Troop 97 Master Camper Award

Master Camper Award Patch The Troop 97 Master Camper Award is designed to encourage Scouts to take advantage of the full range of Scout camping opportunities. The award's four requirements encourage frequent camping, and the unique experiences that you can only get on winter campouts, at summer camp, and on a High Adventure Trek.

Scouts are motivated by receiving a special patch to wear on their right shirt pocket, by getting their names printed in the newsletter, and by having their names permanently engraved on the Master Camper Award plaque at our meeting room.

It takes most Scouts about three years in the troop to earn the award:

Camp 35 nights with Troop 97
Attend 5 winter campouts with Troop 97 (we somewhat arbitrarily count any campout between November and March as "winter", though this timeframe pretty accurately covers those months in our area when the most severe weather is probable)
Attend 2 summer camps with Troop 97
Attend 1 Troop 97 Trek (the week-long annual high adventure backpack, canoe, or bike treks the troop takes each year)

An artist within the troop designed the patch, and it is made by one of the patch companies you can find in the back of Scouting magazine. We ordered 100 patches to keep the unit cost down, and this supply will last for a number of years.

We allow Scouts or adults to earn the award, and we credit any campout with the troop, even if it occurs before becoming a Scout (such as a Webelos overnight with the troop). Since we created the award in 1985, only 8% of the recipients have been adults.

Almost all our Eagles, of course, have earned the award, and about 66% of the Scouts who earn the award will also earn Eagle.

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