2023 Klondike Derby Write-Up and Photos

This week the Troop attended the Klondike Derby hosted by Alpine District at Reverend’s Ridge in Blackhawk, CO. Nash, Alexander, Damon, Luke, Eli, Cooper and Bjorn along with myself and Cooper’s dad Todd, had a great weekend of winter camping and wonderful weather. While it may have gotten below 20°F at night, it was almost too warm on Saturday, with most Scouts wearing short sleeve shirts at the various Klondike stations.

The derby consists of events like fire-starting, orienteering, a sledding hill, gaga ball and many more. The Scouts use their map reading skills to travel from one event to another while pushing a sled with all of their gear on it. They earned gold nuggets at each station and turned them in for valuable prizes, i.e. candy.

While the derby is fun and the Scouts get to work as a team, the time they spend in camp together is just as important. There, they get to work on their outdoor skills and cooking techniques. They have to figure out how to best manage their time and cooperate on a variety of tasks. They also get to sit around the fire and tell stories, jokes and tall tales. As their Scoutmaster, it’s amazing and a privilege to watch these kids learn and grow as they bump into learning moments and it’s fun to laugh at even their worst jokes.

Overall, the troop did well. The boys did a great job of keeping the clamp clean, staying hydrated – and there were only a couple of complaints about cold/wet feet. While there are still a few things to work on (tent-rolling, anyone?), the Scouts proved that they’ve actually learned quite a bit so far. Lastly, many thanks to Todd for attending with me and support the campout.

Peace,
Jon C Strauss
Scoutmaster

Initial photos are located at https://www.bsatroop640.com/photos/ and if you need the password, email .