Pack 680 awards Cub Scouts who have completed a cumulative total of 50 miles of hiking during their time in Cub Scouting with our “50 mile hiking award”, which is a hiking stick from the scout shop. The purpose of the award is to develop the kind of early interest in the outdoors that will develop more fully during Scouts BSA (Boy Scouts). It also recognizes a significant achievement, provides a tool to encourage future hiking, and motivates others to also earn the award.
This is not the Scouts BSA “50-Miler” award, which requires the 50 miles to be all hiked at once. We add up many smaller hikes over the years the boys are Cub Scouts to make 50 miles.
Time period of eligibility
Boys may start logging miles as soon as they become registered Cub Scouts. Miles hiked prior to registration don’t count. Logging stops when the boy crosses over into Scouts BSA or ages out of the Cub Scout program.
Eligible Activities
All hiking completed with the pack, with dens, and privately with the boy’s family and friends can be logged towards the 50-mile goal.
Hiking counts when it meets the spirit of the Scout Law and generally supports these objectives: exploration, appreciation of the outdoors, and physical fitness.
Hiking does not include incidental walking. Our hiking policy excludes commuting (walking to school) and most other transit-related activities like walking around theme parks and walking to/from parking lots. It is true they involve lots of walking, but they are not hiking.
If you want to determine whether an activity counts, try this test: did you initiate the activity by telling each other, “Let’s go on a hike”? In other words, did you go on the hike for its own sake and enjoyment?
We have two exceptions: Scouting for Food, where the miles walked count as hiking for the purpose of this award, and BSA summer camps, where a predetermined fraction of transit miles are counted on a standardized basis.
Logging and reporting
Families should keep track of their own miles. Once the boy has completed 50 miles, the family notifies his den leader and the Cubmaster. Logs do not need to be turned in or verified.
Den leaders may use Scoutbook to record hikes by your scouts (both for den hikes and private family hikes), but families have primary responsibility for keeping track.
