Outdoor training for adult leaders, run together at camp on the same weekend. They are two different courses for two different programs — read on before you register.
Dates and registration are on the council calendar.
View the East Texas Area Council calendar → (opens in a new tab)
These are not the same course. IOLS and BALOO are often scheduled the same weekend at Camp Pirtle, which makes them easy to confuse. Registering for the wrong one means a wasted weekend and a leader who still cannot take their unit camping. Pick the one that matches your program.
Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills.
Who: Scoutmasters, assistant Scoutmasters, and Scouts BSA leaders. Required for the Scoutmaster and assistant Scoutmaster "trained" designation.
What: The outdoor skills a Scouts BSA leader needs to competently run a troop's outdoor program — and to teach them to Scouts working through Tenderfoot to First Class.
Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation.
Who: Cub Scout pack leaders and parents.
What: How to plan and run a safe pack overnighter.
Why it matters: A pack cannot hold an overnight campout unless a BALOO-trained adult is present. If your pack wants to camp, somebody has to take this.
You camp for the weekend and do the skills yourself rather than watch them demonstrated. That is deliberate — it is hard to teach a Scout to pitch a tent in the rain if you have never done it.
Fees are published with the course on the council calendar.
Leader guides, forms and packing lists for this program are posted here as they are released. In the meantime, the council calendar (opens in a new tab) listing has the current paperwork.
Registration for every Camp Pirtle program is handled on the East Texas Area Council event calendar.
