August 2020 Marsden Tract Campout
We will be going to the Marsden Tract Group Campsite for one night, August 22-23. The arrival time at the campsite on Saturday is 10:00am; pick-up time on Sunday is noon. The location for drop-off and pickup is the pull-off on Macarthur Blvd, located at approximately 10427 Macarthur Boulevard, on the side of the road closer to the water. See map below.
COVID-specific information
This is our first in-person campout since the start of the pandemic restrictions, and will be done very differently from our usual campouts. Here are some details about these differences:
Transportation: Families are responsible for transporting their Scout(s) to and from the campsite.
Sleeping accommodations: Everyone will sleep in individual tents or hammocks.
Shared equipment: Shared equipment will be sanitized between uses.
Hand-washing: A hand washing station and hand sanitizer will be available. Everyone will be expected to make frequent use of these amenities, including before and after touching any shared surfaces.
Social distancing: Everyone will stay at least 6' away from other people, including people they live with, whenever possible.
Masks: Everyone will carry a mask with them at all times, and will wear it whenever it is not possible to maintain 6' of distance from other people.
Food: Scouts will be bringing most of their own food. Please see relevant section below.
Water: Everyone will bring enough water for their own personal use. The only shared water will be that used to individually prepare dehydrated food, which will be boiled before use and distributed by one person using a ladle.
Everyone is expected to follow the troop's Draft COVID-19 Guidelines.
To participate, Scouts will need
A completed Registration Form
Personal Gear (Packing List) - Please pay special attention to the packing list! We won't be able to share gear that someone forgets to bring. See the "Food" section below for more details about food!
Annual Health and Medical Record - Parts A and B are required (if not already on file)
Payment of $10 - this campout is inexpensive because you will be providing most of your own food.
Food - very different from how we usually do things!
While this isn’t how the Troop normally handles food at campouts, we decided that this was the safest way to go about it. NO FOOD WILL BE SHARED, so it is very important that everyone bring what they will want to eat.
Scouts will bring their own lunch for Saturday. This should be something that does not require cooking, like a sandwich.
Scouts should bring something for dinner Saturday that can be prepared with hot water. The troop will provide Cup o' Noodles, but Scouts are welcome to bring something different, and are encouraged to bring things to add to/eat with Cup o' Noodles, such as a foil packet of tuna or chicken. If Scouts are looking for ideas of other foods that could be brought, check our Backpacking Meal Ideas and Freezer Bag Cooking pages. Please ask if you have any questions about this!
Scouts should bring something for dessert on Saturday.
The troop will provide plain oatmeal packets for Sunday morning, but Scouts should bring anything they'd like to add to it -- raisins, nuts, sugar, milk powder, cinnamon, etc.
Scouts will want to bring snacks. Compact snacks such as granola bars and beef jerky are suitable; please don't bring things that are mostly air such as bags of chips.
We will not be doing any kind of joint dishwashing. Ideally, all food will be prepared in a disposable container that it can be eaten out of, for example, a Ziplock freezer bag. Remember the Scout meeting back in February when we tried freezer bag cooking? Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have questions!
You could even consider disposable dishes and utensils. Think about what you will be eating and what you will need in order to eat it.