The district Klondike is an annual Scouting event designed to teach and test scout skills in a winter environment. Troops from across Portage County participate every year and compete for the district flag as well as a number of other awards. The Klondike is designed to keep the scouts active and engaged throughout the weekend which, combined with proper clothing, keeps the scouts warm outside on an Ohio winter weekend. Leading up to the Klondike, the scouts are trained by their Troop on how to dress for the weather, how to stay dry and how to keep tabs on each other. There is a qualified and highly trained first aid staff onsite and available 24 hours for the duration of the weekend in the unlikely case of an accident. Also the program staff and other scouts are around throughout the weekend should any smaller situations arise. The skills and fun generated from Klondikes foster developments and memories that last a lifetime.

Sample schedule

Friday night: Troops arrive at camp, check in and setup their campsite. All the Troops converge for a fun Friday night activity often involving sleds that each Troop builds before the Klondike. This activity varies from year to year but is always designed to get their blood flowing and core temperature warm before they bed down at their Troop campsite.

Saturday: Scouts rise, make breakfast and ready themselves for the day’s adventures to begin. The daytime is spent traveling with their Patrol to various skills stations where they learn new outdoor skills, and are tested in the techniques they already know. For many scouts this is a time to take book knowledge and apply it to actual circumstances. Around noon the Patrol cooks and eats lunch together, and continues on to the rest of their skills stations until just before dinner. They eat dinner with their Troop, and rally together in the evening to face off in the annual sled race. This fun race is a fun way to keep the boys active in the evening hours and every year has a new fun twist to keep it interesting. Immediately after the race is a quick awards ceremony, after which the scouts return to their campsites, either for the night or to tear down for the weekend. (Some troops leave Saturday night, while most stay out one more night.)

Sunday: begins with a non-denominational service for those who choose to attend, and serves as cleanup day for the troop to pack up and head home. Troops are usually out of camp before noon.

Why Klondike?

The Klondike provides a challenge to any scout, both in scout skills and in environmental obstacles, all the while under safe controlled circumstances. These challenges provide learning opportunities for the scouts. The teamwork, leadership, work ethic and decision making that a scout learns at a Klondike in unparalleled to any that scouts experience in their daily lives, and serves as a laboratory for such skills to be refined. This challenge in the end is not only a fun experience, but a life lesson which helps to prepare the next generation for adulthood.