Klondike Derby 2023
A Cool Campout
While many units just come up for the actual Klondike event, which is all day on Saturday, some turn it into a camping weekend. We try to do the same whenever we have the opportunity.
Whenever possible, we use this event as an opportunity to break out the 2 large army tents that we have. These work great at blocking the cold wind. The pot-belly stoves are a nice feature as well, helping to keep everyone warm on what is typically a very cold weekend.
Unfortunately this year we were unable to find time to get the tents set up. Since they are so large, it takes quite a few people to put them together. The short days during this time of the year don’t make the task any easier. No worries… We just used our normal dome tents that we camp with at other times during the year. The weather wasn’t predicted to get too cold, so we figured we could tough it out. It ended up working well, although it was definitely cool at night!
On Saturday morning, the guys had to get started bright and early. They quickly made breakfast and then headed over to the starting area.
The Klondike event runs from about 9 AM until 3 PM. During that time, the Scouts pull their sled to various areas around the camp where “cities” have been set up. At each of these areas, the Scouts have to complete a challenge using various skills that they have learned throughout their time in Scouting. The better they do, the more points they get.
As mentioned, this runs all day, which also includes lunch. In fact, this is one of the challenges they must complete. They are to cook a hot meal for their group. Shortly before lunch, 2 of the Scouts are able to leave the group to start preparing lunch. Shortly after that, the rest join them during the lunch “break” period.
After that, it’s back to the event!
During the event, the Scouts are not allowed to get any help from the adult leaders. All we can do is chill out at the campsite, and occasionally walk around to see how they are doing from a distance. This year while the guys were making their meal, we decided to keep ourselves warm with a nice pot of chili.
At the end of the event, all of the participates get together to hear the results. This is a competition, so the crew that earned the most points wins the event. Our Scouts didn’t take home an award this year, but they still did a great job working together to complete all of the challenges during the event. Congratulations to all of them for doing a great job!
