Remember, Do Your Good Turn Daily

Map reading, compass, and pacing -all part of Orienteering- is going well. Our first meeting in daylight since last fall it was good to actually see you all. A bit of overcast prevented some star gazing and finding our way by Polaris and Orion in the south. All this work also covers Second class requirement 3A on the compass, map orientation, and map symbols. Remind your patrol leader if you need this.

Another opportunity coming up is for the first-class requirements 4a and 4b.
4A) Using a map and compass, complete an orienteering course that covers at least one mile and requires measuring the height and/ or width of designated items (tree, tower, canyon, ditch, etc.).
4B) Demonstrate how to use a handheld GPS unit, GPS app on a smartphone, or another electronic navigation system. Use GPS to find your current location, a destination of your choice, and the route you will take to get there. Follow that route to arrive at your destination.

These skills will help you anytime to find your way and for the Philmont scouts, you will need to find your way. For scouts wanting to go to Seabase, there are no topo maps, but you need to be able to sail by compass from island to island.
Remember, GPS is a nice aid but a good navigator has several different ways to confirm or test where they are and where they are going.

Not to forget knots, but we should do a refresher on bowline, square, and clove hitch.

Next week we will meet once again at Cousin’s Park Field. Hopefully, we will meet former Scoutmaster Mr. Cannon who lives on the corner of the field and Prarie street. For some advance planning we are looking into some dates in May (May 15) and June (12) for Eagle Courts of Honor. We will also need to plan the Order of the Arrow elections and I’m working on some dates with the scouts who will host the elections. OA is the scout honor society and election criteria centers on scouts who do service with good cheer. I know most if not all our scouts fit that criteria but you also need to be First Class.