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HIGH ADVENTURES
Area students trek through country's hills
By Times Staff
8/29/2009 12:00:00 AM
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The South Dakota Badlands provided an endless opportunity for climbing, scenery and wildlife. Scoutmaster Chris Schoentag, above, leads a group along a trail in the Badlands National Park. Boys include from left, Zach Shippy, Jared Davis, Alec Calhoun, Jacob Johnson and Spencer Schoentag. The Badlands are a unique geologic formation created when the seas receded from this area. The troop saw big horn sheep, antelope, prairie dogs and varieties of deer on their various hikes. See more photos on pages A5-7.
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While many spent the last few weeks of this summer just sitting around, several Cedar Falls boys, girls and adults took on the water, mountains, altitude and heat or cold to have adventures they won’t soon forget.
Each summer, many area Boy Scout troops travel to other locations to test their skills, and have fun in the wilderness. These are called high adventures. This summer, Troop 44 out of First United Methodist Church canoed the Boundary Waters of northern Minnesota, Troop 55 out of Cedar Heights Elementary hiked the Sangre de Cristo Mountains at the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, Troop 500 out of First Christian Church hiked the Badlands and the Black Hills in South Dakota, and many local boy scouts, girl scouts and 4-H members backpacked the Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming as part of the Eagle Claw youth leadership organization.
“Philmont definitely challenged us mentally, physically and spiritually. There is nothing else like it,” said Dave McRae, one of the adult leaders for Boy Scout Troop 55.
The group from Troop 55 hiked around 80 miles during the week they were at Philmont and experienced altitude changes from 6,600 feet to over 11,000 feet.
This is while they carried 40 to 50 pounds of food, water and equipment in their backpacks.
“Every ounce you carry makes a difference,” according to Steven Ingersoll from Troop 55. “If I had to do this again, I would spend the extra money and buy the lightweight equipment.”
“You could really feel the altitude,” said Michael Ingersoll from Troop 55. Michael enjoyed shooting the 30.06 rifles at one of the campsites while his brother Steven enjoyed the black powder rifles. Both enjoyed riding the horses too.
Jacob Johnson of Troop 44 went on three adventures this summer: the Boundary Waters, South Dakota and Eagle Claw.
“All three trips were awesome,” Johnson said. “Each one was different.”
At the Boundary Waters, Johnson said once they figured out how to do the portages (carrying a canoe and supplies over land into the next lake or river), it was actually kind of fun. The group portaged about seven times.
“We learned to cook in new ways, learned to improvise such as when we turned a broken tent pole into a spatula, and learned that we really didn’t need as much gear as we thought we did,” Johnson said.
As for South Dakota, Johnson thought the best part was climbing the rocks in the Badlands. “It was also interesting to see that it isn’t as desolate as it looks. There is wildlife and different kinds of plants there.”
Wildlife is always a treat to see on the high adventure trips. Belle Cowden, one of the adult leaders on the Eagle Claw trip, said they saw three moose and a herd of elk in the Big Horn Mountains this year. “As always, the scenery is just breathtaking,” Cowden said.
The Eagle Claw group worked at team building and learned leadership skills while they tested their own personal skills in the mountains. “The setting is absolutely perfect for learning to work together and how you fit into the leadership picture,” Johnson said.
Boy Scout Troop 500 didn’t rough it as much as the other groups. They camped in tents at campgrounds and cooked their own meals over campfires, stoves and Dutch ovens.
“We traveled around western South Dakota, hiking the trails in the Badlands National Park, the Black Hills National Forest, Custer State Park and Devil’s Tower National Monument,” said Chris Schoentag, scoutmaster for Troop 500.
The group also visited other sites like the Corn Palace in Mitchell, The Falls in Sioux Falls, Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial. Temperatures were in the 30s at night in the Black Hills.
“Everywhere we went, we ran into Iowans. And in many cases, we ran into people we knew from Cedar Falls or people who had relatives from Cedar Falls. Iowans are just great people,” Schoentag said.
In spite of the hardships all faced, if you asked the youth and adults if they would do their adventures again, all would give you a resounding “yes.”
Most are already planning what adventures they are going to take on next summer. Wherever that may be, the Scouts are always ready to tackle another journey through rough country.
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