Pack Hiking Program
Pack 350 believes that getting our scouts into the outdoors year round is core to the heart of Scouting by taking only memories, leaving only footprints.
Our Pack has a simple hiking program:
A.) Monthly Pack Hike
Each month the Pack Hiking Coordinator searches the country side to find a 3 mile hike. These hikes can be at local nature centers, forest preserves, or even a local subdivision. The goal is to show Scouts, and sometimes the adults, what beautiful nature areas can be found in our own backyard-hiking trails are not just for National Parks!
B.) Den Hikes Count Too!
In addition to the hikes you take with your Pack Family, those Den hikes count too! Working on an advancement that requires a hike? Check, bang, boom....more miles for you.
C.) Rewards!
The fun starts quickly with our Hiking Program. Once a Scout has hiked 5 miles (that's attending just 2 pack hikes!) they will receive the "Miles Hiked" and a "5 Mile" rocker for their brag best.
Now, here's where the fun REALLY starts. Double down on those miles and reach the 10 mile mark. Your Scout will be rewarded with a "10 Mile" rocker for their brag vest, a hiking stick, a leather cord, and a gold mileage bead to display on their hiking stick.
Still hiking with the Pack or Den? GREAT! The pack will continue to issue the mile rockers for every 10 miles achieved. Also, your hiking bead collection will be growing as a bead will now be issued for every mile hiked. Every 5th mile is a silver bead. Every 10th mile is a gold bead. And every mile in between is color coded for rank.
Lion = YELLOW
Tiger = ORANGE
Wolf = RED
Bear = BLUE
Webelos = GREEN
AOL = GREEN
How many beads can you earn in your Cub Scout years? Start hiking to find out!
What else is a part of our Hiking Program? The Hiking Academy!
February can be a very unpredictable weather month and has a dark history of providing negative wind chills. So we take this hike opportunity to stay warm indoors while learning about the outdoors.
Hiking Academy is set-up with learning stations to ensure our scouts are outdoor prepared. These stations change each year to ensure that the information is fresh and exciting each year but there is ALWAYS the Hiking Stick Decoration station for those who want to add a few decorations or just earned their stick.
Excluded Miles :(
Yes, this makes us sad too but in the interest of fairness we do have to share the list of excluded miles.
1. Family Hikes: The Pack loves that you love to hike and we do not want to discourage this is anyway. However, please don't log these miles for the Pack Program.
2. Den Hikes: So you are the unfortunate Scout forced on the hike due to a siblings Den membership? You see a silver lining as you'll also be earning more miles?? SORRY. These miles do not count for the Pack Program.
3. The Tricky Council Events: Council does their best to estimate miles when there will be lots of hiking like with day camp. At the end of these events council will give you an event summary that advises the number of miles. Please turn this sheet into the Hiking Coordinator, and they will approve and log those miles. If council does not provide a mile estimation, we will not honor your fit-bit read out.
The Six Essentials
1. First Aid Kit
2. Water Bottle
3. Flashlight
4. Trail Food
5. Sun Protection
6. Whistle