Story Contributor, Michele Enlow.
2020 Inaugural Western Section Klondike for Crossroads Council held at Camp Collum was a success.
Every year the Sugar Creek district puts on a winter camporee. We, Scouts BSA, call it The Klondike. This year our Crossroads of America Council challenged us to hold the Inaugural Western Section Klondike. The invitation was put out to the 4 districts in the Western section of the state. We had 3 of the 4 represented. Sugar Creek was honored to be the first to hold this event.
To give you an insight on this event, every year is different. I have been to the last 4. We have had a range of weather to contend with to. From 61 degrees and sunshine to last years 20 degrees and 8 inches of snow to this year’s winds and rain. It is always a challenge but always rewarding.
9 Boys troops, 1 Girl Troop, 4 Webelos Packs
List of Troops and Packs that attended are as follows.
Troops: T309, T319G, T323, T336, T338, T350, T359, and T365.
Packs: P338, P309, P337 and P365
Troop 263 from Pathfinder District
Troop 97 from Hou Koda District
In this event, when the patrols checked in they were given a unique patrol name that they carried with them throughout the event. They were also given a piece of material to create a new patrol flag. The patrols names were taken from the history of the Iditarod trail and Alaska. Some names were checkpoint towns, parts of the sled, wildlife and rivers or roads that you would find in Alaska.
The patrols compete at each station throughout the day. We just want the scouts to do their best. A lot of times they are competing against themselves to see if they are better than they were the last time that they did the task. We had one troop that did just that. They managed to be the only Troop to make it to every single station, which we had 10, and they bettered their time on the fire building which they were so excited about you could hear it across the camp. As the day progressed, they had a plan and they were prepared. All day, you could tell that they were ready for anything that we had set up. Troop 323 out of Linden, IN was the overall winner of the Western Section Klondike.
Troop Rankings: 1st – T323 (Balto), 2nd- T350 (Ice Hook), 3rd- T97 (Ravens), 4th- T319G (Big Su), 5th- T338 (Last Dash), 6th- T365 (Bears), 7th- T359 (Huskies), 8th- T336 (Anvic), 9th- T359 (Grayling), 10th- T263 (Eagles), 11TH- T309 (Chinook), 12th-T309 (Double Lead).
Pack 338 from Frankfort was the overall winner for the Webelos.
Pack Rankings: 1st-P338 (Ducks), 2nd-P309 (Picket Line), 3rd-P337 (Last Frontier) (Pack 365 was merged with T365 due to only having 2 members in attendance)
We had some very young troops to some very experienced troops. The great thing about this experience is to see how hard the kids want to better themselves and how much they want to work as a team. It is a challenge for sure, but the end results are amazing. I saw a great group of kids wanting to learn as well as have a lot of fun in a safe environment. These kids are better for it and as adult scouters, we couldn’t be more proud of their accomplishments.
During a camporee, there are stations that you put to use things that you have learned or learn something new for a station. Our stations consisted of a Cook-off, Emergency Shelter building, First Aid, Leather working, Sled inspection, string burn station, Blacksmithing and Flint Knapping.
We would normally have a sled race as well, but due to the trails being a unsafe at the time of the start of the day due to inclement weather, we had to cancel that portion of the event.
Cook Off –Judged on Presentation, Creativity and cooking equipment. Winner was Troop 319G, the girls troop made homemade, jelly filled doughnut holes that morning.
Sledge Inspection –– Items judged (backpack with 10 essentials, blanket, patrol flag, yell or cheer or song. (Weight of sled is at least 50lbs – Weigh ins at inspection – reweigh at end of race.)
First Aid- Cold Related injuries – Each member of the patrol needs to have their own first aid kit with them for this camporee.
Patrols will have to furnish all first aid supplies such as triangular bandages, poles and blankets for stretchers, extra coats/blankets to keep victim warm, etc.
A victim will be provided. Only first aid knowledge required for BSA rank advancement (tenderfoot, second class, first class) will be used in the scenario. (Scenario for Webelos is available.)
Leather Working – each patrol can stamp/hole punch and learn about tools for leather working
Ice Island Challenge- Judged on Teamwork, Communication and ingenuity.
Blacksmith- Learning about blacksmiths in their trade
String Burn scored on preparation, lighting and fire. Timed event – Bring your own kindling and fire starters
Emergency Shelter Building –Using simple materials such as a tarp, rope, and spars, Scouts must build a shelter large enough for the patrol. The Scouts are assessed on time and the quality of the shelter, such as amount of protection, protection from wind, and sturdiness.
Pioneering (troops only)–In the great northwest, sometimes you need to build in order to thrive or survive. Each patrol is to design something useful (camp gadget, survival tool, or other creation) to build on site. No supplies are going to be provided. Patrols supply all poles or staves with whatever twine might be needed. Space is limited to 10′ X 10′. All assembly will be done on site. Scored on Creativity, usefulness, and knots.
Flint Knapping- Learning about Flint Knapping, its beginning and uses.
The Sugar Creek Activities Committee would like to thank all troops and packs that came out to the event. As well as the adult leaders that donated their time and effort to make sure that it was a successful weekend. It takes more than one to make it all work. A special thank you to Howard Griffith, Dan Dehn, Celeste Martin, Tony Martin, Hector Galvan, Hoppy (Camp Ranger), Kolby Dehn, Ralph Willard., Eli Griffith, David Harvey and Brett Pritchett, Michaela Hammel, Dan and Margie Michael, Ray Hundley, Chuck Queen, Rob Weber, Bob Skinner, Rolf Samuelsen, David & Christy Yoder, Beth Downey, Doug Johnson, Shane Shepherd, Ryan Shepherd, Jackson Shepherd, Dana Harrison, Sandy Kelly, Chuck Kemble, Jeff Gehm, Tyler Cearlock, Caleb Crumb, Steve Gray and Michele Enlow. We would also like to thank the Firecrafters for the dinner that they provided on Saturday night at the Lodge. Also a Big Thank You to Crossroads Council for sponsoring the event. Erick Dircks took photos and video for this event, click links below for viewing.