The Yukon Trek

2025 Klondike Derby

Hosted by Voyageur District & Crew 457

Camp Scouthaven

Background:

High Adventure Bases throughout the Nation and our Acclaimed Birchbark Canoe Treks have very similar sets of skills.  This year the Venturing Crew is promoting the types of activities and skills you would need as a Crew.  These are transferrable to Treks at Philmont, Northern Tier, Bikepacking Treks and our own Birchbark program.

Setting the Scene:

When you arrive to camp after a day of hiking, canoeing, kayaking, snowshoeing, dog sledding… wait, you have to be able to find your camp so back up.  You need to navigate to your basecamp and then perform a certain set of activities and be prepared to handle situations as they arise.

Schedule:

Friday, January 17th

• 5:00 – 9:00 pm           SPL/Scoutmaster Check-in at the Camp Office and Campsite set up.
• 9:00 – 9:30 pm           SPL/Scoutmaster Meeting at Hutchison Dining Hall
• 9:30 – 10:30 pm         SPL/Scoutmaster and Adult Cracker Barrel at Hutchison Dining Hall

Saturday, January 18th

• 7:00 am -                    Reveille
• 7:00 – 8:30 am           DAY VISTORS Check-in at the Camp Office
• 7:30 – 8:30 am           BREAKFAST (Unit provided at troop or crew’s campsite)
• 8:45 – 9:00 am           Flags / Opening ceremonies at the Flag Field
• 9:00 – 9:15 am           Patrols proceed to their starting events.
• 9:30 am -                    Competition events begin.
• 1:00 pm -                    Competition events end
• 1:00 pm -                    LUNCH (Unit provided at Troop/Crew campsites) (Afternoon program open/optional)
• 1:00 - 3:50 pm           Troop/Crew activities or optional Klondike events
• 4:00 - 4:45 pm           Flag Retreat/ Awards @ The Flag Field
• 5:00 – 6:50 pm           DINNER (Unit provided at Troop/Crew campsites)
• 7:00 pm – 7:25 pm     Religious Services
• 7:30 pm – 8:15 pm     Evening Campfire Program
• 8:30 pm – 9:30 pm     Scoutmaster and Adult Cracker Barrel at Hutchison Dining Hall

Sunday, January 19th

• 7:00 am                      Reveille
• 7:30 – 8:30 am           Breakfast / Site breakdown/cleanup
• 10:00 am                    Checkout – See you at Klondike 2026!

General Information:

Fees & Registration:

The fee is $15.00 per person. Signup and payment are required by Friday January 12, 2025. The fee covers warming station @ Hutchison Dining Hall, utilities, event supplies, patches, and miscellaneous costs. Late registration will be $20.00 per person so please plan accordingly.

BSA Registration Policy:

Every unit member must be currently registered with the BSA to attend. There must be 2 Adults over the age of 21 present the entire time. Unregistered participants are not covered by insurance and therefore cannot stay on the grounds. It is the Unit Leader’s responsibility to ensure registration of youth/adults in their unit. A minimum of two adults over 21 must always be present. BSA Youth Protection Training (YPT) is required for ALL adults in attendance. BSA’s “Two-Deep” leadership policies will always be followed.

Camping:

If you are planning on staying overnight, you will need to rent a Cabin, Lean-to, or campsite. This can be done on the Council website. Under Camping you will find Facility Rental or at: https://campreservation.com/375/Home

First Aid:

First Aid/Medical service will be available at the Camp Office Friday evening through Sunday morning.

Youth medication must be held by the Unit Leader. All injuries, sudden illness, frostbite, or hypothermia, regardless of extent must be reported to Klondike medical staff immediately. Trained First Aid personnel will be on hand.

Events and Competition:

The competition is designed to run at typical patrol levels (5-8 scouts) to be fair to all patrols. The Patrol Leader is responsible for their patrol’s actions and has the responsibility to ensure that their patrol is at the activities as directed within the competition.

Immediately after the Saturday morning flag ceremony, final directions will be given, and each patrol should proceed to their starting event as assigned on the provided event map and scorecard handed out at registration.

For the Sled Race event, each patrol brings a Klondike sled which should be wood (no plastic sleds). Points given for your sled and inspection will count towards your overall score and toward your score on the Polar Vortex event. Suggestions of items to carry are listed elsewhere in this guide. After the inspection, pictures of each patrol can be taken with their sled. Note that the sled should accompany patrols to all events as some of the items on your sled will be needed to compete in some of the games.

Some events will be at the warming stations (Dining Hall/Archery Range) where Scouts can warm up / be evaluated for frostbite / hypothermia etc.

The Patrol Leader of each group is the keeper of the score card. The Klondike staff at each event will also keep scores for each patrol, which will be the official score. At the end of the race, the Patrol Leaders and a buddy will report to the Klondike headquarters to turn in their patrol’s score card.

Patrol Equipment:

Each of the following items are needed to be on the Klondike Sled:

• Patrol Flag on a pole lashed to sled.
•  Patrol Roster (listing each patrol member present)
• (2) working flashlights for emergencies
• Morse Code Chart (from event program)
• Patrol First Aid Kit including at least:
• (5) triangular bandages
• splint materials
• bandages and dressings
• Pocketknife
• Notebook and (2) writing instruments.
• (1) quart of water for each patrol member
• Flint & steel, bow drill and/or matches (no lighters!)
• Natural tinder (no fuels or accelerants!)
• Kindling for fire building (for a 20-minute small fire)
• (3) pieces of small firewood (fuel)
• Watch or timepiece.
• Map of Camp Scouthaven: with event locations (from event program)
• Sharp Hatchet
• Dining Fly Instructions (from event program)
• (2) 12-foot cords (guy lines)
• (4) 10-foot cords (lashing)
• (4) 6-foot cords (guy lines)
• (4) 6-foot Scout staves
• (6) tent stakes
• 8’ x10’ Plastic Tarp with Grommets
• Mallet
• Compass
• Scout Handbook

Each of the suggested items for your sled may be used during the Klondike events. It is acceptable to carry some of these items on person rather than in the sled (i.e., paper, writing instrument, pocketknife, flashlight, watch, etc.) t hroughout the day. However, please have all items ready in your sled for the inspection.

Events:

Station #1 – Fuel your next fire: Don’t leave your current camp until you have fuel for your next fire.  Break down a single piece of wood into what you will need for your Kelly Kettle.

Station #2 – Land Portage: Details to come

Station #4 – Finding Camp: Our dogs are tired (toes) and we are ready to get to camp…..where do you suppose that is?  We have a few landmarks to go by and an x marked on our map for where our camp is.  Can we get there in time before we lose the light and our patience?

Station #5 – Setting up the Dining Fly: Job one when we get to camp is to setup our crew’s shelter for the night.  Its our insurance policy for having a dry spot to cook, eat and even assemble our tents under to keep them dry. 

Station #6 – Boiling Water: We need hot water to prepare our meals, cleanup and warm up with a hot beverage.  We always pack our fuel for our Kelly Kettles on our sleds – always prepare for your next fire.

Station #7 – Hanging the Bear Bag: Though the last thing we do for the night is hoist our food and ‘smellables’, the rigging is complicated because bears are smart.  We need to get that rigging ready right away so we can quickly tuck things in before we go to bed.

Station #8 – Wilderness First Aid: The Medic on your team needs to always be prepared for emergencies small and large.  Check your patrol first aid kit for supplies!

Station #9 – High Adventure Preparedness Trivia: Read up on some information and facts on high adventure bases including our own nationally acclaimed BirchBark Program.  Complete a quiz with your Troop. 

After registration you will receive a conformation email. If you don't please check your spam folder. Look for an email from no-reply@247scouting.org