Troop 281 Cincinnati, OH

On Tuesday Brett C. and his two minions, Alex R. and Greg B., gave a presentation on tent care and set up. When it comes to tent care follow these tips: Don’t put the tent on the ground unless the ground is dry. Actually spread the ground cloth out. Don’t drop the tent you WILL break shock cords. Don’t throw the tent; you’ll put your eye out! The top pull only has three links. Take your shoes off while in the tent. If the rain fly is on right, the Eureka! label can be seen above the door. Put your stakes in at an angle. Never, never, ever, ever lose the tent’s bone Jack Van Keuren, Historian

GRAY'S ARCH Over the weekend scouts went backpacking at Red River Gorge. Alex R. shared that his crew went 12 miles and visited Gray’s Arch. They also had a lot of fun! On the trip Eagle Scout and Troop 281 Alum, Eric Riccardi, gave a surprise visit to the troop. [ Ed. Junior scouts also went on a separate trip to RRG that same weekend .] Jack Van Keuren, Historian

Tuesday was a presentation by Greg B. about packing your backpack. Some tips he shared were: Don’t tie things to the outside of your pack. Do pack heavy stuff on the bottom and light stuff on top. Do carry one liter of water per meal. Don’t buy Wal-mart brand hydration bladders (aka knock-off Camelbaks) Do buy Nalgene water bottles. Do make water accessible. Also, when putting on your backpack put your hip belt on first, if you don’t own a backpack with a hip belt buy a new backpack!!! Jack Van Keuren, Historian

At the meeting on Tuesday patrols met to plan their backpacking trips. The game was crab soccer. Jack Van Keuren, Historian

The first skill session on Tuesday was a presentation about salesmanship when selling flowers for the Flower Sale. One tip is to build a customer base and sell to people that you have sold to before. You should also be knowledgeable about what you are selling (people are more likely to buy from you if they actually know what they are buying). Also try to make recommendations to people. For example suggest flowers that grow well in the shade to someone who owns a house with lots of shade. Finally, be polite to any one who you are selling to. The second part of the meeting was a skill session by Avery R.. He gave a presentation about hiking. The first part of his skill session was about making a plan. Make sure you know where you are going, when you are coming back, and who is going with you. The second part of his skill session was about what boots to wear. Your boots should be supportive and broken in. If you buy new boots and don’t break them in, you will just end up with feet that ...