SR540Beaver 116 Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Buffalo, I'm not so sure that it isn't going to be a one-in-all facility. Goshen Scout Reservation is made up of 6 scout camps. They have a high adventure camp that offers 4, 7 and 10 day treks. http://www.boyscouts-ncac.org/openrosters/ViewOrgPageLink.asp?LinkKey=16562&orgkey=1933 Lenhok'sin High Adventure base is Goshen Scout Reservations nationally accredited high adventure program. The program offers older Scouts (age 13 and above), Venturers, Explorers and their adult leaders exciting high adventure opportunities they will enjoy and remember forever. The staff at Lenhoksin will work with you to custom design a trek based on your Crews interests. Lenhok'sin is a trail camp and you will have the opportunity to hike the 4,000+ acres of Goshen Scout Reservation as well as some of the 35,000 acres of surrounding state wildlife game lands. There are over 50 miles of trails which will give your crew a true mountaintop experience. Link to post Share on other sites
Hal_Crawford 15 Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Skipper: Goshen is bigger than the average council camp with multiple camps on the reservation. Camp Post which has the reservation administration building, the health lodge, some staff and guest cabins as well as the climbing tower and COPE course is already a good start to being a training center and there is some room to grow. Looking at what they have had at past jamborees I think that they will be expanding the reservation one way or another. The 2005 jamboree had 20 sub-camps and I think one of the criteria was the ability to have more. There have been at most 8 camps at Goshen (currently 7 including the Lenhoks'sin base) so some things are going to change/expand. They will certainly need a lot more latrines and showers. I have registered to go to a council town hall meeting on March 16 where all will be revealed (or maybe reviled, you know how these things go). I believe that the letter from council said that 2009 would not be affected. I am a little apprehensive about what the impact will be on the reservation after that. Our troop has been going to Camp Bowman at Goshen every year since 1966. We have also had a few crews do the Lenhok'sin High Adventure trek there and will have another this summer. Our troop has a strong connection to and affection for Goshen. I hope that the improvements that make it suitable for the Jamboree do not diminish the council camping and high adventure experience. After the town meeting I will share what I can with this forum. I also look forward to the high adventure base in West Virginia. I looked at a topo map of the two counties and they cover a lot of land and a variety of backcountry terrain. The New River Gorge is on the line between Fayette and Raleigh counties and there is a lot of mountainous terrain. A lot of coal mines, a lot of strip mines. Could coal mining be one of the "programs not offered elsewhere"? The county line also pulls away from the gorge and moves into some pretty remote backcountry. There is a lot of room to get lost in. Don't know where in this area they are looking at but there is a lot to choose from. Nearest city is Beckley WV. Hal Link to post Share on other sites
srisom 10 Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Have heard that the new High Adventure Base may be based on the the New River Adventure program in place at the Blue Ridge Mountains Council. Includes Whitewater Rafting and Whitewater Canoeing on the New River, C.O.P.E, Caving, Mountaineering, Climbing. Link to post Share on other sites
shortridge 184 Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Actually, the statement from the NCAC memo is: "... this exciting opportunity has no impact on the 2009 summer camping season at Goshen." Link to post Share on other sites
SR540Beaver 116 Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Looking at the 2010 Jambo Map at AP Hill, there are 21 subcamps grouped in 6 areas. Subcamps 1 thru 5 are for the NE Region. Subcamps 6 thru 9 are for the Western Region. Subcamps 10 thru 14 are for the Central Region. Subcamps 15 thru 20 are for the Southern Region. My coulcil is part of the Southern Region and we are in subcamp 21, so I'm hoping that the 15 thru 20 is a typo on the map. Even though 1 thru 5 are for the NE Region, only subcamps 1, 2 and 3 are together. Subcamps 4 and 5 butt up against subcamps 6, 7 and 8 of the Western Region. Sounds confusing typed out. You'd have to see the map to understand. The main reason I bring all this up is that I have also looked at a map of Goshen and it appears that the various camps that make up Goshen could easily be turned into the different areas for the subcamps so they are spread out in a cirlce surrounding a lake like the current Jambo layout at AP Hill. Goshen Map http://www.boyscouts-ncac.org/openrosters/DocDownload.asp?orgkey=1933&id=32900 AP Hill Map http://www.scouters.us/jamboree/2010info/Map.pdf Link to post Share on other sites
emb021 16 Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 "Back in the old days, weren't there national high adventure areas in Maine and Cumberland Gap? (I know for sure about Maine -- I was there in '76 -- and it still exists as a council-run base, with some of the same staff)." Yes, there was the Maine National High Adventure Bases. As you note, they still run one of the bases as a council program. There was also the short-lived "Land Between the Lakes" High Adventure Program in the TVA area. It made use of leased land. When the lease ran out, it wasn't renewed because it hadn't been used enough. Link to post Share on other sites
Hal_Crawford 15 Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 Srisom: The New River Adventure looks neat but they will have to kick it up a lot to compete as a national high adventure base. The BRC program has one day of white water rafting, one day of white water canoeing and two days of COPE. There is an optional fifth day of mountain biking, climbing or caving. Scouts sleep each night in base camp in Pulaski County, VA. They bus the scouts to WV for the rafting. I would hope that whatever they do in West Virginia will involve some sort of a trek of at least 10 days. Hal Link to post Share on other sites
Tokala 16 Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 For a large event like a National Jamboree, I wonder how they plan on transporting half of the crowd over the 1 lane across the dam to the PMI side of the property? Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Boyce 13 Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 It's a shame locating this out on the East Coast and in a part of the U.S. where summers are often said to be "sweltering." For my dime, really southwest Michigan would be ideal. Close to O'Hare airport, reasonable railroad access, major interstates, the fabulous Great Lakes ("Lake Michigan seems like a sportman's dreams. . ."), and close to a good many large cities. Link to post Share on other sites
srisom 10 Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 I am very familiar with the New River programs from BRMC (my council). It was a lot of fun. The statement that National was looking at the New River program came from BRMC staff that were invloved in discussions with National over the past 18 months. Link to post Share on other sites
srisom 10 Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 I am very familiar with the New River Adventure program at BRMC (my council). It's a blast! The statement about National looking at the New River programs came from someone at BRMC who was involved in talks with National over the past year. Link to post Share on other sites
Hal_Crawford 15 Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 I went to a town hall meeting for scouters in the NCAC where they gave us details on the plan to relocate the Jamboree to Goshen Scout Reservation. They showed a conceptual plan of how the Jamboree can fit within the existing footprint of GSR. For those who are familiar with GSR it helps to understand that the reservation is larger than what is currently developed. The plan showed the bulk of the Jamboree on the west side of the lake. The council camps would condense from 5 camps to the 3 on the east side of the lake. The plan showed (and this is preliminary, it could all change) the Goshen Beltway moved outward from the lake to make more room for the camps and program areas. The beltway would cross the river further downstream removing from vehicle traffic from the dam. The leadership center and the central jamboree area would be where Camps Post (current admin area) and Olmstead are. They showed a big water front and the arena on the lake shore. Sub camps and activity areas spread north through the current Camp Ross and extending inland to the base of the surrounding hills. On the east side the council camps would also be used as sub camps and activity areas. They are looking at a number of ways to get scouts across the lake including a bridge at a narrow point near the current Camp Marriott. All the camps on the east side (currently Bowman, PMI and Marriott) would get bigger. One really positive note is that they plan to keep the trees. They are envisioning wooded campsites not like the clear cut sites of AP Hill. This should be good news for those of you who have griped about the heat at AP Hill. Between the higher altitude and the shade it will be a good bit cooler. GSR is near the I 81 and I 64 corridors and AMTRAK tracks are nearby. There is not a station nearby and AMTRAK only runs a couple of trains a week but there is still a possibility that the Jamboree and the Leadership Center might make it worth AMTRAK's while to build a small station and run some extra trains during the Jambo. They have not discussed yet what will happen to summer camp at Goshen during Jambo years. They do not expect the 2010 camping season to be impacted but 11 and 12 will certainly be affected by construction. Link to post Share on other sites
SR540Beaver 116 Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Hal, Thanks for the update! Link to post Share on other sites
shortridge 184 Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Hal, So a council-run summer camp is going to continue at Goshen in non-Jambo years? I had though the camp would be converted into a true "National Scouting Center," open year-round for HA-type programs. Link to post Share on other sites
emb021 16 Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 "So a council-run summer camp is going to continue at Goshen in non-Jambo years?" Well, AFAIK, its NCAC only summer camp. I would think they could still run summer camp programs during Jamboree years, as the Jamboree doesn't start until late July. So prehap the council summer camp would end by then. "I had though the camp would be converted into a true "National Scouting Center," open year-round for HA-type programs." My understanding is the HA stuff will be done out of another property in WV. This NSC @ Goshen would be just for the Jamboree and training center. I would think they could do this without affecting other camp uses. But am sure we'll learn more as we go along. I hope to find out more at the National Meeting coming up. Link to post Share on other sites
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