I Am a Polar Bear

In previous years I’ve written Guide Camp Kit List posts on “What is a plate bag?“, “what is a camp blanket?” and “how to make a bedding roll” and they’re perennial favourites that have huge spikes in views in the summer months. But I’ve never written an actual guide to what to pack for Guide camp. So here it is, from a veteran of thirty-something Guide camps.

Your leaders will give you a kit list, don’t worry about that. But if you want to start thinking about packing in advance, or check the official list isn’t missing anything, here’s a rough idea of what to pack.

Sleeping

• You almost definitely do not need to buy a tent. Guide units have tents or they have access to tents through districts or divisions or other Guiding contacts. If you do need to buy a tent – and 99.9+% of the time, that’s not the case – your leader will let you know well in advance because that’s a pretty big purchase that you can’t spring on your Guides at the last minute. No tent.

• Bedding roll. Read my post on the subject but basically it’s turning your groundsheet, sleeping bag and camp blanket into a big waterproof parcel that you can carry fairly easily.

• Something to sleep on ie a foam roll mat or a self-inflating mat. That won’t fit in your bedding roll, I’m afraid. I’ve tried and tried. Foam mats are the cheapest option and they’re perfectly fine. I favour a self-inflating mat, which is filled with expanding foam. When you open the valve, it lets air in and the foam expands. They’re more comfortable and they roll up much smaller so they’re less bulky. Up to you which you go for. Airbeds are another option but I don’t recommend them because they’re a pain to blow up and keep blown up. Guides are not well-behaved in tents and no one can guarantee they won’t accidentally puncture an airbed, which becomes absolutely useless when they’ve got holes in them. Plus a big slab of air underneath you is actually pretty cold. Go for it if you must but I’d say foam mat or SIM. Metal folding camp beds are an absolute no unless you’ve got special needs and have discussed it with your leaders in advance.

• Pillow. Take a pillow or two. Or stuff your spare clothes inside your sleeping bag’s stuffsack. Personally, I tend to fold up my camp blanket and use that as a pillow. Whatever works for your Guide.

• Cuddly toys. Cuddly toys are very welcome at camp but do be aware of mud and rain.

• LED torch. No leader ever wants to hear “this is my dad’s best torch, he’s going to kill me for breaking it!” (This is a very regular & very tedious refrain on the camps I’ve been on and I’ve had enough of it.) Small LED torches are cheap, your Guide can afford to accidentally damage it and the batteries should last an entire camp because LEDs are so much better than the real bulbs we used to be stuck with.

• Pyjamas. Depending on the weather, you might be better with something more along the lines of a tracksuit but whatever, something warm enough and comfortable enough to sleep in.

• Shoes that are easy to slip on for midnight toilet visits. No one wants to be fiddling with laces at 2am in the dark while trying not to wake the entire campsite and trying not to make a puddle in the tent.

• Warm hat – heads poking out of sleeping bags can get cold.

Washing & hygiene

• Toothbrush & toothpaste

• Hairbrush and something to tie your hair up with. Make sure your Guide knows how to brush her own hair, to save the worst of the knots and tangles when she gets home. Hair will need to be tied up for cooking so hair doesn’t fall in the food or catch fire in whatever flame is used for the cooking.

• Flannel, soap and a small towel. Your Guide – or Brownie – may be more used to jumping in the shower or even being washed. Make sure she knows how to have a quick wash from a bowl of lukewarm water with a flannel, even if it’s just her face. And of course, expect that flannel to come home bone-dry and never used.

• Deodorant. Not spray, please. It’s not good for tent fabric and it’s not good for the breathing of her tent-mates in a confined space.

• Sanitary products. Your leaders should keep some in the First Aid kit but there may not be enough to last the whole camp. Make sure your Guide knows what’s happening and why and how to use her stuff – it can be a bit distressing to suddenly start bleeding at camp for no apparent reason.

Daytime

• You will probably be told to arrive and leave in uniform. You may be told this is an insurance requirement. It isn’t. A lot of leaders still believe this and some of them deliberately lie about it. It’s simply a PR thing, to make sure your Guides look good and recognisable in a public place. Please do wear your uniform to and from camp if asked. Your Guide should probably take it off at the earliest opportunity and bury it in her bag in the hope of keeping it at least dry to put on to go home in. Leaders should not expect Guides to wear uniform for the whole of camp – it’s unrealistic to expect them to wear the same thing the whole camp and it’s unrealistic to expect parents to buy several sets of uniform.

• Stuff to wear during the day. Some leaders may request shades of blue. Some may not. Make sure it’s suitable for the weather. Bring some warm stuff in case it’s chilly and bring some lighter clothes for the hot weather. Girlguiding doesn’t like strappy tops and miniature shorts and anyway, t-shirts will protect far better from sunburned shoulders and backs. Whatever they wear, be prepared for it to come back either grubby or filthy and don’t let your Guide be the one who spends the entire camp sitting on the edge muttering “my mum’s going to kill me if I get this dirty”. Something warm for sitting around the campfire in the evening. Expect this to come home damp, muddy and smelling of woodsmoke.

• “Camp uniform”. If you need camp uniform, someone will tell you what that means. Some leaders keep a stock of the old Jeff Banks plain yellow or blue (depending on section) t-shirts for wearing at camp. Some might have custom t-shirts made (this is rare and most likely to happen on Big Trips). Some might instruct you to bring only clothes in a particular colour. I’ve never been to a camp where “camp uniform” has been requested but you’ll come across it once in a blue moon.

• Make sure your Guide has at least one pair of closed-toe shoes. They’re safer for cooking and they’re a requirement for some adventurous activities. Trainers that aren’t brand-new-shiny-white-out-the-box are perfect for camp. A pair of wellies if possible is a really handy thing to have.

• Waterproofs. Whatever happens, your Guide needs a waterproof jacket. Waterproof trousers are highly recommended too.

• Take sunhats and sunglasses for hot weather. And suncream. If you take your own, it’ll save sunburn and it’ll also save your leaders worrying about whether they’re allowed to lend you theirs or about allergies and reactions. Take bug spray if you really want to. I’ve never seen it on a kit list but again, if you want to send some then you and the leaders know that it’s ok for your Guide to use.

• Underwear, plenty of it. Of all items, socks are the most miserable when wet.

• A plastic bag for shoving wet stuff in. Bin bags are fine but if your Guide dumps it in the middle of a field – and Guides do things like that – it’s liable to be mistaken for rubbish and binned.

Others

• Health form. Your Guide cannot stay at camp without a health form signed by her responsible adult (not by the parents of her best friend who dropped the two off). Some leaders have them returned on the day to make sure they’re totally up to date. Some will collect them in advance so they’ve got time to get familiar with any issues. Whichever way your camp works, this form is your ultimate camp priority.

• Plate bag. This is a drawstring fabric bag that contains your Guide’s unbreakable named/marked plate, bowl, cup, knife, fork & spoon, plus multiples of any items you want. I usually take two cups. Your Guide’s unit will probably make plate bags in the meetings running up to the camp. Plastic PE bags will do in a pinch but because they’re plasticky, stuff inside them doesn’t dry very well – and believe me, your Guide will dump her stuff in there without washing it properly, let alone drying it properly.

• Electronics. Your leader probably really doesn’t want you to bring electronics. First up, they’re going to get lost, broken, wet, or stomped on in a damp muddy tent. Second, nowhere to charge them. Third, phones are a huge safeguarding issue. Guides don’t know or think about issues around taking photos of each other or putting them on the social media site of their preference. Homesick Guides phone home at 1am and parents rush to pick them up, and headlights in the field is the first the leaders know of it (yes, this has happened to me). In the event of a major incident, there are channels and procedures and Guides absolutely should not be letting out information. Fourth, camp is a time to turn off the electronics and just enjoy the simple life. And Guides do enjoy the simple life. “What’s your favourite thing you ever did at Guides?” is always answered with “Camp!”

• Refillable water bottle. There will always be drinks at meals but if you have a drink you can carry around with you, that’s great.

• Sitter or chair – your leader will tell you in advance if you need to take a folding camp chair. Our unit has adopted them in the last decade from fears over E. coli but plenty of units still eat off sitters or large ground groundsheets.

• If you have a watch, it’s a really useful thing to bring. Don’t go out and buy one specially for camp if you don’t already have one, though.

• Money. Lots of campsites will have a tiny shop where you can buy badges or pencils or small teddies or sweets. You really don’t need much money for camp. £10 is more than enough. If you stick to a badge and a few sweets, £5 is plenty.

• No penknives please. This isn’t the Golden Age of Scouting. I know we like to talk about “When I was a Scout, I carried a three-foot machete everywhere and we were all perfectly safe with them!” but it’s 2019 and most of these kids don’t know how to use a kitchen knife to slice an onion. Even if yours does, we can’t have Guides bring weapons – yes, weapons – to camp in the twenty-first century.

• Medication. I can’t tell you for definite what to do with it. Bring it, obviously. Your leaders – or at the very least, your First Aider – will need to know all about it but you’ll have to discuss the taking of it with the leaders/First Aider. Maybe your Guide is perfectly capable of looking after it and taking it herself. Maybe the First Aider needs to lock it away in the box and your Guide needs to go and request it when it’s needed. Maybe the First Aider needs to summon your Guide and supervise the taking of it at the correct hours. It depends mostly on the Guide and partly on the leaders so discuss it with them. Ideally, whatever way you decide to do it, it should be in a sealable plastic bag with her name written on it. And of course, it’ll be detailed on her all-important health form.

Finally – suitcases and campsites are pretty much non-compatible. A big backpack is best for packing camp stuff and a duffle bag is next best. The bedding turns into a bedding roll and everything else fits in the bag and your Guide should be able to carry all her own stuff unaided at least across the campsite. Leaders generally don’t have enough spare hands to help up to thirty Guides carry badly-packed luggage.

One more note to parents dropping off at camp. Usually the first thing the Guides will do is put the tent up. Please do not help. Please do not offer advice. If you have to hang around, then please make yourself comfortable to have a laugh at them. Many units work on a camping badge and they can’t receive it if the parents have done half the work. Indeed, my Guides are still indignant over the camp when they had to spend the Sunday afternoon taking the tents down, putting them back up to finish off the badge and then packing them away again and all because the parents interfered on arrival.

So that’s the kit list and the reasons for it all. I hope that’s useful. Leave a comment if you have any questions, and of course, everything is variable depending on your leaders, your camp and your Guide’s needs so don’t take this as a set-in-stone-do-exactly-as-I-say commandment.