The Toothpick’s Blog

I’m now almost all packed, and am looking at which merit badges to work on. I’m trying to get Star done, and all I need are three more Eagle required badges.  Oljato offers exactly three required badges that I don’t have: Camping, Citizenship in the Nation, and Swimming.

Camping… eh. Shouldn’t be that bad. There are prerequisites though, that you need to do before you can get the badge at Oljato (you can’t do them there). 5e, show your camping stuff to your scoutmaster, etc.  I’ll do that tomorrow morning at 6:40 AM (ish) (that’s when I’m leaving).  7c, which, according to BoyScoutTrail.com (a boy scout website), doesn’t even exist. Not really sure what to do about that… 8c, “Prepare a camp menu.”  Not sure why we can’t do that there… and 9.  Oh.  Wow.  Fuck.

Show experience in camping by doing the following:

1. Camp out a total of at least 20 days and 20 nights. The 20 days and 20 nights must be at a designated Scouting activity or event. Sleep each night under the sky or in a tent you have pitched. You may use a week of long-term camp toward this requirement. If the camp provides a tent that has already been pitched, you need not pitch your own tent.
2. 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 four miles.
   3. Take a bike trip of at least 15 miles or at least four hours.
   4. Plan and carry out a float trip of at least four hours.
   5. Plan and carry out an overnight snow camping experience.
   6. Rappel down a rappel route of 30 feet or more.
3. Perform a conservation project approved by the landowner or land managing agency.

Wow… I’m kinda screwed there…  Well, I can always just do that after Oljato…  Wait.  I can count Oljato.  I’ve been twice, that’s 12, and then… this is 18.  And… Snow Camping! that’s 20! I think. W/e, I’ll figure it out.

Citizenship in the Nation.  One prerequisite, 2 (b, c, or d. I’m doing d now ["Choose a national monument that interests you. Using books, brochures, the Internet (with your parent's permission), and other resources, find out more about the monument. Tell your counselor what you learned, and explain why the monument is important to this country's citizens." And yes, I have my parent's permission to use the Internet... god...])

Swimming.  You know what? NO. I am not getting in that fucking water.  It’s about 85-90 degrees out, and yet the lake is still between 40 and 50.  Sorry, but I’m just too much of a pansy to do that (Jacob and Justine are going to laugh at me when they read that…)

So yea. I think I might do Communications instead of Swimming.  At home.  Cit in the Nation is 2nd period, and Camping is during free time.  Swimming is first, so that’s another reason I don’t want to take it…  Anyway, if I just take Cit in the Nation, I’ll have 1st and 3rd free, plus free time (the time I’m not using for camping).  Which means more time for fun! I might do climbing, just for the hell of it…