Earning the Brownie Hiking Badge

Over the years my Girl Scout troop has gone on many hikes, some related to a badge and others just for fun.  This last spring we combined a fun hike with earning one of the new Girl Scout Brownie badges, Hiking.

1. Mix and match ingredients there are many other options out there! Once all ingredients are added have a leader mix up and put into ziploc bags for each girl. Of course, make sure that there are no allergies to consider whenever planning a snack for your group.

5.) Sing on Your Hike

The Badge in a Bag kit comes with a few great song choices. We also brought along a few others in case the girls wanted to sing more. We found they really enjoyed following the hiking trail signs and were more interested in nature than singing.

Make Your Hike more Interesting

Here are some of the hike themes we have used in the past years. Try one of these next time you take your Girl Scouts hiking.

Humpty Dumpty Trail

I made a Picture of Humpty Dumpty on card stock, cut it up in about 20 pieces and hid them along the hiking trail. We formed teams: two different trails for two teams, and each team had to go along and find the pieces and put Humpty Dumpty back together. We gave prizes for the first team that put Humpty back together.

Penny Hike

Each girl gets a penny, and she is to find as many items as she can that will fit on the penny without hanging off the edges. The girl with most items wins.

Trust Hike

We took yarn and ran it around trees and we made sure the area was clear and safe.  We blindfolded each girl, and had her find her way out and around the maze of yarn.

Bo Peep Hike

We gave each girl a picture of a sheep. Beforehand, the troop leaders went out and put cotton balls along the trail. The girls each had a glue stick and glued the cotton on the sheep as they found it. We did this hike with our Daisies and Brownies.

Hobo Hike

Girls tie their lunch up in a bandanna and put on the end of a stick. During the hike, we stop to have lunch.

Onion Hike

Before the hike, we rubbed trees with an onion cut in half. The girls followed the trail by sniffing and finding their way.

 Unnatural-Hike

Before the hike, we placed items that shouldn’t be found on a trail (hint: mark down the location of every “unnatural” item you put down. You don’t want these items left behind!) Do not be surprised if the girls find things that you didn’t put out for the hike (such as trash, etc). Each team is given a pad and pencil on which to record “unnatural” occurrences. The team with the most correct items wins! Once the hike is over, get the girls together to collect trash and leave the area better than they found it.