Boy Scouts Offer Life Changing Experiences
“This is lame,” Nathan grumbled as he stumbled from the comfort of his cabin at the Boy Scout Northern Tier high adventure base camp in Ely, MN.
Down at the lake, ten strangers wordlessly outfitted their canoes until Nathan gingerly stepped into his to confirm it wouldn’t tip. As suavely as a 16-year-old can muster at 5:00 a.m., Nathan shifted his weight to the one foot in the canoe.
An unexpected expletive escaped when his foot slipped. His long legs seemed to bicycle the air as his head hit the sand three feet below Moose Lake’s cold surface. Thoughts ranged from ”I’ll never forgive my parents for ruining my summer like this” to “My summer is ruined!” Wasn’t it enough that I agreed to go to Philmont with the troop last month? Wasn’t that enough?
Nathan’s blazing eyes shot out of the water to warn, “Don’t say a word!” One of the Scouts subtly turned his head to hide a smile. Total silence followed until the guide said, “Don’t swear on this trip; or you’d better have a good reason.” His stern eyes surveyed all the boys then glimmered, “And that one qualifies.”
Uproarious laughter began weaving the tie of brotherhood that firmly bound these Order of the Arrow (OA) members by the time they returned to base camp two weeks later.
The Boy Scouts’ service club invited Nathan and 69 other boys to work and canoe the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), taking up a third of northern Superior National Forest in northeast Minnesota.
The BWCAW is comprised of nearly 1.3 million acres that extend about 150 miles along the international boundary between Canada and the USA. The park boasts 1,200 miles of canoe routes, 15 hiking trails and a couple hundred unparalleled campsites. It was set aside in 1926 to preserve its primitive character and made a part of the National Wilderness Preservation System in 1964. Visitors can canoe, portage and camp in the spirit of the French voyagers of 200 years ago.
“That first day, we paddled a long time until we got to where we all hoped was the end,” remembered Nathan. “The guides showed us how to portage, and we had to carry 850 pounds of canoes and stuff for over a mile; and then we had to put them all in the next lake and paddle some more. When we stopped at an ugly campsite, I thought even less of my parents making me go. That turned out to be a nice site because trees blocked the sun from waking us too early in the mornings. I don’t like mornings.”
For the first week of their trip, the teens repaired a large portion of the trail. After paddling, portaging, paddling, and then setting up camp, the young men hiked to the top of the trail they were to repair and pulled out buckets, sledgehammers, and other tools. The guide pointed to a pile of large rocks and said, “You’re going to break up all those rocks over there and cover this trail first with softball-sized pieces, then over that with golf-ball-sized pieces, and finally with pea-sized pieces. Make it half a foot deep.”
The boys were shocked!
He hit the largest rock as hard as he could. A cartoon-style ricochet caused him to drop the sledgehammer and blow on trembling hands.
Rain and snow damage the trails every winter; hundreds of Boy Scouts repair them every summer. They earn the trek of a lifetime by checking dams, water bars, turnpikes, or making gravel like Nathan’s crew did. While laying down the gravel they make, Scouts learn about preventing erosion. They feel great about themselves and how much they’ve helped others enjoy this beautiful place.
“We finished up exactly on time a week later,” said Nathan proudly. “We celebrated by eating four tubs of jalapeno cheese.” He knew he was forever changed.
During the fun part of the trip, the boys visited 57 lakes covering 100 miles. Memorable sites included the Otter Track near Canada, where the boys caught largemouth bass they cooked for dinner. They drank root beer to their hearts’ content. They enjoyed the water and scenery and even spent time learning to pause in silence to enjoy nature.
The boys were no longer strangers. “The trek made us feel like brothers.” We went lots of places, did lots of stuff, did some work to help out the Forest Service and shared some great campfire stories.”
And he returned home a more confident, mature young man than when he left.
Nathan enjoys sharing travel adventures with friends and family at http://www.discounttravelhangout.com and would love to hear about your adventures too.
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