How Will You Fare Out There?

Q.1

Heavy rains have been predicted for your outing. To keep water from flooding your tent, you should:

Place a plastic ground cloth under the floor. Be sure it doesn’t extend beyond the floor.
Place a plastic ground cloth inside your tent. Make the ground cloth a foot larger than the tent, all around.
Dig a shallow trench around the tent perimeter. Slope the trench so it will drain water.
Equip every tent with a sponge so accumulated water can be quickly removed.

Q.2

Which of these would not be a good fire starter?

Dead, pencil-thin sticks from the base of an evergreen tree
Splittings from a dead evergreen stump
Green cedar (cedar oil) foliage
Resin from the trunk of a balsam fir or spruce tree
Newspaper

Q.3

Which knots/hitches are best used to rig a tent, rain tarp or clothesline?

Square knot, sheet bend and timber hitch
Trucker’s hitch, half hitches and sheet bend
Bowline, overhand knot, Prusik knot
Clove hitch, taut-line hitch, bowline

Q.4

Knots used to rig tents and tarps should always be completed with:

An S knot
Two half hitches
A stopper knot
A slippery (quick-release) loop

Q.5

Boots should be sized so you can wear two pairs of socks — one thick pair and one thin pair. Socks should be wool or synthetic, but not cotton. You should:

Wear the thin pair inside out next to your skin. Then put on the thick pair.
Same as above but wear both socks right side out.
Put on the heavy socks first, inside out. Then put on the lighter socks.
It doesn’t matter how you wear your socks.

Q.6

Your campsite is on a slight incline. You’ll have to level your bed with spare clothes to sleep comfortably. The best way to pitch your tent is:

With the head end facing uphill
With the foot end facing uphill
Sideways to the hill
It doesn’t matter as long as you have a nice, thick sleeping mat.

Q.7

It is a beautiful sunny day. High in the sky you see wispy cirrus clouds (horse tails). This indicates:

The nice weather will continue for several days.
A long, slow rain will probably begin within 24 hours.
A short, heavy rain will begin in a day or two.
You will soon experience high winds but no rain.

Q.8

It’s early morning, and the mosquitoes are biting more than usual. Around noon, they stop biting. What gives?

It will rain soon.
High winds are approaching (mosquitoes don’t fly well in wind) but no rain.
A new hatch of mosquitoes has just become mature.
They are simply done feeding.

Q.9

You are going backpacking on a well-maintained trail. You should arrange things in your pack so:

Heavier items are at the bottom of your pack
Lighter items are at the bottom of your pack
It makes no difference as long as your pack has an internal or external frame.
It’s best to distribute the weight uniformly throughout the pack.

Q.10

You have observed a black bear near your camp. Fortunately, you have a can of cayenne pepper spray. What should you do?

Spray the door of your tent and your food packs to keep the bear away.
Spray the bear if he comes into camp.
If the bear chases you, climb a tree and spray the bear from up in the tree.
Throw rocks at any bear that comes into your camp.

Q.11

You are planning to backpack along a river that has very silty water. You can carry your drinking water (one gallon per person per day), or you can draw water from the river and purify it — that is, if you can prevent the silt from clogging your filter. What should you do?

Don’t mess around; just carry fresh water.
Pre-treat the water with alum and then run it through your purifier.
Place the river water in buckets. The silt will settle in about an hour, and then you can purify the water.
Silty water cannot be safely purified.

Q.12

The best way to clean a synthetic-fill sleeping bag is to:

Hand or machine wash it.
Dry-clean it.
Synthetic bags can be dry-cleaned or washed.

Q.13

What is the most effective way to purify drinking water, besides boiling the water?

Use a water filter.
Use a water filter/purifier.
Treat the water with halazone tablets, which release chlorine.

Q.14

You are buying new rain gear and know that mosquitoes and black flies are attracted to certain colors. Which color should you avoid?

Bright yellow
Light green
Red
Navy blue

Q.15

You are buying a new summer tent. Which feature is least important?

A waterproof fly that covers every seam and zipper
Good ventilation
Fast setup
No-see-um bug netting

Q.16

You arise early in the morning to discover your tent fly is wet from dew. The smoke from your campfire is going straight up. This suggests:

Today will be a beautiful sunny day.
There will be no wind today.
The temperature will slowly drop during the day.
It will rain today.

Q.17

There is a lightning storm in progress. You count 10 seconds between the lightning flash and the boom of thunder. Roughly how far away is the lightning strike?

1 mile
2 miles
5 miles
10 miles

Q.18

You are cooking on a gasoline trail stove. Which of these is a bad practice?

Placing an appropriate-sized pot on the burner
Using unleaded automotive gasoline in your stove
Refueling a cold stove

Q.19

You are toasting some bread in a skillet. How can you best prevent the toast from sticking and burning?

Generously oil the skillet.
Make sure the skillet is completely free of oil.
Shake a little salt into the dry skillet then set the toast on top of the salt.
Set the bread slice in the skillet, and then prop the skillet at a 45-degree angle to face the fire.

Q.20

Which of the following should Scouts not wear on a hiking trip?

Blue jeans
Nylon trousers
Cotton-polyester (60/40) trousers
Wool trousers