Marksmanship!

Apply for Staff

Serving on staff is a great experience for any experienced Scout. Staff learn valuable leadership skills and have the opportunity to serve Scouts from throughout the Central Coast and across the state. Counselor-in-Training positions are available for boys and girls 14 and older and paid program and service staff positions are available for men and women 16 and older.

Being on staff is a lot of hard work but is very rewarding as well. If you want to serve your fellow Scouts have a great camping experience, have some of the best summers of your life, and work with one of the best teams you will ever find, apply!

Staff Application

Safety First at the Ranges

Marksmanship!

On Target at the Archery Range

Learn how to slackline at Scoutpost

You may have seen people slackining at school, a campground, or a climbing area and wondered how to do it. At Scoutpost, you can learn how! The staff there will teach you how to focus your energy and carefully walk from one end to the other.

Slacklining is a great activity because it can be set up anywhere there are two trees, the equipment is relatively inexpensive, and it builds your core muscles.

Handicraft

Do you like to make things with your hands? The Handicraft Lodge is the place for you! The Handicraft Lodge offers instruction in skills such as leatherwork, woodcarving, sculpture, basketry, and art. For Cub Scouts, a special craft is selected that fits that year's theme.

Skills Patrol

The Skills Patrol area is part of Scoutpost and is an area for the first-year Scout. Experienced staff form participants into patrols and work with them on their essential Scouting skills such as knots, lashings, cooking, first aid, and citizenship. The staff is here to not only help Scouts with advancement but also to make sure that the Scouts don't just "pass off" requirments and know how Scouting is done. Each session is run like a troop meeting with an opening, skills instruction, and activities.

This photo is of a flagpole built by members of the 2007 Scoutpost staff so that new Scouts can practice flag ceremonies and learn about citizenship.

This first year program, which is now a mandatory standard for the accredidation of a Scout camp, began in the 1980s here at Pico Blanco.

Support for Leaders: The Commissioner Area

Last summer, Pico Blanco reorganized its commissioner program so that it could better deliver programing to units. A major change was the creation of a centralized "Commissioner Area", located in the middle of camp between the waterfront and the volleyball courts.

Not only is the area home to two commissioners but also it is a meeting place for unit leaders to recieve training, learn new outdoor skills such as outdoor cooking, morse code, and knots, and also to socialize and share camping tricks, talk about new places to explore, and sometimes just shoot the breeze.

In addition to the central commissioner area, there are several "satelite" tents around the camp where other commissioners stay so that they can assist units.

The commissioners' primary jobs are to ensure that troops are receiving the support they need to deliver a quality Scouting experience for their boys.

Aquatics Area, 6AM on a Foggy Morning

The Polar Bear Song

Super polar bear, super polar bear

See him swim, see him swim

In the freezing water, in the freezing water

But who cares? But who cares?

2010 Merit Badge Schedule

This is the predicted 2010 Merit Badge Schedule. Advancement is just part of the program at Pico Blanco. Advancement gives Scouts and Patrols something to work on when they go outdoors. Advancement challenges each Scout in a unique way to grow personally and to set and achieve goals.

Younger Scouts are wncouraged to take Skills Patrol at Scoutpost to work their way to First Class while older Scouts can work on a variety of merit badges offered in all program areas. Older Scouts also have the opportunity to participate in Pico Pathfinders where they will work on reqirments for Camping, Hiking, and Backpacking Merit Badges while participating in a week-long high adventure experience. Through Pico Pathfinders, Scouts can also work towards the Venturing Outdoor Bronze Award which is an integral part of the Ranger Award.

Also available for 2010 only are Centenial Merit Badges including Signaling, Tracking, and Carpentry.

At Pico, we believe in innovative teaching methods and making sure Scouts truly earn their Merit Badges. We strive to teach Scouts how to apply the skills they learn instead of simply passing off requirments.

Scoutpost

Want to be a master outdoorsman who can tackle high peaks and venture into the unknown? Even if you simply aspire to go on a weekend campout, Scoutpost can teach you valuable outdoor skills. Our Skills Patrol program helps first-year Scouts learn their basic camping skills and work on their trail to First Class while our merit badge offerings teach more specific skills such as wilderness survival, orienteering, and pioneering.

Throughout the week, Scoutpost offers a variety of activities such as the Scottish Games, Adventure Day hikes, ultimate frisbee, and the Scoutmaster Dutch Oven Cookoff. Scoutpost's highly qualified staff is here to create a dynamic learning environment; in 2009, 100% of Scoutpost staff were Eagle Scouts.

Scoutpost is located just downstream from the waterfront between Campsite 1 (Awanee) and Campsite 2 (Blackfoot).

High Adventure at Pico Blanco