Over the weekend of November 15-16, 2014, a group of 23 Scouts and parents from Troop 1916 experienced the challenges that often come with the art and sport of Orienteering. It as a terrific experience, and the Scouts learned some great new skills.
But if the Scouts think about it for moment, our afternoon in the frigid woods of Little Bennett Campground in Clarksburg, Maryland, was something of a metaphor for the challenges that they will face again as they grow into young men. And this is one of Scoutings most enduring benefits.
Orienteering, in some ways, resembles what lies ahead in life for young Boys Scouts. It's about finding your way. To reach your marker posts --or, to put it another way, your goals in life--you have to overcome the challenges of an unfamiliar terrain, a thick forest with hills, valleys, and tall trees, and walking trails covered with fallen leaves. It's often not an easy endeavor. And sometimes, as in life, you are lucky if you have at least a map and a compass to stay on track.
Orienteering and Scouting
Orienteering originated in Sweden in the late 19th century as part of the country’s military training program and later became a Scandinavian sporting event. In 1919, Swedish Major Ernst Killander organized the first major Orienteering sport competition. Major Killander was also a leader in the Scouting Movement at the time and thought Orienteering would be an excellent way to get young people interested in athletics.
Over the years, Orienteering gained popularity throughout northern Europe and eventually the U.S. It became a scouting merit badge activity in 1974.
Troop 1916 began its third annual Orienteering outing on Saturday morning after a short, 40-minute drive to Little Bennett Campground. (We thank Mr. Logsdon for volunteering to drive some Scouts to the campsite at the last minute.).
Within a few minutes of arriving, the Scouts began set up their tents and then inhaled some sandwiches, chips, and fruit for lunch. This was the first of three meals prepared by our four hard-working Grubmasters (the Scouts who serve as chefs for their patrols by planning the menu items, purchasing the food, and preparing the meals for their fellow patrol members).
George Owen and Will Chapman served as Grubmasters for the Yetis patrol, and Zack Radian and Dominic Zurawski took on the duty for the Bulldogs patrol.
Into the Woods
After lunch, the Yetis and the Bulldogs received their respective maps and the separate Orienteering courses to follow through the woods. With their compasses in hand, they and some Adult Leaders and parents took off into the Maryland woods for a friendly competition to see which patrol could be the first to find its way to the marker post on each course and then make it back to the campsite.
Our goal was for each patrol to complete three courses on the sunny, but somewhat chilly, day (42 degrees; more about the weather at night below). Despite their best efforts, however, it very quickly became clear to the patrols that completing three courses was an overly-ambitious goal.
The Bulldog’s started on the Beginner course (1.75 miles with five markers to locate), and the Yeti's selected the Advanced Beginner (1.92 miles with six markers to find). Our hope was to have a timed competition between the patrols on the Intermediate course (1.98 miles and eight markers) to see which group could reach the campsite first.
At the start of our respective forays into forest, all of the Scouts were able to orient their compasses to the North with relative ease. After that direction was established, however, the Scouts in both patrols found it difficult to keep a straight heading.
Scout Gabe Smedes quickly established himself as the leader of the Yetis and provided some excellent bearings.
But at several points on each course, Scoutmaster Salt had the duty of informing the Yetis that they were “off track” by a considerable distance. With some map guidance from Scoutmaster Salt (who, it must be noted, did so with amazing skills), they had to “re-orient” themselves to get back on track.
Just as the Yetis thought they were making progress, they walked right past a marker post and spent the next thirty minutes searching for it. Technically, the Scouts were never really “lost.” They had just lost their way—again.
Getting off track, however, offered a good opportunity to remind the boys of a cardinal rule in scouting if they ever do get lost or separated from their troop or patrol: Stay put and wait until someone comes back to find you.
The Bulldogs experienced similar challenges remaining on track in the thick woods and finding their post markers, especially when the trails are covered with leaves. None of the Bulldogs could find their first mark, but Scout Robert Cantus led the Bulldogs to their second mark by properly setting and following a correct course.
Measuring a Mile in the Woods
At one point, Scoutmaster Salt told the Yetis that, alas, they were off track by about one mile. He asked the patrol if anyone knew about how many steps it would take to walk the mile and get back on track again. Scout Will Chapman responded by saying that it would take 1,000 steps.
When asked how he determined that figure, Will replied with an interesting historical fact he had learned. Measuring one mile by taking 1,000 steps can be traced back to the ancient, and highly effective, marching practices of soldiers in the Roman Empire. However, they only counted their steps (or paces) each time their their left feet hit the ground. (This method had the added benefit of forcing the solders to count only to 1,000 instead of 2,000 as they marched in formation.)
With that piece of history in mind, the Yetis started counting off on their 1,000 steps to the point where they could get back on track again.
Lessons Learned
By the end of our Orienteering expedition, the Scouts (and, I must confess, Adult Leaders as well) realized what successful navigators know: 1) We needed to do a better better job of orienting our maps with our compasses; 2) We needed to look more closely for terrain features (paths, ditches, stone walls, etc.) that we could also see on our maps to measure our distance more accurately; and 3) We would be more successful in measuring our distance if we counted our steps between our marks.
So, both the Yetis and the Bulldogs learned that Orienteering is a demanding sport, both physically and mentally, and it takes practice to use a detailed map and a compass correctly to locate your marker post and avoid losing your way. Despite the difficulties that both patrols encountered, Orienteering was a great experience that will make them better Scouts in the future.
After finishing just one course each, the November sun set quickly at 4:52 p.m., so both patrols headed back to the campsite and began prepping for dinner.
Hot Food and Cold Weather
The Bulldog’s enjoyed pizza that was baked with great care via Dutch Oven (a first, I believe for our troop). The Yetis (in another bow to the Italians of Ancient Rome) devoured whole grain pasta covered with an excellent red sauce and garlic bread. They finished with a delectable cherry dessert known in scouting lore as a “Fake It ‘Till You Bake It Cookie Cobbler.” (You can find the recipe via Google…)
By 8:00 p.m., the temperature had plummeted to a very crisp 27 degrees, so any Scouts who needed a Polar Bear badge earned it. Although the badge has been officially retired by BSA, we’ll try to hunt down the patches for those Scouts who attended the outing.
Due to the chilly evening, and after some traditional entertainment around the campfire, most of the Scouts retired to their tents early and all lights were out by 10:00 p.m.
At 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, everyone (almost) was up and searching for hot liquids. Hot chocolate was on the morning menu for the Scouts, while the adults enjoyed some excellent coffee—the instant kind from Trader Joe’s.
After a quick breakfast, the Scouts loaded their gear into our trailer and their parents’ cars. Then, as we do at the conclusion of each troop outing, every Scout offered up his “Rose, Thorn, and Bud” thoughts about the outing—what he liked the most; what he liked the least; and what he was looking forward to the most.
Many of the Roses were tossed to the Orienteering part of the outing. The Thorns were dominated by the cold weather and the actual thorns that we all encountered in the woods. And it was a tie for the Buds: the prospect of a warm bed at home and the "Lock-In" event that the troop will have at Redeemer in December.
Finding Your Way
After the Scouts took all steps to “leave no trace behind” at our campsite, the troop headed back to the church to meet their parents.
As the Scouts greeted their moms and dads, there seemed to be a few sighs of relief in the air. Every Scout had found his way back home—without the need of a compass or a map.
By Richard Mackey - Assistant Scoutmaster