1. Camping and Outdoor Ethics

Select patrol campsite

1c.
On one of these campouts, select a location for your patrol site and recommend it to your patrol leader, senior patrol leader, or troop guide. Explain what factors you should consider when choosing a patrol site and where to pitch a tent.

Selecting a campsite is one of the most critical decisions on any outdoor trip. A site that looks idyllic in warm afternoon sunshine can quickly flood in a midnight storm, expose tents to high winds, or place your patrol directly in the path of falling branches or wildlife.

The Key Factors for Choosing a Patrol Campsite: The 4 W’s

When evaluating potential patrol campsites, assess these primary factors:

Water & Drainage

  • High, Gently Sloping Ground: Pitch on slightly elevated, well-drained ground. Never set up tents in depressions, gullies, dry creek beds, or low valleys where rain pools or flash floods occur.
  • 200-Foot Water Buffer: Following Leave No Trace, select a site at least 200 feet (about 75 adult paces) away from lakes, rivers, streams, and natural springs to protect sensitive riparian habitats and allow wildlife free access to water.

Wind & Weather

  • Natural Windbreaks: Position your camp where natural features—such as a small ridge, boulder outcropping, or dense stand of mature trees—break strong prevailing winds. Avoid wind tunnels (such as canyon mouths or narrow mountain saddles).
  • Sun & Temperature Management: In cold weather, look for a spot that catches early morning sun to warm tents and dry condensation; in hot weather, choose a spot with afternoon shade.

Widow-Makers & Overhead Hazards

  • Look Up Before Unpacking: Thoroughly inspect the tree canopy above every tent site. Avoid dead trees, hanging dead limbs (“widow-makers”), trees with heavy fungal rot, or leaning trunks that could snap and fall in wind, snow, or rain.
  • Lightning Exposure: Avoid pitching on exposed mountaintops, open ridges, or directly under the tallest solitary tree in an open field.

Wildlife & Camp Layout (Zoning)

  • Camp Kitchen Separation: Position the cooking and food storage area at least 100 to 200 feet downwind from all sleeping tents.
  • Animal Corridors: Avoid placing tents directly across game trails or near animal dens.
Overhead spatial diagram of a patrol campsite showing tent placement distances from the water source, trail, kitchen area, and latrine

Where to Pitch Individual Tents Within the Site

Once the patrol site is chosen, select specific spots for individual tents:

  1. Durable Ground: Choose established tent pads, compacted dirt, or gravel. Avoid trampling live vegetation, delicate moss, or wildflower patches.
  2. Clear the Pad: Remove loose pebbles, pinecones, and sharp twigs by hand without digging up the soil or cutting tree roots.
  3. Check Slope and Sleeping Direction: Pitch tents so your head will be slightly uphill from your feet when sleeping inside.

How to Present Your Recommendation

Walk the area, evaluate the terrain against the criteria above, and present your recommendation to your Patrol Leader, Senior Patrol Leader, or Troop Guide:

  • Point out the exact perimeter: Show where patrol tents, the dining fly, and the kitchen station should go.
  • Explain your rationale: Explicitly state why the spot is safe (good drainage, no widow-makers overhead, sheltered from wind) and compliant with Leave No Trace (200 feet from water, established durable surface).