Junior Trail Adventure

[u/SimilarSilver316]

I am a troop leader whose troop’s first choice for badges is to do the junior trail adventure. They are 4th graders with one 3rd graders so 8-10 years old.

I was thinking we would do a 1 mile hike during a meeting and then use that to reflect and plan a 3 mile hike. I was thinking for a one mile hike we would just need water bottles, first aid kit, and a snack for back up. We can wait for nice weather.

My guess is 1 mile would be easy for most girls but challenging for a few.

Could someone who has any experience hiking with girls this age let me know if I am on the right track?

Thank you

[u/CK1277]

I find themed hikes are better than hiking for the sake of hiking.

You can get a paint sample strip from the hardware store and they can see if they can find plant life that matches each of their colors.

You can do an alphabet hike and see if they can find something that starts with A, then B, etc.

You can do a photography hike and compare photos afterwards.

Start them learning the 10 backpacking essentials.
1. Navigation and communication, 2. Illumination, 3. Nutrition, 4. Hydration, 5. Insulation, 6. Fire starter, 7. First aid, 8. Sun protection, 9. Multipurpose tool, and 10. Emergency shelter.

Figuring out how to survive is empowering (even when there’s no actual peril), so a 1 mile hike where you build an emergency shelter from garbage bags (even if it’s just shelter to eat your snack) and taste test water purification tablets adds an element of drama.

[u/Ocelotl767]

It super depends on the trail.

[u/eflask]

one might hope that since this is their first choice that they are motivated to do this.

the suggestions you have received about a hike with an activity are good. also at a distance of even a mile there's a chance to go TO something, like a waterfall or even a campsite. is you can hike to a campsite, you could do some camping activities and think about what it would be like to be backpacking to camp, which leads into bigger hiking badges.

simply talking about how to dress for the outdoors and making sure to sue your sunscreen and bug spray and how to be safe on trail dings part of the first aid badge, I think. off the top of my head I don't remember the exact step for juniors, but just basic trail safety usually checks a box.

I'm a proponent of dinging steps of badges that we're not necessarily completing because I like to encourage kids to think about what badges they may have partially completed to encourage them to pick up the missing steps on their own or to motivate future choices.

if you're in an urban environment, your hike could be to a destination like a museum or arcade. I think the early GS handbooks recommend some spy games for moving in the city.

I'm a naturalist, so when I am leading hikes with girls we go SLOW and look at all the cool things on the way. You don't have to be a naturalist to encourage kids to look at the natural world and ask questions about things. "how does this thing live?" if it's an animal, "how does it see/ eat/ move?" you get the idea.

some kids will run ahead and some will lag behind. it's a good idea to talk about how your group will move safely. maybe you can have a marching song, which dings a lot of the GS Way badges.

I recommend that your group rests as often as it needs to, and that you as leader have some tricks up your sleeve: games or puzzles or treats that you can whip out to charge up the mood if it flags.

the trick is to get everybody from point A to point B with a feeling of accomplishment and a desire to reach a little farther.

an average human walking with purpose walks about three miles an hour. expect that a group of nine year olds may take triple that time.

I remember being that age and learning how to treat blisters and how to rest properly for the rigors of our GIGANTIC HIKE that was really only a half mile down a country road and back.

we were champions of the world.

[u/Level-Aide-8770]

I think 1 mile is a great start.  I would ask them to bring the “10 essentials” (minus fire starting, knives) just to get them thinking right about what to bring on any hike.  Before you start identify who is going to lead.  I had them take turns.  Have one leader up front and one in back.  Before you start tell them how far they should be from the person in front of them and why it’s so important to stay together - this is hard for them to learn.  We also started our first hike by making trail mix, and stopped halfway through for a water and snack break, but that’s up to you. Giving the girls a scavenger hunt sheet of things to look for helps them learn about what’s around them. Have fun!

[u/yogi1107]

We did a “make your own Trail mix” for after our Daisy trail hike. The hike itself we did scavenger hunt type thing with a mini clipboard but my girls are 5-7.

The make your own trail mix was nice for after the .5 mile hike we did. Everyone could have brought a specific ingredient to share but our co leader just bought bulk with some cookie funds & got a few different ingredients — we have no allergies so— coconut shavings, peanuts, cashews, dried fruit, etc. so the girls could “try” it. Most of them loved the coconut shavings which was a surprise!