Merit Badges

[presidio]

I still like Boojum's "mile high club"....but am trying to picture the symbol!

Ummm.....I have seen an animated GIF covering this topic. It is not G-rated.

[Casa Grande]

LOL...why am I picturing half the page being taken up by rows upon rows of mini icons?

LOL, but really, what about Emory Peak or the South Rim....?   
I haven't done this, but maybe some of you have scaled the major peaks in the High Chisos...  thanks.

The idea behind the "merit badges" is to recognize the lesser common achievements; ie., hiking all the trails, backroads, etc.  Climbing Emory or the Rim may be an accomplishment, but I would argue not a rare occurrence.   I'm open to debate it though......

[chisos_muse]

Okie's got the rows! Yup.....all eleven of them.

You should put and icon for " Watching a bear and lion fight while hiking Casa Grande listening to Colima Warbler song as the Peregrine flew overhead"

[presidio]

Okie's got the rows! Yup.....all eleven of them.

You should put and icon for " Watching a bear and lion fight while hiking Casa Grande listening to Colima Warbler song as the Peregrine flew overhead"

Oooooh,  oooooh  , and a badge for wishing you were in Big Bend, and a badge with oak leaf clusters for the times when you sailed through the BP checkpoint because it was closed, and a badge for buying souvenirs at the concession, and a badge for finding the exit at La Kiva after a night of drinking there, and a badge for not being struck by lighning, and a badge for things that go bump in the night, and ..... oh, I think I sorta got off track there for a moment.

Never mind.

[SHANEA]

How about a badge for being a holder of a Friends of Big Bend Lisc. Plate and being a paid subscriber to Big Bend Chat?   

[Al]

Since it takes 21 merit badges to be an Eagle Scout, there should be at least 50 merit badges available, to the extent this merit badge thing is a good idea. There should be a merit badge for having been to Big Bend and then go from there.   In my experience many say they will go and many fewer do.  How about a merit badge for back country cooking?  Merit badges should involve a predictable goal that one can work toward and achieve.  A "scout" should know that if they endeavor hard enough they will earn a merit badge.

I remember the time we settled down in the hot springs for New Years Eve with  Rio Grande flowing right by us and the stars jumping out of the sky . . . and then came the Boy Scout Troop. . .  changed the whole ambiance of the hot springs/New Year's Eve experience.  Not that I'm complaining . . . I did learned more about car sound systems and audio components that I wanted to know or could remember that particular night.

In the "who cares" department, I think this merit badge thing should not be elitist in the least.  This site can be scary as hell to a newbie who wants to post, given all of the intimate threads.  Is there benefit to making it more so?

Al

[homerboy2u]

 In my experience many say they will go and many fewer do.
Al

 The more i read , the more i learn and concur. Al, I think you struck an international nerve here. So many folks say they will go to the mountains, tackle the backcountry and grow hair on their chests...bla, bla, bla.

  Either put up..or shut up, that is what i say on this matter.  Maybe, because it is hard to go to BiBe or the Del Carmen's -Del Burro's or maybe is it just whistling dixie here, There should be a badge for this ...then again, with the knowledhe that YOU know you have accomplish a certain task, you don't need a badge...just your own self accomplishment.

[Al]

In my experience many say they will go and many fewer do.
Al

 The more i read , the more i learn and concur. Al, I think you struck an international nerve here. So many folks say they will go to the mountains, tackle the backcountry and grow hair on their chests...bla, bla, bla.

  Either put up..or shut up, that is what i say on this matter.  Maybe, because it is hard to go to BiBe or the Del Carmen's -Del Burro's or maybe is it just whistling dixie here, There should be a badge for this ...then again, with the knowledhe that YOU know you have accomplish a certain task, you don't need a badge...just your own self accomplishment.

Homero, as you say, it's about a relatively small segment of folks that truly appreciate the Chihuahuan (Coahuila) Desert, both low and high desert.

Al

[okiehiker]

I have been blessed over the past 31 years to have had job/family/personal situations that enabled me to spend a lot of time in the BIBE back-country.  Finding routes that were rarely to never done has been a passion of mine, so I have been able to do many things in the park that few get to.  The past few years it seems that I have had no time to get to the park, yet in the most recent 29 months I have been there four times and will be there again in January. 

I'm with Al.  I think there should be a variety of merit badges.  Camped in a campground; camped at a roadside site; zone camped; backpacked.  Climbed a 7,000' peak; climbed a desert peak.  Certain peaks deserve their own badges: Emory, Casa Grande, Elephant Tusk, Picacho.  I have climbed all of the 7,000' peaks in the park.  I have marked all of the peaks on all of the 7.5' USGS topographic maps, using Colorado Mountain Club/USGS standards (there must be a minimum of 200' of relief between adjoining peaks and preferably 1 mile of separation.)  My goal is to climb every peak in the park that meets the 200' standard (there are lots of them!)

There should be area badges as well: camped/backpacked on Mesa de Anguila, Caballo Muerto, Rosillos, Christmas, Sierra Quemada and desert floor. 

What about Ernst Tinaja, Bruja Canyon, Banta Shut-in.

David should be the final arbiter, but keep up the suggestions.

[okiehiker]

And I did not mean to snub Homero...  There are several Mexican accomplishments that should be on the list, del Carmens, Canons de Santa Elena Parque Nacional... and others. 

[Casa Grande]

I have been blessed over the past 31 years to have had job/family/personal situations that enabled me to spend a lot of time in the BIBE back-country.  Finding routes that were rarely to never done has been a passion of mine, so I have been able to do many things in the park that few get to.  The past few years it seems that I have had no time to get to the park, yet in the most recent 29 months I have been there four times and will be there again in January. 

I'm with Al.  I think there should be a variety of merit badges.  Camped in a campground; camped at a roadside site; zone camped; backpacked.  Climbed a 7,000' peak; climbed a desert peak.  Certain peaks deserve their own badges: Emory, Casa Grande, Elephant Tusk, Picacho.  I have climbed all of the 7,000' peaks in the park.  I have marked all of the peaks on all of the 7.5' USGS topographic maps, using Colorado Mountain Club/USGS standards (there must be a minimum of 200' of relief between adjoining peaks and preferably 1 mile of separation.)  My goal is to climb every peak in the park that meets the 200' standard (there are lots of them!)

There should be area badges as well: camped/backpacked on Mesa de Anguila, Caballo Muerto, Rosillos, Christmas, Sierra Quemada and desert floor. 

What about Ernst Tinaja, Bruja Canyon, Banta Shut-in.

David should be the final arbiter, but keep up the suggestions.

those are all great ideas....but unless someone else wants to create all the 16x16 images to cover all those badges, it's not gonna happen for awhile.

[chisos_muse]

I think that Al makes a good point. I love the idea of the merit badges, but there will always be those who cannot physically accomplish some of them for whatever reason, as there are many who cannot even make it to Big Bend, as was one of the reasons VBB was created....to help those who cannot experience it first hand, but can still partake in some of her wonder. We all have our own personal goals, as to what we believe can be achieved. I DO agree as David has said, that there are some really special accomplishments that should be honored. But we have to set reasonable parameters, as "having a burger at the lodge" should not be one of them.

As is everything brought forth that is new here, we'll all feel it out and David will listen and make his final decisions.

I know that our moderator would really love to have that lil bear by his name....

[presidio]

Either put up..or shut up, that is what i say on this matter.  YOU know you have accomplish a certain task, you don't need a badge...just your own self accomplishment.

YEAH! 

[uh_clem]

These are for Golden Eagle members only, correct?

[homerboy2u]

And I did not mean to snub Homero...  There are several Mexican accomplishments that should be on the list, del Carmens, Canons de Santa Elena Parque Nacional... and others. 

  Hey, Oki.....you did not snub. Were OK, here.

those are all great ideas....but unless someone else wants to create all the 16x16 images to cover all those badges, it's NOT gonna happen for awhile.

 Oh yes:  " David do this...David do that, what is keeping you,David? " ...we just love to dictate: Any volunteers to help out,  Casa Grande?.....he has a life too, BTW.

YEAH! 

Salud.......