Ever since I was a little kid living in Texas <shudder> I've liked killing time in the woods. In elementary school I joined Cub Scouts thinking that's what we'd be doing. In actuality we just did stupid stuff, and I almost quit many times. I'm glad I didn't 'cause after three years when we moved on to Boy Scouts it turned out to be a very good organization.

There are two kinds of Boy Scout troops: good ones and crappy ones. I was lucky enough to have lived nearest to a good one. It wasn't until I encountered all the crappy ones that I realized how lucky I was. Some troops are really well organized, but it's because their adults do all the planning. Some troops don't have controlling adults, but they probably should have 'cause they boys are such half-wits. We were lucky enough to have adults who understood that in scouts the boys lead, and boys with management skills well beyond their years.

As for the camping itself, I've always prefered backpack camping to any other sort. Heavy camping (where you drive in lots and lots of stuff), just seems like cheating, and all the stuff you set up still doesn't make it feel like you've got all the luxuries of home.

Backpack camping on the other hand has a wonderful sort of freedom inherent in it. There's no base camp to return to and not a lot of gear to deal with. Instead you've got beautiful, changing scenery and the constant search for a clean water source. Heaven.