Leaders Infomation - Camp Somers

   

 

Before Camp: 

During Camp:

          Check-in times are necessary to accommodate the increasing number of units and Scouts attending camp.  The staff must have time to prepare for you and your Troop.

 

      The first “in camp” meal is Sunday dinner.

After Camp:

    TIME:
Troops are asked to complete their checkout procedures and depart by 10:00 AM. Your
cooperation is most appreciated by the staff.
PROCEDURES:


1. Breakfast will be served in the Dining Hall (cafeteria style – no waiters needed for set -
up).
2. Following breakfast, complete the site inspection with your Site Guide who will meet
you at your site.
3. Return all tools and equipment remaining in your site to the Brown Barn. To expedite
the process, please check -in all Brown Barn materials on Friday evening. Make sure
you receive your “Brown Barn check-out sheet” to help speed up your check -out
process
4. Checkout at the Camp Office. Be sure to submit evaluation forms. VERIFY THAT
YOU HAVE RECEIVED ALL MERIT BADGE BLUE CARDS BEFORE DEPARTURE.
5. Pick up your Troop’s medical forms and any prescriptions from the Health
Lodge. Be sure to return the appropriate forms to any boys who will be returning to
camp for another week this summer.


Campsites

       You are in bear country, so please no food in campsites.

Things to bring

        Recommended Troop/Patrol Equipment can be found here.

        Recommended Personal Equipment can be found here.

Troop Leadership

    According to the BSA policy, during the week you must have at least a 21 year old and an assistant who is at least 18 years old.  If there is difficulties locating leaders to staff your troop, please contact the Camping Services Department prior to camp.

Medical Forms/Rosters/Medical Rechecks

    Upon arrival to camp, please check in with the Camp Office.  Please hand in your Troop Roster and Medical Forms.  Medical Rechecks will be scheduled for Sunday afternoon.

Wristbands

          All Scouts, leaders and guests must wear camp wristbands at all times.  One is provided to each person upon check-in.  Each additional wristband will cost $.50.

Visitors

      A week of camp goes by very quickly due to the myriad of projects and activities with
which a boy gets involved. For this reason, the boy has little time for much else.
Certainly, parents and friends are interested in what he is doing, an d he is encouraged to
send postcards and letters telling of his experiences. Troops can pick the best night to
have parents visit, if they desire. The office needs to know in advance, however, in order
to prepare for the extra traffic. All visitors must check in at the Camp Office AND
OBTAIN A WRISTBAND AND PAY FOR MEALS: (Breakfast - $5.00), (Lunch - $6.00),
(Dinner - $10.00). Please coordinate this with your unit leaders.
 

    If your troop program includes an organized family night, our camp staff will always work
to assist you in any way we can. However, please be aware of a few considerations we
feel are important:
Parking is very limited. If you choose to invite your unit’s parents, please car pool.
No pets are ever allowed in camp.
After dinner activities will take up a lot of the Scout’s time, so we suggest a troop site
campfire later in the evening.
Visitation begins roughly around 7 -7:30pm after your troop finishes dinner.

Telephone Service

          There are no public telephones within the camp.  Leaders may bring their cell phones for use if the need arises.  If a telephone call must be placed and you do not have a cell phone, speak with the Camp Director about using the office telephone.  Scouts should not be using any telephone without a leader present.

 

Scoutmasters Lounge

 Turkey Lodge has been set aside to serve as a lounge for the adult leaders in camp each
week. We ask your cooperatio n in using this facility.
Please help us keep it clean and neat.
The building will occasionally be needed for meetings
Restrooms for both male and female adult leaders are located in this building.

 

Parking        

    The parking lot at Camp Somers is too small for all Scouts and their parents to arrive
separately. You are strongly urged to carpool when transporting boys and equipment to
and from camp, benefiting both your experience and the environment. All vehicles must
remain in the parking lot while at camp. Transportation of your unit’s gear will be
provided.

 

Meals

          Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner is served at the Dining Hall.  Each table will have an assigned Scout Waiter to setup each meal and cleanup each meal.       

 

Parking/Automobile Use in Camp

          No personal vehicles will be permitted inside the front gate.  All vehicles are to be parked in the designated parking area.  No Scout or Leader is permitted to ride in the back of a pickup truck or hang off a trailer.

 

Phone Calls

    In case of emergency, the camp phone number is: 973-347-2240.  A messenger will be sent to your campsite. 

Health Lodge

    The Health Lodge is staffed with an on duty Health Officer and a fully stocked examination room.  Arrangements have been made with nearby Medical facilities and the Stanhope Rescue Squad for more serious cases.  All prescribed medicine must be stored at the Health Lodge.  

Free Time

    During your and your Scouts free time, please feel free to go to the A building to sign out a sports equipment.

Mail

                    Scout Name, Troop Number and Site

                    Camp Somers, MASR

                    750 Waterloo Road

                    Stanhope, New Jersey  07874

 

Inside the Camp Office there is a mailbox for each campsite.  Scouts and leaders who receive mail will have the items placed in their respective mailboxes when it arrives.  Please check your mailbox daily for mail and/or messages. 

Trading Post

    The Camp Store offers Camp Somers shirts, souvenirs, snacks/candy, post cards, stamps and basic camping gear.  Please make sure your Scouts eat food/drink items at the trading post. 

Weather

    The weather at Camp Somers can range to clear and sunny in the 90s to clear and cool at night with lows sometimes in the 60s.

Current Camp Somers Fees and Dates

        Camp Somers Camp Fees

        Camp Somers Camp Dates

Leaders Guide

    For additional information please refer to the Camp Somers Leaders Guide.  Prior to arriving to camp, please review the Leaders Guide. This guide can be found on the Resources page.  If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.

Personal Electronic Equipment

          Let this camp experience be a special outdoor experience for your Scouts.  The Camp Somers staff respectfully suggests that you request your Scouts to leave their personal electronics (i.e., Game Boy, CD Players, radios, etc.) at home.

 

Homesickness

    Everyone gets homesick at camp!  We bet you will miss your bed!  Scouts at Somers may get homesick.  Keeping the Scout active and busy will prevent it.   There has only been a few extreme cases where the Scout was not ready for a week away from home and needed to go home.  Here is a guide to help you build a Scouts character:  Helping with homesickness

Camp Pictures

          A great souvenir of a fabulous fun week in camp is a Troop photograph.  There will be a professional photographer in camp after dinner on Monday to take a picture of your Troop.  The cost is $8.00 per photograph – in cash.  Please bring any Troop flags or other Troop items you wish to be in your photograph to dinner with you on Monday evening.

Merit Badges

          In order to have a successful experience in the merit badge program, Scouts must begin their preparations at home, continue at camp on Monday, and stick with it.  Some merit badges can be completed during the camp period.  Others have requirements for observations, tests, or record keeping over a prolonged period.  In these cases, Scouts should complete all prerequisites before coming to camp, bringing certification of completion from their counselor (or Scoutmaster in the case of the Camping merit badge).  To help Scouts in earning merit badges, we offer the following suggestions that you may wish to include in your camp planning, perhaps enabling a larger number of merit badge completions.

          Do not over-schedule.  We set no limit on the number of badges a boy can attempt, but sometimes their desires are bigger than their time limit or abilities allow.  Experience tells us that for the first year camper, no more than two merit badges should be encouraged.  For the older, more experienced camper, a normal maximum of three to four merit badges per week is recommended.  Scouts are in camp for many things other than merit badges, and they should not miss out on other opportunities strictly to work on merit badges.  Please do not allow your Scouts to plan for failure.  Advise them when they make their selections and encourage them to stick to the guidelines provided above.

          Scheduling conflicts should not discourage a Scout from taking a merit badge.  All times are flexible, and most conflicts can be worked out with a counselor.  If a Scout comes to camp prepared to pass the merit badge, he may ask a counselor for a review without waiting until the end of the week.  This year’s Merit Badge Scheduling Program will cause fewer scheduling conflicts because instruction sessions are listed as scheduled.  Your Scout should be able to plan his day based on classes offered.  Note that certain merit badges will impose a limit to the number of Scouts per session.

          Each Scout should thoroughly review the requirements of his planned merit badges and prepare himself before leaving for camp by reading the merit badge book(s) for the badge(s) being attempted.  Unfortunately, we cannot instruct those areas listed as prerequisites during merit badge instruction periods.  Please be sure that items marked as prerequisites are completed prior to your Scout’s arrival at camp.  Scouts will be able to earn partial merit badges if they arrive without prerequisite work.  This “partial” is good until the Scout’s 18th birthday.

          Each Scout should have a merit badge application form (blue card) for each merit badge being attempted.  Please see that all the required information has been provided – legibly – in ink - and make sure that it has been signed by the Scoutmaster on the front section only so that it will be ready to present to the merit badge counselor at camp.  Please bring sufficient blue cards for your Scouts.  Extras will be available for purchase in the Trading Post.  Camp has only a small number on hand and we will be unable to provide them for you.

          Remember that several merit badges have requirements that must be completed before attending camp.  Evidence must be provided that these requirements have been met.  On these and all requirements where work was completed prior to the Scout arriving in camp, a note from the Scoutmaster is not always sufficient evidence.  When a requirement states “make, demonstrate, show, do, etc.” then that is what is necessary.  Photographs of the completed project(s), charts, reports, etc., would be helpful.  If there are any questions about a merit badge’s requirements, call the Florham Park Service Center or camp.

          Remember to check the current requirements for all merit badges your Scouts will be working on in camp.  Many of the optional requirements cannot be completed in camp.
 

 

Leaving Camp:

    A sign-out/sign-in log is kept in the Camp Office and must be used by anyone leaving the
camp (and later upon his or her return). Scouts are not permitted to leave camp without
written permission from their unit leaders and Camp Director.

 

Camp Troop at Somers:  

     Have a Scout who can't go to camp with your troop?  Have a Scout that wants to spend more than one week at camp?  Check out our Camp Troop.

 

First Year Boy Scout Day Camp:

      Do you have a Scout that is not quite ready for overnight camp?  Or he want sto see what camp is like?  Or looking to get a taste of the Boy Scout program?  Check out our First Year Boy Scout DAY camp program.

COUNCIL REFUND POLICY:

 In all programs offered by the Patriots’ Path Council, BSA, a great deal of planning and purchasing takes place well in advance.  These plans include, but are not limited to, staff, food, program materials, patches and awards, rental and purchase of equipment, and in some cases, items of clothing such as T-shirts that are given as part of a program fee.

 When an individual or group makes a reservation for an activity or program, these items are included in ordering of materials and staffing for that event.

 Refunds: Individuals or groups that cancel a program reservation 30 days prior to the date of the event will receive a refund of fees paid, less a 15% administrative charge.  No refunds will be made after the 30 day cancellation deadline, unless there is a medical or other emergency.

 ALL CANCELLATIONS MUST BE MADE IN WRITING AND SENT TO THE PATRIOTS’ PATH COUNCIL, 222 Columbia Turnpike, Florham Park, NJ  07932.

Leaders Information

 
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