In February of 2008 the scouts in Troop 230 went deep winter camping. The junior leaders went out Friday night, sledding their way to a remote cabin, where we spent the night, played games, and had fun. On Saturday, the rest of the troop arrived, and together we struck out on a five mile compass course that pitted one patrol against the next. In the afternoon we went snow machining, and every scout in the troop that attended this campout had the opportunity to head out on an overland snow machine trip that was a real BLAST! We all got to drive our own machines, and we went into the deep woods, playing in the powder fields and we enjoyed an awesome day of scouting.
Ahhhh, you've probably heard about the "northern lights." Well, we also have another crazy northern phenomenon called "light circles" and they aren't anything like "crop circles" but they are just as mysterious. You can only find them on winter campouts, and not on everyone even when the conditions are right. Still, if you are really lucky, and the night is just exactly right, and the moon is just so, and the mood of the scouts is just perfect, then, sometimes, they will come out. On this campout they were busy, and the older scouts got lucky and were surrounded by the little creatures on Friday evening. Wow. WOW! If you have never seen them for yourself, you'll have to come and camp when the conditions are right, and then, if you are reallllllllly lucky, you may get to see what few others have.
Like most of our campouts, this one was conducted using the patrol method, where every patrol planned their own menu and cooked their own food. This time we used only lightweight stoves, in preparation for building the skills we will need this coming summer when we are a long way from our vehicles and deep into the Alaska backcountry.
On this campout, the emphasis was on map and compass skills, and we had a giant treasure hunt that was similar to an plain orienteering course but a lot more exciting. There was treasure to be found, and treasure maps to use, and if you did everything right there was money to be found. Needless to say, the auction on Saturday night around the campfire was one not to be missed!
One of the things the scouts in T230 like to do is to burn gasoline. And this campout was no exception, and every scout had the opportunity to head down the trail, driving his own snow machine. Needless to say, with the bright sun and crystal clear sky it was a great day for a great adventure.
For every troop outing, the junior leaders make it happen, and this outing was no exception. It takes a special scout to run a big troop, and these guys have what it takes and proved themselves on this event. Are they crazy? No....but in Alaska, when the weather warms up (20 deg F) some of the junior leaders take advantage of the 'hot' sun and the opportunity to work on their tans. Yeah...I know. But small stuff doesn't bother the junior leaders of T230, and believe it or not these two rocked to their music and relaxed in the sun after they set up the compass course and got the rest of the troop out looking for hidden treasure.
