Camping MB

CAMPING

This Merit Badge
is Required to earn the Eagle Scout Rank

REQUIREMENTS were REVISED as of January 1, 2000.

The numbering of requirement 9(c) was clarified in 2003 when the merit badge pamphlet was revised. 
Item 9(c) was shown as 9(b)(6) erroneously in the 2000 edition of Boy Scout Requirements and the previous version of the merit badge pamphlet.

A minor revision to the wording of requirement 9(a) was made with the release of a new printing of the Camping merit badge pamphlet in 2003. However, the change to Item 9(a) does not appear in the 2004 Boy Scout Requirements Book.  We assume the omission is an editorial error.

  1. Show that you know first aid for injuries or illnesses that could occur while camping, including hypothermia, heatstroke, heat exhaustion, frostbite, dehydration, sunburn, insect stings, tick bites, snakebite, and blisters.
  2. Learn the Leave No Trace principles and the Outdoor Code and explain what they mean. Write a personal plan for implementing these principles on your next outing..
  3. Make a written plan for an overnight trek and explain how to get to your camping spot using a topographical map and compass..
  4. Make a chart showing how a typical patrol is organized for an overnight campout. List assignments for each member.
  5. Do the following:
    1. Prepare a list of clothing you would need for overnight campouts in warm weather and in cold weather.
    2. Discuss footwear for different kinds of weather and how the right footwear is important for protecting your feet.
    3. Explain the proper care and storage of camping equipment (clothing, footwear, bedding).
    4. Explain the term "layering".
    5. Present yourself with your pack for inspection. Be correctly clothed and equipped for an overnight campout.
  6. Do the following:
    1. Describe the features of four types of tents and how to care for tents. Working with another Scout, pitch a tent.
    2. Discuss the reasons and methods for water purification. Discuss camp sanitation.
    3. Tell the difference between "internal" and "external" frame packs. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each.
    4. Discuss the types of sleeping bags and what kind would be suitable for different conditions. Explain the proper care of your sleeping bag. Make a comfortable ground bed.
  7. Prepare for an overnight campout with your patrol by doing the following:
    1. Make a checklist of personal and patrol gear that will be needed.
    2. Prepare a camp menu that is right for backpacking.. Give recipes and make a food list for your patrol. Plan two breakfasts, three lunches, and two suppers. Discuss how to protect your food against bad weather, animals, and contamination.
    3. Pack your own gear and your share of the patrol equipment and food for proper carrying. Show that your pack is right for quickly getting what is needed first, and that it has been assembled properly for comfort, weight, balance, size, and neatness.
  8. Do the following:
    1. Explain the safety procedures when using a:
      1. Propane or butane/propane stove
      2. Liquid fuel stove
    2. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of different types of lightweight cooking stoves.
    3. Cook for your patrol a trail meal requiring the use of a lightweight stove.
  9. Show experience in camping by doing the following:
    1. Camp a total of at least 20 days and nights. You may use a week of long-term camp toward this requirement. Sleep each night under the sky or in a tent you have pitched (long-term camp excluded).
    2. On any of these camping experiences, you must do TWO of the following, only with proper preparation and under qualified supervision:
      1. Hike up a mountain, gaining at least 2,000 vertical feet.
      2. Backpack for at least four miles.
      3. Take a bike trip of at least 15 miles or at least four hours.
      4. Plan and carry out a float trip of at least four hours.
      5. Rappel down a rappel route of 30 feet or more.
    3. On one of your campouts, perform a conservation project approved in advance by the private landowner or public land management agency.
  10. Discuss how the things you did to earn this badge have taught you about personal health and safety, survival, public health, conservation, and good citizenship.

A footnote to Requirement 7, reading "May be part of a Troop trip" was in earlier editions of the Requirements Book, but no longer appears in the current edition.  However, although not specifically stated in the requirements, if the troop goes on a trip, and the Patrol method is used (or if there is only one patrol) that campout can be used to meet requirement 7.

BSA Advancement ID#: 1
Pamphlet Revision Date: 1999
Requirements last updated in 2000 and 2003