Troop 54 returned to Treasure Valley Scout Reservation for a Klondike Derby for our first time since 2011. Since then, we had participated in events at the Nimrod League in Princeton, at Camp Collier in Gardner and at the Harvard Sportsman's Club in Littleton. This Kondike was in the East Camp.
Our camp site was the Madore site, which was at one extreme of the event. We arrived on Friday night to set up camp, in the dark as usual. With heavy snow having fallen in recent weeks, we had to hike about 100 yards through deep snow from the cars to the actual site. Some of us used snow shoes to pack the trail down a bit. The Scouts shoveled their platforms before setting up their tents. The leaders packed the snow down and set up their tents on top of that. The temperature was 8°F as we set up camp.
We had five Boy Scouts and three leaders participating on this trip. One Webelos Scout from Pack 54 joined us during the day on Saturday.
In a break with tradition, the event HQ was in the Training Center, attached to the Ranger's house. Typically, events in the East Camp are run out of the East Lodge.
The Klondike featured 20 stations and a similar number of sleds. Our sled was repaired in recent weeks, including getting new handles.
The leaders had to leave the camp early to help with registration at 7 AM. Back at the camp site, the water container had been left on its side so that its valve was frozen and the Scouts could not get the water out of it to make breakfast.
ASM Keith MacNeal prepared a hearty stew for lunch, tailgate style, at the East Lodge parking lot.
At each station, the sled was awarded points representing the Scouts' performance. In keeping with the Kondike theme, they also received one simulated gold nugget for each point.
This was the troop's seventy-fourth consecutive month with at least one overnight camping trip.
Page updated 2/28/15.
