Klondike Derby 2012

By Scout Alex Ayers,

On January 27, 2012 the first of two groups loaded up the trailers for the 2012 Klondike Derby. As I said there were two groups, one group that left at 12:00 and one group that left at 3:00. When the first group got to Camp Cowels we started setting up camp by putting up tents and clearing paths until about 3:30. When this was done we shoveled out the dining fly waiting for the rest of the gear to get there. When the rest of the gear did get there it was about 4:30 then we set up personal gear for about an hour. After we were all set up we finally got to relax around the camp fire till it was time to eat. After we ate we rested around the campfire till we all went to sleep preparing for the big day ahead.

               On the day of the Klondike we all woke up at 7:00 and got ready for the day by putting on all of our snow gear. After we were comfortable and warm we headed out of our tents and made our way out to the dining fly. Once our delicious breakfast made by the adults was finished we loaded up our sleds and headed for the start line. Once we had gotten over the road and gotten on the trail to the starting line the day was in full swing and we were all keeping a good pace so we could get there on time. Once we were there we all get our maps and started off on the trail. It was a fun filled day full of first aid, fire starting, tree identification, shelter building, and multiple team bonding exercises. However it was a long day and everyone was glad when we were all pushing all four sleds into headquarters at about 5:00 for the awards ceremony which went on for about an hour and a half with many awards going to some of our own patrols. After the awards ceremony, our patrols, looking like proud and confident young men, hiked back to camp. It wasn't to long after getting back into camp that everyone had a great hearty dinner. About half an hour after dinner some scout decided to have sled races down the hill by our camp. But that didn't last long, for scouts were very tired from the long day so most scouts were in bed by 9:30.

              The next morning we awoke to the sound of trailers opening and troops packing up. However we decided to be more efficient and eat breakfast in shifts while breaking camp. This worked very well and we were packed up within 90 minutes and we were back at the scout shack right on time. However, the work was not over once we got to the scout shack. There was actually another hour of work ahead of us full of hanging tents, unloading gear, and organizing troop gear. It went quite efficiently and soon enough we were all on our way home to take a nap.