Camping a favorite winter pastime for Scouts
Blindfolded Boy Scouts from Troop 1320 of McMurray make their way through a maze at the Klondike Derby at Camp Anawanna two weeks ago.
Girl Scouts from Cadette Troop 54299 gather in the kitchen of a cabin at Camp Elliott in Lawrence County.
Hiking is among activities Cadette Troop 54299 enjoyed at Camp Elliott. Striking a pose are Liz Zupancic, Drew Peterson, Cassidy Wasco, Anna Sergio, Lexy Passante and Sara Huffman; lying on the ground are Simone Sergio, Jenna Wilcox and Morgan Bush.
A fireplace kept Girl Scout Cadettes with Troop 54299 warm and cozy in their cabin at Camp Elliott.
Boy Scouts with Troop 1031 of Claysville participate in a sled-pulling competition at the Klondike Derby two weeks ago at Camp Anawanna.
Brady Ross, center, a member of Boy Scout Troop 1025 of Washington, competes with Troop 1017 of Prosperity in a lashing event at the Klondike Derby.
Logan Stupak has a sleeping bag rated for minus 20 degrees. He needed it a year ago.
“I’ve slept on the ground one time in winter,” said the Trinity Middle School eighth-grader. “It was really cold – minus 3.”
The Klondike Derby was Klondike in every sense last January, for Logan and every other member of the Boy Scouts who participated in the annual winter event at Camp Anawanna. Scouts from multiple troops and their adult leaders traditionally check into the Amwell Township site Friday night for Klondike, and either sleep inside the main lodge, inside Adirondack shelters with a fire ring, or inside a tent on a pad on the ground. They then participate in activities and competitions Saturday and have the option of leaving afterward or camping out for a second night.
Logan, and the rest of the contingent from Troop 1025 in Washington, went home Saturday evening.
The boys and adults did get through that one icy night, though, by adhering to the Boy Scout motto — Be Prepared. All of them used two well-fortified sleeping bags, layered on the clothing, curled up, stayed nourished and weathered the weather.
“We did OK,” Logan said.
Camping is a favorite activity of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts throughout the region. They enjoy the camaraderie, campfires, cookouts, and communing with nature, and realize that fending off Mother Nature can be an integral part of the equation. Scouts are taught and trained to deal with any weather eventuality, which not only should enhance their safety but their enjoyment of the event, even when it’s 3 below zero.
Some troops camp out monthly year-round, and a number of Scouts even relish chilly winter trips that may include skiing or snow tubing.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s hot or cold. We teach life skills, and these boys are prepared,” said Dave Anderson of Amity, assistant scoutmaster of Troop 1025, which has eight active Scouts.
“(Adult leaders) always talk to them about equipment and safety, and the boys talk as a group about conditions and how to handle them. The boys run the troop. They decide on the activity and put up with the conditions.”
Girl Scouts from Cadette Troop 54299 did put up with wintry conditions last weekend, but not the type associated with a massive storm. As snow fell by the foot to the south, they spent two relatively snow-free days at Camp Elliott in Lawrence County.
It was chilly, though, as the boiler heating their cabin struggled to get the temperature into the 60s.
“We were feeling like we were missing something,” adult leader Marti Passante said, laughing about the virtual lack of flakes. “We were camping in the cold with no snow.”
She was accompanied by 11 girls and second adult leader Lynn Wasco from their Canonsburg-based troop of seventh-graders. Yet they were prepared for the cold.
“We kept the fire in the fireplace going all weekend, and we had a lot of fun,” Passante said, adding that the troop hiked, worked on a new craft and “gave each other blind makeovers.”
Boy Scout Troop 1017, sponsored by Bethel Presbyterian Church in Prosperity, does camp out monthly. Scoutmaster Greg Tokar said he and the troop’s other adult leaders “always put the boys’ safety No. 1. But we let the boys make decisions on where they will camp, what they will do and what patrols will bring what food. We’re training the boys to lead the troop.”
His unit has 18 to 20 active Scouts who live mostly in the McGuffey and Trinity school districts. Troops 1017 and 1025 shared a campsite at the Klondike Derby two weeks ago, for which 179 Scouts signed up.
Two winters ago, Tokar found out how resourceful his Scouts can be during a frosty weekend.
“It was 4 or 5 below, and the boys built a (lean-to) shelter covered with pine needles,” he said, referring to a protective “structure” made of leaves, twigs branches and other woodland debris. “We told them it was too cold, that they should come inside — and it wasn’t an option. They said it was warm (in the lean-to). I stuck my head in and it was warm.
“We thought we’d let them stay out for an hour, then they’ll want to come in. After a while, we had to go and get them. They were fine.”
The boys had proper attire, although Tokar pointed out that overdressing can be an issue as well. “The thing about winter camping,” he said, “is you don’t want to sweat. Then you get colder.”
The great outdoors can be the great indoors in many instances. A number of scouting campsites have lodges and/or cabins with cots or bunk beds. These facilities sometimes are chilly and drafty, but are under a roof and are often supplemented by a fireplace or two.
“I primarily do lodge camping because it’s safer for the girls. We have two or three adults per troop, and if we take 20 girls into the woods, there’s no way to keep them all safe,” said Passante, who also works with a second Canonsburg-area Girl Scout Troop — 53586.
“I think the Scouts like getting away from their parents and society and, essentially, have a big sleepover. We have meals on a campfire or inside. If it’s nice, we spend a lot of time outside. We hike, look for different animal prints. If it’s cold, we spend more time inside.”
Even if the boiler is failing.