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Our troop will soon be having a high adventure long term planning session. I'm looking for new location ideas. Our troop mixes between the established BSA national high adventure camps & putting on our own.

 

Where has your troop gone for high adventure besides Philmont, Sea Base, Northern Tier & now Summit?

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Isle Royale

Yellowstone (any national parks) back country

Appalachian Trail, Ice Age Trail, Oregon Trail

Apostle Islands (Lake Superior, sea kayaking)

Alaska (Yukon)/Canada (Moose River)

RAGBRAI (Bike hike across the width of Iowa (1 week))

 

Stosh

 

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Sounds like your boys have the right idea regarding HA by wanting to mix it up ...

 

Not there yet, but our crew is eying Rocky Mtn. National Park.

If your boys are thinking as far away from TX but still in the continental US, I saw a troop having a great time at Acadia National Park when my family was camping there. (North Atlantic waters might be a "cool" novelty for your boys!) Not sure if they brought their own canoes or rented, but there are plenty of outfitters in Bar Harbor.

If some of your boys are willing to do a little "research," have them learn about Federal Wilderness Recreation Areas. There's one near us (Dolly Sods, WV) that our youth just love to go backpacking in. Other areas are suitable for whitewater, climbing, etc ...

 

All of the above are "build your own adventure." Some have great facilities, some have none but one latrine in 24 square miles.

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When I was doing HA we never went to BSA areas. We did Rocky Mountain National Park twice, Pecos Wilderness in New Mexico, Porcupine Mountain State Park on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on the shores of Lake Superior, Appalachian Trail in Virgina (based out of Shenandoah Nat Park), Nantahala National Forest, NC.

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In your own state, we have gone to Laguna Station on South Padre Island and also the Chisholm Trail Adventure at Sid Richardson Scout Ranch northwest of Dallas. Both were great adventures. We also have done our own thing and rented a houseboat for a week on Lake Cumberland in Kentucky, and Whitewater Rafting on the New River in West Virginia.

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Pamlico Sea Base in NC is a good place for jet skis, sailing, and canoeing. :)

 

My first HA trip was a 64 mile canoe trip in LaDomaine, Quebec, Canada. Would love to go back as it is a great place for canoeing.

 

Took a cruise in the Gulf of Mexico with my Sea Scout ship. That was fun.

 

Not with scouts but with a company I worked for, Suwanne river down in GA/FL.

 

Troops locally do segments of the AT.

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BD - Q in the dolly sods you need to keep an eye out for unexploded ordinance.

 

Why do you think the boys love coming back?

 

Seriously, so far, I've kept the youth on designated trails. The last UXO found was off trail in 2004.

 

Anyway, for the rest of you, here's a nation-wide UXO fact-sheet http://www.engg.ksu.edu/HSRC/Tosc/uxo.pdf.

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High adventure is many things to many people. A city kid might think sleeping in a tent is high adventure, while another thinks high adventure is eating food he has cooked himself. Some suburban kids think coming to our CO is an adventure.

 

 

 

So what is high adventure???

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I've gotten away from the term High Adventure. Because I'm with a crew and HS kids have broadening interests, I prefer "super-activity". I think of it as something that will challenge you to extend your skill-set.

 

So:

 

If you serve at soup-kitchen, maybe next year you'd spend a week helping with famine relief.

If you visit historical sights, maybe next year you'd travel someplace to participate in a large re-enactment.

If you do wilderness survival weekends: maybe you'd go try an "outward bound" experience.

If you run cross-country: maybe you'd plan a travel itinerary to various orienteering courses.

 

Just a few brainstorms ... but generally since most troops hike and camp, we bring up places like the ones mentioned in the earlier posts.

 

For some folks, those targets don't sound too ambitious, but for others it would require substantial effort and preparation. It would set the agenda for the upcoming year.

 

And for others, just building up to a 1 weekend a month camping routine is its own adventure.

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I'm proposing a "Week of Rivers" to our PLC:

 

Using NOC

 

http://www.noc.com/whitewater-rafting/

 

we'll book five or six rafting trips one day after the other. Start cheap on the Ocoee Sunday afternoon, and work our way up through the more difficult rivers, ending at Section IV Chattooga. Perhaps renting a bus, camp each night at a new park close to the next day's river.

 

$371 - Rafting (May be lower by leveraging multiple rivers.)

$ 90 - Food ($15/day x 6 days)

$200 - Van rental and gas per person

$661 - Total cost per boy

 

Less than transportation to New Mexico...

 

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