinfuss

These scouts grew up to be fathers who, often times, used these words to teach their own. I know I did. Not sure when it ended, but it did.

It ended when Social Justice Warriors and Virtue Signalers took over the Scouts. They are too busy teaching all kinds of other things, except for what the Boy Scouts originally represented...

[Onyrlef]

Originally Posted by spoon059

It ended when Social Justice Warriors and Virtue Signalers took over the Scouts. They are too busy teaching all kinds of other things, except for what the Boy Scouts originally represented...

Not to sure what you're referring to, but I'm pretty sure what's ailing the Boy Scouts today has more to do with the organization's having to declare bankruptcy over the decades long pedophilia cover ups, you know back when they were teaching what the Boy Scouts originally represented, than it does with teaching kids that everyone deserves to be treated like a human being and that life isn't always as simple as a Leave It To Beaver episode.

[deano]

I hear ya, the world has turned into what I call the me me's generation. Me first who cares about you. Who's to blame the parent's?!!??!

[VKC]

It has not changed for the people that have camped a long time or grew up camping. I’m hoping it is people that are new to camping.

[jaycojay]

Heck, last fall, while camping at Pinery Provincial Park, we had a guy cut through our site.... in his Class C Motorhome! Wife and i were in the trailer at the time, and when i went out after he went through, i looked at the tire tracks, because it had rained earlier, and site was soft, and looking at the tire tracks, and figuring the width of his vehicle, he must have just missed my awning!

[joe&judy]

So for we have been lucky never have had that problem but we don't go on the weekend, we go Monday and stay till the weekend but have stayed through the weekend with no problem, the fellow that runs the park lives on the grounds, he tells you and tell you he will only tell you this time so pay attention, if he gets one complaint for anyone in the park about the rules, no music that can be heard out of your campsite, lights out at 10 PM, no loud trucks, no motor driven four wheelers, the penalty, you have 30 minutes to get out, if not the Sherriff office is called, two trucks for you and your camper will be hauled off, the Sherriff office has a sub-station 5 miles from the site, he is a good fellow and you have the satisfaction that it will be quite, a while back we had went and some fellow was using strong language at his wife and the fellow running the park went and told him about the dirty mouth and shouting has to stop or leave the park, that lasted about 10 minutes, Sherriff office showed up cuffed him and hauled him off, we love that park.