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Scouting

NorthernRedneck

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So a side note from scouting.

Back in high school I was part of a camping group called outers. We started the year with 4 separate 3 day canoe trips covering lakes and rivers in the geraldton area.

In the winter, we snowshoed in 7 km with heavy backpacks over a rough twisty trail to a log cabin where we would do activities like orienteering, quinzee building, winter survival.

In the spring, we would end off the year with a 2 week long canoe trip. Every year would be a different route. We did lakes rivers rapids and portages camping in 12 man prospector tents. They weighed around 100lbs to carry.

One of the trips I did was the steel lake trip. Another was the steel river trip. We would start off in longlac and work our way down through the various lakes in the area to access the steel system. The lake and river both paralleled each other starting at eaglecrest lake about halfway from longlac to terrace bay. There was some of the most beautiful untouched areas in north America on the route with 300 ft cliffs lining the shores of the rivers and lakes.

I found a blog online of someone else who did the lower part of this trip starting in Santoy lake and going over the infamous diablo portage that starts with a steep 300 ft climb to access the portage.

Here's the link to the blog that details the lower part of the trip. I traveled this area back in the early 90s.

https://bwca.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=trip.report_view&sel_trp_id=5247&sel_trp_part_id=2

Here's a map showing the basic route I traveled on the steel system.
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Canadian eh!!!
 

luvs

'lil yinzer~
GOLD Site Supporter
man, & i thought brownies/girl scouts wasn't easy--
our thin mints were !!
 

NorthernRedneck

Well-known member
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Heading out to a camp this weekend again with the scouts. We're sleeping in heated cabins with hydro.

Canadian eh!!!
 

NorthernRedneck

Well-known member
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So that storm that came through yesterday dropped a bit of snow. It should be a muddy mess getting out tomorrow as it's supposed to be +10 celcius. It's-3 now. The troop was busy making breakfast this morning on coleman stoves. French toast and fried spam.
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Canadian eh!!!
 

NorthernRedneck

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Tonight, we went to a local park area to clear old scrap metal. We have been working on this for 3 years.

The story goes that back in the 30s and 40s, place was a fox farm where they raised and slaughtered foxes for the fur for coats. In the 60s, the place closed and the land was donated to be used as a park area. So they came in and bulldozed the building and fox cages over the edge of a hill. Then they built a mini train that travels over a mile long track. Hauling people around. There's a replica logging camp from the 40s. A petting zoo with a few horses.

But the old scrap metal from the slaughter house and fox cages is still sitting there. A lot covered in moss and overgrowth. The scouts have been going in annually and cleaning up scrap metal.
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Canadian eh!!!
 

NorthernRedneck

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This weekend is the annual spring all sections camp. We have scouts Cubs and beavers from 5 different groups all camping in a field. There's a full day of activities planned for tomorrow.

Canadian eh!!!
 

NorthernRedneck

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This weekend is the annual city wide camp. We have 5 local troops along with a group that traveled 10 hours from neenah Wisconsin to join us. The kids are enjoying making pool noodle rockets, seeing exotic animals, making tshirt hand bags, and making stress balls. This afternoon they will be learning about various science experiments from another group.
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Canadian eh!!!
 

NorthernRedneck

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Talk about ending the season with a bang. Big camp out on the weekend. Get home last night and go sailing today.

First let me explain something. We went into this not knowing what to expect. None of us ever being on a sailboat. We had 16 scouts and 3 leaders attend. I've been working on this for 6 months. My first solo project for the troop where I was in charge.

So we get to the meeting spot where a leader of the yacht club is waiting for us. He breaks us up into groups based on the number of people each boat could handle. So we all split up and slowly one by one the skippers for each boat arrive and grab a group and head off to their ships dock. Cool. I look out and beside us a boat was already heading out. This is the north shore of lake superior where the water temperature is only 2 degrees Celsius. One by one the boats head out.

Cool! I thought. We're going to cruise around for a bit. Then the skipper lists off a course we are going to follow then barks off commands to his crew of 4 women. Apparently they normally have a crew of ten when they sail. They spring into action hoisting sails and making adjustments to the ropes. The skipper looks at me and says "we're in a race!"

Our scouts got to experience first hand what it's like to be in a sailboat race. It was all good. The sailboat I was on was 43' long. A nice looking boat. We were out for 3 hrs sailing back and forth across the harbor. Sometimes it was calm then they made a turn around a buoy and it would spring into life and take off leaning right over.
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Canadian eh!!!
 

Doc

Bottoms Up
Staff member
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Wow, what an great day!!!!!!! Thanks for sharing the pics!! :clap: :clap: :clap:
 

NorthernRedneck

Well-known member
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Not a problem. It was a great experience. They may be open to having us back again in the fall. I love loved it.

Canadian eh!!!
 

NorthernRedneck

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Our final event until September. We joined the Cubs and beavers at a provincial park for a weekend of hiking biking and swimming. This was a very relaxed camp at sleeping giant national park. There are plenty of hiking and biking trails. The sleeping giant is a natural land formation that looks like the name. The view from the city can be seen in the last picture. From the city it looks like an island but in reality it's a peninsula that you can drive to. We're camped just behind the head of the giant on the left. This is on the northwestern shore of lake superior.

We are working on an extra event in August when a group of scouts from England is coming here for a week. We may spend a couple nights with them.
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Canadian eh!!!
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NorthernRedneck

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It's a balmy 2 degrees above freezing and we're sleeping in tents in the woods tonight. There's 18 in our group and roughly 60 people in total at this camp. Thank God for arctic sleeping bags.
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NorthernRedneck

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Today was a good day despite an injury that saw me rushing one of the scouts to emerg this morning.

After my unplanned trip to the hospital, I returned to camp where we went on a 5 mile hike. This evening we participated in a traditional scout campfire of songs and skits followed by deep fried goblin ears over the fire.

Now for the injury. One of the senior scouts was splitting firewood and somehow nailed his thumb with the axe taking a nice chunk of skin and meat off.

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NorthernRedneck

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We're flirting with disaster this weekend. Sort of pushing the envelope so to speak. We have an overnight camp planned for Saturday night out at our small log cabin about an hour drive north of here.

This time of year, the weather is unpredictable. We could have temperatures in the mid teens (celcius) during the day and below freezing at night.

The cabin is a 3 km hike to get to by trail or a paddle across a small lake followed by a 300 yard portage and another short paddle.

We're planning on going in Saturday morning, half of the group hiking the trail and the rest of us canoeing in and doing the Portage. But, it could rain snow. There could be ice on the lake. It's an unknown. So I will be heading up there tomorrow to check out the conditions. If there's ice and snow, that means that the cabin is inaccessible until about mid December when we have enough ice to safely hike across the ice.

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NorthernRedneck

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I went out to check the conditions where we're going this weekend. There's a light dusting of snow on the ground but no ice on the lake yet. We had a bad wind storm last Saturday that took down trees all over the road. It's passable but the kids have a 3km hike down a twisty rocky trail to get to the cabin. So it may be slow going for them. I have advised that they bring a chainsaw.

I will be part of a 3 canoe convoy carrying most of the tents and gear over to the cabin. We have to cross a lake. Then a 250 yard portage followed by another paddle across a bay to get to the cabin.
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NorthernRedneck

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So I have a process to prepare for a scout trip. Summer and winter, I bring pretty much the same items except for winter outer gear and a few minor changes in clothing choices.

When I prepare for a trip, my pack is already sitting there ready to go. After the trip, I immediately unpack everything. Hang out the sleeping bag to dry. Wash and repack any clothes that I used. My daypack is all ready as well. I can be ready to go in 10 minutes notice. I pack everything in waterproof dry sacks that can be compressed to remove the air in order to save space.

My sleeping bag is a military sleep system that works great in any temperature. It's a summer bag inside a winter bag. When I use them combined, I can sleep nice and warm at -30 celcius. I have a 3" thick self inflating air mattress that rolls up nice and small to fit in my pack.

In the wintertime, we typically don't hike in more than 3 kms. This makes it a challenge to pack light but still have the means to survive.

My daypack carries a small first aid kit, a small camp stove that folds up small enough to fit in my hand, spare socks hat and gloves, and a roll of toilet paper. (Because using leaves or pinecones just sucks) I also carry a box of matches and some kindling to start a fire even when it's wet.

So a while back, I discovered a great fire starter idea that will light in any condition and stay burning long enough to catch the wood on fire. Very simple. Take an old pot and melt a candle in it. Take a few of those cotton facial wipes and immerse in the wax. Remove and let dry. The cotton acts as a wick and will burn for a long time. Perfect for lighting a fire in the cold winter snow.

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NorthernRedneck

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All loaded up and ready to head out at first light. Temperatures are at the freezing mark but it's supposed to be warming up this afternoon.
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NorthernRedneck

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We arrived at the trail head at 9am. 6 of us canoed in with the tents and most of the gear while the rest hiked in 3km.

For those of us who canoed in, it was a 10 minute paddle across a small lake then a 250 yard portage followed by a 20 minute paddle to get to the cabin.
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NorthernRedneck

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By 11am we had all arrived at the cabin and began setting up the tents. The kids all slept in tents.
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NorthernRedneck

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The kids all worked in patrols preparing their meals learning to use single burner stoves.
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NorthernRedneck

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After supper, we held an investment ceremony to welcome 3 new scouts into the troop.
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NorthernRedneck

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After the investment ceremony we settled in around the fire for a few hours. The wind was very strong which limited our ability to do much else.
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NorthernRedneck

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This morning we awoke at 8am and began with tearing down camp then proceeded out to the trail head to meet up with parents who were there to pick up their kids.
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NorthernRedneck

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It's been a while since we've been able to get the kids out at a camp. This weekend we're at a winter lodge at a provincial park. It's quite nice. Newly renovated. Separate rooms for sleeping with regular single beds. A big dining room. 2 new kitchens. Wifi. Quite nice for a scouts camp.

This morning we had the kids out on the lake ice fishing. Nobody caught anything. We used manual augers with a 4 ft cutting blade and were down to the handle before breaking through to the water.

The plans for this afternoon are snowshoeing and cross country skiing.
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m1west

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It's been a while since we've been able to get the kids out at a camp. This weekend we're at a winter lodge at a provincial park. It's quite nice. Newly renovated. Separate rooms for sleeping with regular single beds. A big dining room. 2 new kitchens. Wifi. Quite nice for a scouts camp.

This morning we had the kids out on the lake ice fishing. Nobody caught anything. We used manual augers with a 4 ft cutting blade and were down to the handle before breaking through to the water.

The plans for this afternoon are snowshoeing and cross country skiing.
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Thats a stroll down memory lane. Marty
 

NorthernRedneck

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This afternoon I took a group of kids out snowshoeing for a couple hours. We walked along the edge of the lake for a few hundred feet so they could get comfortable with walking with snowshoes. Since the lake was pretty much hard packed, we almost didn't need the shoes so I kept them in close to shore where it was deeper and softer.

Then we headed inland on the opposite shore from the camp where the snow was deeper and they could understand the purpose of having snowshoes. I had one of the kids take off a snowshoe and try to walk. Of course he sunk down about 2 feet. We explained the difference between the various types of snowshoes available and the benefits and disadvantages of each. It was a great day but I'm feeling it now. Lol. Used muscles I haven't used in years. But I push myself to do it as I try to instill to them that no matter how hard they think things are to do, to push themselves to do it.
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NorthernRedneck

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So where were we this weekend?

Sleeping giant provincial park located on the back side of the sleeping giant near thunder bay Ontario on the northwestern shore of lake superior. It looks like an island from the city but it's actually a peninsula. It takes an hour to get there from the city.
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NorthernRedneck

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This weekend, we're taking our 3 senior venturers out to the dog lake cabin where they will work on various more advanced outdoor skills badges. It's a 3km hike over the lake and a Portage. So we went out on Sunday to check on ice conditions. Lots of ice. The cabin was in good shape. It's left unlocked and other people use it throughout the winter.

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