Hiker Skill-Building Badge

I'm always looking for fun, unique ways for Tessa to earn Girl Scout badges. While planning our recent trip to Michigan's Great Lakes region, I knew visiting their National Parks would be a great way for Tessa to fulfill the final step of the Brownie Hiker Skill-Building Badge. The U.S. National Park Service offers a wonderful program for kids called Junior Rangers. By completing various activities pertaining to the park and sometimes a small service project, participants can earn a plastic park-specific Junior Ranger pin-on badge and certificate. Some parks also award patches and hand out pencils, postcards, posters, etc. Participating in Junior Ranger programs is a great way to slow down and really enjoy the parks. Plus, the Junior Ranger activity booklet serves as the "game" for Step 5 of the Hiker Badge. It's perfect really! National Parks often have trails available for every skill and endurance level. While many parks charge a fee, some are free. The National Park Service also offers free days throughout the year.

The full requirements for earning the Hiker Skill-Building Badge can be found in the Brownie It's Your Planet - Love It! Skill-Building Badge Activity Set. The resources listed below are the ones we used to fulfill these requirements. This was Tessa's first earned Brownie badge! Woohoo!!

Love the "Hiking Is Fun" bear fun patch to complement this skill-building badge.

("Junior Ranger Programs: Education on the Road" - This is a link to a blog post from last year with some other Junior Ranger programs Tessa has participated in.)

Hiker

Girl Scouts love to sing hiking songs, pack fun and tasty snacks, and hunt for signs of animals and birds. Here's what you need to know to become a Brownie hiker--get ready for adventure!

Steps

1. Decide where to go. Find out where you can hike in your area. Some distances look short on a map, but they are actually quite long. Work with an adult to choose a hike that's perfect for you.

• Completed Choice #1 - Find a trail.
• Tessa and I discussed the features of both Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. She chose to officially earn her Hiker Badge at Sleeping Bear Dunes.

2. Try out a hiking skill. Get ready before you hit the trail. The more hiking skills you have, the more fun it will be.

• Completed Choice #2 - Practice observation on a neighborhood safari.

I sketched a map of our backyard (and then photocopied it). Before heading out for our mini hike, Tessa outlined a route on the map. As we followed her route, she drew three plants and three animals she discovered along the way. (I included designated spaces for each on my sketch.) Some items she drew were a wildflower, mushroom, moss, squirrel, spider and yellow jacket. Tessa had a great time with this!

3. Pick the right gear. Just like you can't play sports without the right equipment (playing soccer without a ball would be pretty tough!), you can't hike without the right gear. By the end of this step, you should have your hiker backpack ready.

Since we didn't have access to a very knowledgeable and willing hiking expert (and I personally didn't think most staff members at an outdoor store or an older Girl Scout would cover this topic thoroughly enough for my taste), we opted to consult an age-appropriate hiking book for this step.

• Read "Equipment" (pages 5-15) from Take a Hike by Sharon McKay via OpenLibrary.org. (Or, check your local library for a similar title or maybe even a DVD.)

4. Pack a snack for energy. You'll need to keep up your energy on your hike. Pick your favorite healthy snack to take with you on the trail.

• Complete Choice #1 - GORP.
• Tessa picked out a cereal, cracker, chip, cookie, nut, fruit and candy to make a trail mix for our car trip. I loved this idea because it was something she could make virtually on her own.

Tessa chose Honey Nut Cheerios, mini pretzels, mini Club crackers, chocolate chip cookies, M&Ms, sunflower seeds, cherry-flavored Craisins, and dried tropical fruit for her trail mix. My original plan was to take her to Dollar Tree and let her pick out $5-$6 worth of similar product. We don't have one local, so Tessa's trail mix ended up costing a good bit more than I intended.

Tessa measured out about a cup of each ingredient for her trail mix and then stirred it all together.

Tessa with her completed trail mix. She was very proud of her work.

A close-up of Tessa's trail mix, which we ate while driving through Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (and the rest of our vacation). We couldn't find mini chocolate chip cookies, so Tessa and I broke up regular-sized ones.

5. Go on your hike! You have your map, your backpack, and your new hiking skills. You're ready to go! Now choose a game to play as you hike along--and maybe even learn a new song.

• Hiked the sand dunes at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
• Completed Junior Ranger program at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, which incorporated several aspects of the listed games for Step 5 and more!

Stuck in the car with a goodly touch of food poisoning, Tessa and her dad set off without me for a seemingly short jaunt to the shore at Sleeping Bear Point. That's how it looked from the parking lot and map anyway.

Surprise...sand dunes! And, lots of them!! So bummed I missed this. Hiker badge earned.

Normally, flip-flops wouldn't be appropriate shoe attire for a hike, but at the Dune Climb at Sleeping Bear it's pretty well the only thing to wear.

Does skipping up and down a massive dune constitute hiking? Seriously, Tessa skipped up this thing! I, on the hand, went my sure-and-steady-wins-the-race pace. Uhm, no. I certainly did not win. Hiker badge earned...again.

Tessa completed the final step in becoming a Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Junior Ranger by reciting a pledge to protect and tell others about the park. 

Tessa completed ten activities from the Junior Ranger booklet (only eight are required for her age), attended a ranger-led activity and completed a service project (she chose to pick up five pieces of trash) to complete Step 5 of her Hiker Badge and earn her Junior Ranger certificate. Sleeping Bear has an exceptionally good Junior Ranger program. I highly recommend it. In addition to the plastic Junior Ranger badge, Tessa also received a special patch that we may sew onto the back of her Brownie vest as a fun patch. Not all Junior Ranger programs offer a patch. She also received a Sleeping Bear pencil and was offered a poster. 

Purpose

When I've earned this badge, I'll know how to hit the trail for a hike.