I went through Cub and Boy Scouts, because my father was big on the Scouts. I learned alot about the outdoors and I don't really regret it, but I learned early on in life that the people in charge are usually the least fit for the job. There were also too many delinquent kids in my troop that were forced into the scouts by their parents, in hopes that they'd get straightened out (it usually didn't work}. They were really good at sucking up the the leaders and being total bastards behind the leaders' backs, and they made my life hell for a few years, but I stuck it out and outlasted them. I could have been a Star Scout, but I never went for the interview, although I had the merit badges. I earned my camping badge over a Christmas vacation, it was cold and rained the whole week. 40 years later I still believe the Scouts owe me a week's vacation.

The 50 mile hike on the Appalachian trail through NY and NJ was really worth it, though. And our yearly stays at camp in the Catskill Mountains was paradise.