Boy Scouts create winter burrito

MOSES LAKE — Adam Merrill, 13, is most excited to sleep in the snow when he goes camping this weekend.

“It’s fun to sleep outside,” Merrill said. “I like winter camping a lot because you can’t do it that often.”

Merrill and 14 fellow Moses Lake Boy Scouts from Troop 67, created winter burritos for a winter retreat. The burritos are winter survival sleeping bags, featuring a shell to cover a sleeping bag and other material.

“If you build this burrito correctly and have the proper sleeping bag, you can sleep outside in the snow without a tent,” said William Merrill, troop leader. “The boys are testing it this week to ensure it is ready for their retreat this weekend.”

The troop is heading to a winter camp along with boy scouts from other areas in Washington state, put on by the Boy Scout Council. The camp, called “Scout Evista” is on Mission Ridge Ski Resort, about a 15-minute drive from Wenatchee.

“This allows boys from all over the area to camping in the snow together,” William said.

The troop has been around for almost a year and a half. Most of the boys are around 11, 12 and 13 years old.

“The older Boy Scouts started creating the burritos last year,” William said. “They made sure they tested the burritos out at home before they took them camping.”

The boys slept outside in 15 degree weather, but were warm because of their burritos.

“They just camped out in a backyard, cooking hot dogs and marshmallows,” William said. “They actually reported they had gotten too hot sleeping in the burritos.”

Adam said creating the burritos helped him learn how to pack for camping as well.

“It’s fun to make and now I can figure out how to make good decisions about where to pack things for winter camp,” he said. “You have to remember to put the stuff that can get wet on the bottom and the stuff that can’t get wet in the middle of that.”

Adam said his favorite part of creating the burrito was watching fellow troop members put the final touches together.

“It’s cool watching it get sewn up,” Adam said.

Inland Tarp & Cover owner Glenn Knopp donated the material for the shell and helped the boys put their burritos together.

“As a child I was a Cub Scout I’ve definitely seen how it benefited me greatly in my life,” Knopp said. “I like to help get young people started on something positive any way I can. I’ve had a lot of fun doing the project with the Boy Scouts.”

During camp, the troop is competing in various outdoor skill events such as Dutch oven cooking, snow shoeing and dog sled races.

“We made a dog sled old fashioned, just like the kind you would find in Alaska,” William said.

The troop has the opportunity achieve first, second or third place. Last year, the boys won third place and took home a Dutch Oven Society cookbook.

“The boys are hoping to do even better this year,” William said.

The troop participates in outdoor activities at least once a month, Adam said.

“I love to be outdoors,” Adam said. “The burrito is going to be cool because often, when we camp, we don’t get to the campsite until it is dark and it’s hard to set up a tent. We will be able to lay down our burrito down and sleep without worrying about that.”

The Cub Scouts are coming to the camp as well. Boy Scouts are those ages 11 to 17, while Cub Scouts are ages seven to 11.

“It’s a great learning experience for the older boys to help out the cub scouts,” William said. “The older boys will teach the younger ones about how to run in the snow shoes, cooking and exposing them to outdoor activities.”

While a few adults are coming to provide leadership, all decisions are made by the boys.

“The boys are doing their own cooking and packing,” William said. “Our troop really pushed hard on that independence. Our belief is that they don’t learn if mom and dad are doing all the work for them.”

The adults give advice and ensure the boys are practicing safety.

“We won’t let them do anything unsafe, but we want them to branch out,” William said.

Camping and building winter burritos encourages the boys to be inventive, William said.

“This gives them the skills they can keep for life and teaches them to self-reliant,” he said. “Building burritos teaches the kids to build and use their hands, which is essential for today’s electronically-minded society. Camping teaches them not to panic in the cold and how to survive outdoors.”

Adam said he learned other life skills during his two years as a Boy Scout.

“I like being a Boy Scout because it teachers you a lot of useful things,” Adam said. “A few days ago, I received a “Citizenship in the World” merit badge and I had to write an essay on different world groups like the Red Cross I’d never heard of before.”