By Natalie Bazinet
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — Of the six troops competing in the Klondike Derby on Feb. 18, the Cobra Patrol from Troop 173 of Fort Fairfield came in first place, followed by the second-place Riot Control Patrol from Troop 179 of Ashland and third-place Eagle Patrol from Troop 177 of Washburn.
Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie Bazinet
Woodland Troop 186 Scout Tre Caudill did his part to help pull the troop’s racing sled, pushed by fellow Scouts Ben McEndarfer and Dillian Michaud while participating in the Klondike Derby in Presque Isle on Feb. 18, part of the Boy Scout’s annual Winterama Camporee. Please turn to page 4A for additional event photos.
Whether or not a patrol placed in the top three didn’t seem to diminish the fun the Scouts had as they scurried about the banks of a frozen Echo Lake tying knots, displaying their ax skills, cooking meals wilderness-style, and displaying their mastery of a uniquely icy game called Snow Snake, which uses curling-like sliding skills to propel a wooden apparatus resembling a field hockey stick down an icy lane.
Woodland Troop 186 Scout Dylan Michaud said that the key to a successful Snow Snake run is to use a little movement and a lot of power to get the Snow Snake to glide straight down the track, rather than getting banked on a wall.
While Snow Snake is a fun Winterama tradition, other events of the Klondike Derby are carefully selected to hone the Boy Scouts’ skill sets — fire building, meal preparation, food safety and clean-up skills, axmanship, and knot proficiency as well as winter survival and leadership skills.
While many of the events were challenging, some of them were flat-out hard. The only way to “win” the ax challenge, for example, was to simultaneously split a match in half and light it using an ax. Only one Scout managed to accomplish the task, Caribou Troop 184’s Dan Powers.
Powers said he accomplished the task by getting the ax blade close to the match and use a very small swing to perform the difficult feat.
“It’s very hard unless you have very good hand-eye coordination and can aim with an ax,” explained Peng Cheng of Troop 179.
The Klondike Derby was part of the annual Winter Camporee held at the Aroostook State Park on Feb. 18 and 19, attended by Troop 173 of Fort Fairfield, 179 of Ashland, 177 of Washburn, 171 of Presque Isle, 184 of Caribou, and 186 of Woodland. Sixty Scouts and 22 adult leaders attended the event, making this year’s participation particularly strong … and particularly interesting, in the case of two former Scouts.
Air Force Airman Andrew Libby of Ashland and Army Pvt. Zach Peterman of Fort Fairfield both recently graduated from their respective basic training and were able to fit Camporee attendance into their short time home. With 10 days of leave, Libby flew home on Feb. 17, the day before the camporee began.
Peterman flew back to The County on the morning of Feb. 18 and was ushered directly from the airport to the camporee by a member of his former troop. He was able to spend three days in The County before returning to New York. The former Scouts, now servicemen, found a very spirited (and snowy) welcome home at the Winterama.
With Scouts new and old enjoying the winter Scouting event, troops also competed for one special trophy awarded for overall performance at the camporee — the Wink Larsen Memorial Traveling Trophy, named after dedicated Scouting volunteer Wink Larsen, from Easton.
This year, the trophy went home with the Woodland troop.
While it takes a full team of Scouting volunteers to coordinate the Derby, Activities Chair for the North Star District Steve Farnham said that it’s a very rewarding experience for the volunteers and a fun-filled memorable weekend for the Scouts.
“I look forward to seeing the kids having fun and learning, too,” Farnham explained.
Winter camporee events started early for troops who elected to camp outdoors during February temperatures — a week early. Scouts first began constructing their quinzhees (or quincy’s) on February 11.
While spending an Aroostook winter night in a hut made of snow may seem less that appealing to many, the Scouts said that not only was it fun, it was pretty warm, too. The Scouts who braved the winter camping were from Washburn’s Troop 177, Woodland’s Troop 186 and Fort Fairfield’s Troop 194.
