Frederick District Klondike Derby

January 17-19, 2025

WHO: All registered Scouts BSA, Venturing, Sea Scouts, Explorers, and Arrow of Light Scouts.

WHAT: The Frederick District Klondike Derby is a full day competition of stations that rely on patrol method and Scout skills. 

Apply Scoutcraft skills,  teamwork and leadership abilities, earning points towards a total score.  Utilize cold weather camping skills

WHEN: January 17-19, 2025

WHERE: Walkersville Watershed

WHY:  On August 16, 1896, prospectors discovered gold on Rabbit Creek (later renamed Bonanza Creek), a Klondike River tributary that ran through both Alaskan and Yukon Territory.  A year later, word reached beyond the territory and the great Klondike Gold Rush was launched as thousands of people who dreamed of becoming wealthy began booking passage on steamers heading north from Seattle and other West Coast ports to the Yukon. Upon arriving at the northern end of the Inside Passage, however, these adventure-bound stampeders found no easy route leading to the still distant Klondike region. Their progress was slow as each prospector made repeated trips over the rugged trail through the bitter cold.

Imagine pulling a sled loaded with three to six hundred pounds of supplies over a stretch of ice up a steep grade, strewn with boulders and logs, then crossing over a river bed on a couple of trees laid side by side and you get a picture of their labors. Facing 60-mile-an-hour winds in 65-degree-below-zero weather, the prospectors had to ascend the Chilkoot Pass -- 1,000 feet straight up. With a steady stream of stampeders lining the path each day, it took forty trips to get a ton of supplies up the mountain. Those who survived the mountain then faced a treacherous passage by boat to the town of Dawson near the gold fields.

Since 1949, Boy Scout units have been participating in Klondike Derbies as a way to honor this historic time. Scouts pull a sled loaded with supplies from station to station and compete in various Scout skill based events.  Arrow of Light patrols may attend for the day.

COST: $25 per Scout. Each registered Scout will receive an event patch. Additional patches may be purchased at the event for $2.00 per patch until supplies last.  

Please find the leader guide and training resources here:  https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1DocXqKObMNKXo4M_zq33nlYsh1fGcqP9?usp=sharing