Boy Scout found after building tree-branch shelter

[discocrisco01]

Source: Associated Press

He was scared, but the 12-year-old Boy Scout still knew what to do when he got lost during a Utah wilderness outing: He built a shelter made of tree branches and wood to get through a cold night and he covered himself in dirt to stay warm.

Jared Ropelato's lean-to — a crude structure the Boy Scout manual advises Scouts to build if they become lost — kept him warm enough so he could sleep after the overnight low in Utah's Ashley National Forest dipped to 31 degrees in the area, said Daggett County sheriff's spokeswoman Karen Peterson.

The boy was wearing only jeans and a shirt, and had no food or water, when he went missing around noon Friday. He had gotten lost while on his way by himself back to camp from a nearby lake, walking a total of eight or nine miles before searchers on ATVs found him Saturday morning some four miles from where he started, Peterson.

"He did everything right last night," his mother, Dawn, said. "We said he was smart, and he's smart."



Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h25UQzxQX7fsfsYY02RwMYT36HHw?docId=b8b21377ebd04b34babdf34ec6b8a2c3

[Poll_Blind]

1. Awesome! It's good to have a story like this turn out with a happy ending.

PB

[wizstars]

6. Kudos from this Eagle Scout! One smart kid!

He obviously learned what he was supposed to in the program.

[Brickbat]

2. Knowledge is never wasted. Glad to hear he could take care of himself until they found him.

[jerseyjack]

3. Do you know how to build one of those?

[davidwparker]

4. Kudos, from a former Cub Scout. n/t

[Gore1FL]

5. Cool

As an Eagle Scout and the dad of an Eagle Scout, I can tell you the skills you learn in the Scouting program are unmatched.

[TygrBright]

7. Someone really needs to start a non-homophobic version of scouting.

These are useful skills and the program has much good stuff in it. A duplicate without the god crap and the homophobia would be a wonderful thing!

wistfully,
Bright

[TBF]

10. It's called the Girl Scouts. There is no prerequisite to believe in any

particular god -

"Girl Scout policy states that the word "God" may be interpreted depending on individual spiritual beliefs. When reciting the Girl Scout Promise, "God" may be substituted with the word dictated by those beliefs."

This is the promise that they recite in the meetings (and can be altered as noted above):

On my honor, I will try:
To serve God and my country,
To help people at all times,
And to live by the Girl Scout Law.

Our local troop has been very good in that respect, and I also like that they are very welcoming no matter what your budget. Dues are only $12 per year, and those (along with any troop dues) can be paid by the Council if there is a need for financial assistance.

It would be great if the boy scouts would follow these great examples!

[XemaSab]

32. The girl scouts don't emphasize outdoor skills at all

Or at least they didn't when I was a girl scout.

All the badges we worked on were for like cooking and sewing and crap like that.

[onpatrol98]

33. LOL

It's gotten better that...I was a camp counselor where the girls sailed, rode horses, etc. Depends on the troop a bit, also. And, how active parents and leaders are. My girl scout early years were like yours. I didn't stick with it as a child.

[OnionPatch]

36. It totally depends on the troop leaders.

My daughter's Girl Scout leader would rather go to the mall and paint her nails than go camping. :eyes: So she focuses on all the "crap like that." But Girl Scouts, at least in our area, are desperately short on leaders. There is a waiting list of girls a mile long merely because there aren't enough adult volunteers, so we were lucky to get someone willing to be a leader at all. I'm working on my GS Leadership training so I can at least arrange and lead a few outdoor outings. I work full time and have health problems or I would be a leader, myself.

[TBF]

38. I was a co-leader last year

if you need any tips just ask. The leadership training is great! I won't be doing it this year because we have some other things that I want to focus on more, but I enjoyed it very much.

I agree it totally depends upon the leaders though. We have a very active troop with a lot of parents willing to volunteer.

[TBF]

37. Not in our troop -

so far we've done very little cooking and sewing. We camped last spring (with many lead up activities - my 8-yr is proud of being able to start a bonfire) and they will camp at least three times this year. Maybe because we are in a warm state ... our facilities here are fantastic.

[awoke_in_2003]

34. but you have to believe in A god. nt

[TBF]

39. You don't - you can say "higher power" (which can mean anything).

One of our troop leaders last year was atheist (here in TX believe it or not) and she followed up on it with our counsel to make sure it was ok. No problems at all.

[awoke_in_2003]

40. sounds good...

but even the term higher power rankles me- maybe it can mean anything, but it still implies something.

[Gore1FL]

11. Mostly it comes down to the troop

Most don't really push the issues.

The LDS sort of grabbed a hold of the BSA by using it as it's youth program. They hold a lot of influence at the national level (and have the BSA in a precarious position).

I've been an adult leader since 2004. I've never seen or heard of anyone's sexuality or religion being questioned. That said, I am sure there are places where it does happen.

Once past the policies you mention (which in my opinion are contrary to the intentions of Baden-Powell and not conforming to the scouting ideals) the BSA is actually a pretty liberal organization.

[onpatrol98]

13. Yeah...it's a shame the organization has taken such a hit

In small areas like mine, it has been a great organization for boys. One of my sons is an Eagle Scout and he learned so much from the organization. My husband and I were always active parents. It was time consuming, but well worth it. We haven't had an issue with religion or sexuality being a problem. But, it may have been that parents who would have had a problem, did something else instead of scouting. My youngest will be a cub scout this fall.

[bluevoter4life]

23. I'm an Eagle Scout myself

And while I don't agree with what the Boy Scouts has turned into, it's heartwarming to hear that they are still teaching the skills I learned 10-15 years ago. I'm currently a merit badge counselor, and since I have such a long history with the organization (was very active in my troop and the council Venturing program for well over 15 years), regardless of what they turn into, they will always be an organization I have a deep respect for.

[FSogol]

26. Eagle Scout here also. So is my oldest son and my younger son is very close. n/t

[Xithras]

43. I don't think that scouting has "turned into" anything.

I was a scout as a kid, and my own boys are scouts. I was an ASM for quite a while, and am a merit badge counselor today.

For nearly all of its existence, religion and sexuality have been a nonissue throughout the organization. In recent decades the national council became infested with fundies who made it an issue FOR THEM, but I really haven't seen any change at the troop or even local council level because of it. Troops are what they've always been...recreational groups organized and operated by the parents of the boys participating in them. If a troop is formed by a bunch of fundie parents, it will have a fundie bent. If it's organized by a bunch of parents who really couldn't give a damn, as long as the boys are having fun, then the troop ethics will reflect that. In the nearly 20 years that I've had some sort of association with scouting, the latter is MUCH more common than the former.

[pasto76]

15. Yeah, I dont know any catholic priests who actually molested any children either

but its the systematic cover up, and the systematic wink-wink-nod that says hating someone (especially young people who are having a hard enough time trying to find a place in this world) that is the real problem with BSA. Im glad your troop is insular, and neither acknowledges the hate and bigotry conducted by your parent organization, nor speaks against it.

BSA, making the world a better place by teaching young boys useful stuff. Like how to keep your mouth shut and not cause trouble.

[Gore1FL]

21. The program isn't about the hate

I express my opinion when asked. The BSA isn't about sex, heterosexual or homosexual. It shouldn't be used as a political platform by either side.

The comparison between a wrong public BSA policy and the coverup of child abuse pretty much lost you the argument.

[Xithras]

44. Oh jeez.

I am a bisexual BSA merit badge counselor. You know what? NOBODY GIVES A DAMN! There is no "wink, wink, nudge, nudge". There is no hate, or teaching of conformity. Sexuality isn't something that is suppressed, but it's simply not discussed. Not because we're avoiding it, but because we have better things to do with our time!

The BSA doesn't exist to deal with sex. Gay sex, straight sex, teen sex, geriatric sex...it doesn't matter. They don't deal with it, because that's not why they exist. IF someone makes an issue of sex or their sexuality, they ARE likely to be thrown out. Not because of their orientation, but because it's not the appropriate forum for those discussions and because leaders (who are really just the unpaid parents of other kids in the troop) have no business discussing sex with children who aren't theirs.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

18. Campfire Kids...

http://www.campfireusa.org/Mission_and_Core_Values.aspx

"We are inclusive, welcoming children, youth and adults regardless of race, religion, socioeconomic status, disability, sexual orientation or other aspect of diversity."

[TygrBright]

19. Yeah, Campfire!!! WoHeLo! n/t

[Divine Discontent]

8. nice to hear good news after knowing what could've been. he reminds me of my brother a bit when I

saw the pic of him hugging his older cousin. He didn't get a 'buddy' to walk with as he was told to, but thank goodness he listened to the teachings about the lean-to! Good for him!

[tblue37]

25. First he ignored a scoutmaster's explicit instructions about walking with someone:

The boy earlier had been advised by a Scoutmaster to walk with another Scout from the lake back to camp, Peterson said. The Scoutmaster gave him the advice after finding him going in the wrong direction while returning to camp <emphasis added>.

"He never got a buddy before heading back to camp," Peterson said.

Some of us are directionally impaired. I definitely am. Although I am perfectly intelligent in every other way, some glitch in my brain makes it almost impossible for me to avoid getting lost unless I have travelled a given route several times--and even then it can be iffy. Sometimes while driving the few blocks to work, I will make the turn I always make and everything will look "different" somehow, so I become convinced that I have somehow made the wrong turn. Then I go back and try again, only to find that it was the right turn after all. But for some reason, at that moment it all looked "different."

No, it's not age-related dementia--I have always been directionally challenged, even as a child.

Anyway, the boy was heading in the wrong direction when the scoutmaster found him the first time he was tying to get back to camp from the lake, which suggests that perhaps the boy has a bit of my sort of problem himself, so he should have heeded the advice about getting a buddy to walk with. On the other hand, if I were that scoutmaster, I sure as heck would have checked up on the kid and made sure he was headed in the right direction after having found him heading in the wrong direction that first time! But maybe it takes someone like me---someone who knows from experience how easy (read "inevitable) it is for some of us to get turned around--to see a potential "lost boy" in a kid who got turned around just that once.

[No Elephants]

29. Sounds like a 12 year old boy.

[tblue37]

31. True--except one that has enough of his wits abut him to recover once he

has pulled a typical dumb 12-year-old stunt.

But that scoutmaster should have checked up on him after the first time.

[pansypoo53219]

9. be prepared.

but if not, know what to do.

[frylock]

12. former webelos member checking in..

cool story!

[Botany]

14. I made it to 1st class ..... we had to move .... end of Scouts

Rule # 1 stay calm and do what you can.

Good Job Mr. Ropelato!

BTW when camping I still use skills I picked up in boy scouts.

BTW part 2 sitting by a campfire roosting corn in the husks buried into the coals and then pulling the
corn out and eating it w/ butter and salt ...... lifetime memory

[harun]

16. Well done.

[trekbiker]

17. #1 Rule

Learn how to NOT GET LOST. its not that hard.

I could'nt stand the scouts. As a kid I made it thru two years of cub scouts before they drummed me out, aparently I had a bad attitude and lacked respect for authority. Could'nt stand the stupid uniforms, the regimentation, the pledge of allegiance. and the "den mothers". I hated every minute of it. 4H was much better, at least there I only got minimal flack over the dumb ass uniforms and the electives and programs offered were great.

[DollyM]

20. I couldn't stand 4-H!

I loved Girl Scouts and was in it until we didn't have troop leaders anymore. My mom enrolled me in 4-H and I thought it was the stupidist waste of time I have ever seen. I remember my lesson was to show how to measure butter--duh! I begged my mom to let me drop out after that. With Girl Scouts I learned how to dig a latrine and cook over an open fire and how to forage for food in the wild. Measuring butter just didn't cut it for me after that! My brothers were both in Boy Scouts and my mom was a den leader. They all seemed to enjoy the regimentation and both of them still enjoy "roughing it" camping to this day.

[KurtNYC]

41. 4H -- where I got my first cup of coffee

yee-haw! Some really cool girls AND coffee.

Top that Boy Scouts!

[ooglymoogly]

22. Boy 10 feet tall.

awesome.

[pengillian101]

24. Good job, Jared!

You kept your head and survived. Your Boy Scout training served you well!

You earned a badge for sure :-)

[malaise]

27. How wonderful

Oh yes!

[No Elephants]

28. In video, the poor kid looked so scared and upset. Can't blame him.

[dogmoma56]

30. that kind of thinking carries over into you day to day life.. every Eagle Scout i ever met was a

special sort of person.

[X_Digger]

35. Many take the 'be prepared' motto to heart.

While discussing the UK riots, and being prepared, I said to a poster who'd experienced an earthquake..

When's the last time you had a fire drill at your home? Have you discussed it with your SO? Do you have your important documents in one place, or would you have to rush about trying to find them? Where's the meeting point that you plan to use so that you and your SO know that the other isn't still trapped in your house?

If there were an earthquake, and you're standing out on the street staring at the rubble that used to be your house, what then? Do you have a first aid kit handy that you could either grab on the way out, or in your car? Have a couple of bottles of water handy to wash the dust from your face? Do you have a list of any prescription medication that you might need should you fail to retrieve them in time?

Fire and tornado are the two others that we're prepared for. All our important documents are in a portable fire resistant lock box. It also contains a list of my wife's medications, and a flash drive with both our medical histories.

I was a boy scout, but other priorities took precedence when puberty kicked in. :)

[CRK7376]

42. I'm an Eagle Scout and

both of my sons are too. The 3 troops I've worked with over the past 10 years all have earned their Wilderness Survival merit badge. The boys love building shelters, learning to trap/snare game/fish and clean/cook what that caught/snared. Few go hungry and they just have a great time building a buddy team shelter from scratch. Lots of survival skills are taught, not because we adult leaders think it's important, but because the boys have fun with this weekend event. The boys always make this one of the MBs they choose to learn each year, whether they have already earned the badge or noth. It challenges them and they learn something about themselves and what they can do.

The young man in this article broke one of the cardinal rules - by not staying with his buddy....but then back in my youth I too was notorious for not staying with the group or buddy. He did well, stayed calm, used his head and survived. Hope he and his family stick with Scouting.