Girl Scout Leaders and Snoring
Experiences as a Leader 7 Comments 
camp pisgah, cats, encampment, mountain magic, snoring
Note: This post is meant to be tongue-in-cheek and certainly shouldn’t be taken seriously. See the meme on the About Me page for more insight.
If you read the post from April about our service unit’s Encampment this past year, you’ll know that our troop was assigned the Treehouse units at Camp Pisgah during a cold snap. A very cold snap. It dropped down to 32° Friday night and forecasted to drop to 26º Saturday. I made the executive decision to move us to the Lodge where there was heat. Unfortunately, there were also snorers. LOUD ones.
One of the snorers was a woman from our service unit that I will not mention by name but she is famous (infamous?) for her snoring. 😀 When I walked into the Lodge from cleaning up after Saturday night’s fireside activity, the parents and other leader from our troop had already set up my mattress and sleeping bag for me. I smiled, but then that smile turned into a look of horror as I realized who was set up right next to us and had already fallen asleep.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! My co-leader asked what was wrong, and I said, “Wait for it.”
Silence. Right on cue, a buzzsaw cut through the air. The parents and co-leader looked at me. I said, “Yes, that was real.” But then, an answer came from the other side of the room. It almost sounded like a frog. A very horrible, awful, annoying, and snoring frog.
I am a very light sleeper. I laid there for about 30 minutes and could feel the sanity drain out of my ears. Finally, I sat up and whispered very loudly (which really isn’t whispering), “I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!” and dragged my mattress into the kitchen. I wasn’t out of earshot of the Frog Lady and Our SU’s Snorer, but I could lay my iPod blasting white noise on top of my ear and then lay my pillow on top of that. They’d fall off my head periodically and then I’d be woken up by the dozing duo. At times I swear I could hear them through the white noise. It was like something out of The Tell-Tale Heart. At 1am, I went on a sleep deprived rant on Facebook condemning snorers and wishing for a mass sinus surgery and CPAPs to fall out of the sky.
Anyway, I don’t know what it is about Girl Scout leaders and snoring, but it seems to just go with the territory. I’m seriously thinking about buying a Eno or a knock-off and carry it with me in the case I run into a situation where I’m stuck with a snorer and have to plot my escape. There was one in my tent during my Sleep Out/Outdoor training and it was torture. Many of my leader friends admit they are snorers.
Some friends of mine had one in their cabin during this past spring’s Mountain Magic. They forwarded me a recording. I get a little concerned in the middle during the lengthy pause wondering if the woman stopped breathing. And she supposedly had a CPAP but chose not to use it! What the heck! Glad I wasn’t there. Turn up your speakers! Or better yet, put your headphones on and experience it in stereo!
However, if a cat or bulldog snores, it’s cute. People snoring? Not so cute. I leave you with two videos of Big Boy snoring. I miss him so much.
Addendum 2/27/24: Of all of the blog posts, I really didn’t think this one would be the one to generate such controversy. It was meant to be tongue-in-cheek (see About Me and the meme about my sense of humor). My husband is a HUGE snorer and has worn a CPAP for over a decade and we sleep in the same bed, so I more than understand. I have ways to deal with the noise and this March will be our 24th anniversary so I’ve been dealing with it for a long time now. Also, my co-leader is a big snorer, and on trips, I sleep outside in a tent or hammock so that she’s not inconvenienced since I am such a light sleeper. I’ve even slept in my car.
I really hope you have gained some more empathy for people who can’t help that they snore. This post reeks of entitlement! Bring some darn earplugs if you’re that sensitive to noise when sleeping! I do.
This is supposed to be a tongue-in-cheek post. My husband is a HUGE snorer and has been wearing a CPAP for over a decade so I am more than understanding about it. During GS trips, I sleep in a tent or hammock outside so that people who snore are not inconvenienced.
It doesn’t come across that way at all. Especially with the recordings. Other new leaders have come across this and felt judged because they snore, or use a CPAP.
I’ve added an addendum to the post stating that it’s meant to be tongue in cheek for those who take it the wrong way. I’ve had feedback from others (who are snorers) who think it’s funny, but I realize not everybody gets my sense of humor.
I am said co-leader. I am not offended. We All are special in our own ways. It’s just part of growing up. Good luck!
This just isn’t the vibe that should be associated with Girl Scouts.
Please note, I realize this is an old post, but I saw a Facebook post this morning in a Girl Scout group from a new leader concerned that maybe GS wasn’t the right organization for her, a CPAP user, because of this blog post specifically. Preparing to go camping with her new troop, she had googled what GS troop leaders who use CPAPs do while camping with their troop. Unfortunately she had run across this post during her search and instantly felt alienated, humiliated, ashamed. She said in the post she even considered if girl scouts was the right organization to volunteer with after reading this post. I hope others haven’t felt the same over the years. I hope the women you are making fun of in this post for their medical conditions are doing well and that the girls in your troop and service unit were not influenced by this exclusive & mocking mindset.
Girl Scouts is supposed to be welcoming and inclusive of all — including troop leaders & volunteers.
This is supposed to be a tongue-in-cheek post. My husband is a HUGE snorer and has been wearing a CPAP for over a decade so I am more than understanding about it. During GS trips, I sleep in a tent or hammock outside so that people who snore are not inconvenienced.