Est. 1934
STRANDED
Purpose: To give Scouts practice in decision-making and reaching group consensus, and to stimulate discussion of survival techniques (preferably the techniques appropriate for your area). The following sample problem covers survival in the Maine wilderness. (You can devise a more appropriate problem for your own area.) Equipment: A copy of the problem below for each Scout, pencils. The situation: On vacation in July, you and your family have been traveling through the wilderness of western Maine in a pickup camper. In a blinding rainstorm, you made a wrong turn onto an unmarked lumber road. You have wandered more than 150 miles over a maze of truck routes into the wilderness. The camper has run out of gas and now you, your parents, a 10-year-old sister, a 6-year-old brother, and the family cat are lost. After a family conference, you decide it is not wise to split up. You are going to try to walk back together. You are pretty sure that if you pace yourselves, you can cover about 15 miles a day. Because of a fuel shortage, there are no helicopters or jeeps patrolling the area, and you have seen no other cars or houses. The family is dressed in lightweight summer clothing, and everyone is wearing sneakers. Temperatures at night dip into the low 40s. It is also bug season. As you look around, you find the following items in the camper, some of which might be useful.
____ Fishing gear
____ $500 in traveler's checks
____ .44 Magnum handgun and ammunition
____ Four Dacron-filled sleeping bags
____ 5-gallon jug of water
____ Instant breakfast (three boxes)
____ House and RV keys
____ Cigarettes
____ Coleman camp stove (two-burner)
____ Family tent (10 Ibs.)
____ Snakebite kit
____ Alarm clock
____ Five cans of kidney-liver cat food
____ 5-lb. tub of peanut butter
____ Bathing suits
____ 10-lb. cheese wheel
____ Transistor radio
____ 6-foot tent pole
____ Sheath knife
____ Wool sweaters for everyone
____ Raft paddles
____ Inflatable rubber raft (two pieces, total of 20 Ibs.)
____ Paperback books
____ First-aid kit
____ Matches
____ Steak (3 Ibs.)
____ Marshmallows (four bags)
____ Bug repellent
____ Walkie-talkie radio
____ Road map of Maine
The task: You must choose, and put in priority order, the 15 most important items for survival in this situation. The other 15 may be eliminated.