Registration for a 2023 NCAC-sponsored Northern Tier crew is now open. You will be headed to the flagship of Northern Tier, the Charles L. Sommers Canoe Base. Since 1941, Scouts have embarked from here on wilderness canoeing treks into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota and the Quetico Provincial Park in Ontario. This is an eleven-night, twelve-day trip.

CREW SIZE: A Northern Tier crew has a minimum of six and a maximum number of eight participants with at least two adults and a majority of youth participants. The number of yout’s must be equal to, or more than, the number of adults.

REGISTRATION: Please follow these instructions to register and make online payments for all crew members. This trip is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Presently there is one trip available which may either be booked entirely by one unit or become a provisional crew of several units. To signup, a Registration Contact should be designated. This person must be 21+ years old and will ideally be the crew adult Lead Advisor. This role can be changed to someone else if circumstances change.

UNITS WITH SIX OR MORE PARTICIPANTS: A unit having the minimum crew size of six may initially reserve the entire 8-person crew slot. Choose this method only if you are confident that you have commitments for the required minimum number of participants. The Registration Contact should click Register and go thru the registration process to register and pay the $700 initial deposit for at least one participant. You may enter the names of other known participants and provide payment at this time, or have them register themselves (see below).

CREW SIGN-UP: Immediately after the Registration Contact has reserved the trip, each crew member should visit this web page, complete the registration process and each pay the $700 deposit. Family members (i.e., one or more youth and adults) may register together. Keep your registration number to re-enter the system for future payments.

REGISTERING FEWER THAN SIX PARTICIPANTS: If you have fewer than the minimum number required by Northern Tier or you are signing up as an individual, you may still click Register and sign up for available openings. The number of Youth and Adult openings remaining are shown on the next page in Registration. NOTE: A wait list may be created or an additional trip may be requested if there is sufficient interest.

TRAVEL: NCAC arranges all travel for NCAC crews by group airfare and chartered ground transportation to save costs. NCAC Crews meet at the designated airport and travel in Scout uniform as a group to and from the Washington, DC Area. There will be no possibility for crews or individuals to travel independently.

PAYMENT: The total estimated cost for each participant is $1,900. This includes the Northern Tier fee, group airfare and other expenses.  There are cost options that require a crew decision on type of canoe and trek location, and some tour and meal expenses will be borne by the crew. An initial deposit of $700 is required. The final payment is estimated to be $500 and will be determined by March 1st, 2023. Note that the Northern Tier fee is per trek, not per individual.A crew with less than the maximum number of participants will have higher per person costs. You are strongly encouraged to max out your crew size to minimize individual expenses.

Payments may be made with a credit card or an e-check. A 3% surcharge applies to all credit/debit card payments; e-check transactions are free. Late fees may apply to payments received after the published due date deadlines. See the table below for the payment schedule.

TRAINING: A High Adventure Committee-sponsored training session will be held in the March/April 2023 timeframe. Attendance by the entire crew is expected.

Direct questions to John Blackwell. HAC Chair, at john.blackwell@goosecreekdistrict.org or Eric Smith, NCAC Director of Camping, at eric.smith@scouting.org.