Troop 849
Manhattan Beach, CA
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Weekend Hikemaster's Handbook

Introduction | Locations | Permits | Equipment | Food | Travel | Cost | Checklist

Food

Planning

Menus are usually planned the Tuesday Scout meeting before the hike. Weekend hikes typically use fresh food but dehydrated food can be used. Try out all food items (including dehydrated food) on weekend hikes before committing to them on long-term. Food portion sizes go by the suggested serving size on the package. Other portions sizes can be found in the "Estimating Portions" section of the Long-term Hikemaster Handbook. Food buying is usually done by a Scout working on First Class because this is part of the rank requirements. Once the menus have been planned they should be review by a knowledgeable adult to make sure they are appropriate and the Scout understands the correct quantities of food to buy. Be sure paper towels are on the buy list.

Buying

Food costs are allocated based on a fixed cost per meal. See the Troop Treasurer for the current cost allocations. It is the responsibly of the Scout buying the food to plan his menu such that the above costs cover the food bought. Be sure to tell him what the expected budget for food will be.

Food is usually bought the night before the hike. This allows time for any final changes in the trip roster before the buying occurs. The hike leader should call the food buyers with the final count. Any participants canceling after this time are required to pay for the food that was bought.

Cooking

Since the group size for weekend hikes are in the 12 to 15 range, it is usually not possible to cook by patrols. We therefore normally cook as a single group. For larger hikes, where no trailhead limits are involved, the group should be broken up into cook groups of 8 to 10 people. This size is ideal because two cook kits and stoves can easily handle the group. In this case it is also desirable to form the groups before the hike and designate a leader for each one. This reduces the last minute tasks the day of the hike.

For long-term training hikes it is also a good idea to organize the cooking tasks in a manner similar to long-term. This means 3 or 4 people will be responsible for the preparation and clean up of each meal. This is especially true if you have Scouts that never have been on a long-term. This will familiarize them with the tasks that will be expected of them later.

Contents of this page entered by Tom Thorpe.
©2018 Boy Scout Troop 849, Manhattan Beach, CA. http://troop849.org/