Venturing Scouts

Earlier this year, ten Scouts from Venturing Crew 2191 earned the Bronze Venturing Medal, a record number for the Union Fort District Venturing program at a special court of honor.

The kids earned the recognition by becoming certified in Wilderness First Aid and CPR. They also honed their orienteering, cooking, backpacking, and wilderness survival skills as they prepared for this summer's activities. They paddled the Snake River in kayaks that they built themselves and climbed and rappelled at the world famous, City of Rocks, near Oakley to complete two of their four high adventure activities for the award.

To complete another component, they hiked portions the Pony Express and Mormon Trails and cycled sections of the Old Spanish and California Trails. They retraced the routes of the early pioneers but also researched the history of the trails, identified visitor centers, created suggested trips and designed historic trail awards to be earned. These packets have all been submitted to the National Boy Office in Texas to be considered for inclusion in the National BSA Register of Historic Trails.

The culminating activity this August was a two-week trip to Cimarron, New Mexico to attend Philmont, a 140,000-acre High Adventure camp in the Sangre de Cristo mountains. The kids backpacked for 12 days and visited staffed camps to learn about and experience life in the Old West. Along the way they learned to fly fish, square dance, pan for gold, shoot black powder rifles, perspire in an Apache sweat lodge, ride horses, try their hand at blacksmithing, rock climb, and keep an eye out for bears.