SYRACUSE – Snow fell on and off, and temperatures plunged into the single digits, but that didn’t keep approximately 150 Boy Scouts from the 2013 Lincolnway Klondike Derby over the weekend. Eighty boys camped out in tents and cabins Friday night at Girl Scout Camp Logan on Dewart Lake, Syracuse, with 50 planning to stay Saturday night. 2013 Klondike Chairperson Jay Johnson said there were 150 Scouts participating in the annual Derby during the day Saturday. The Klondike Derby is patterned after the Alaskan Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race that runs in early March from Anchorage to Nome. Mushers and a team of 12 to 16 dogs cover the distance in about two weeks. The first Boy Scout Klondike was held in 1949 and is a nationwide Scouting event, Johnson said. The Scouts, who range in age from 11 to 17, are from Kosciusko and Whitley counties, with the Troops being from the Lincolnway District, a part of the Anthony Wayne Area Council. There are about 20 Boy Scout units in the Lincolnway District, Johnson said, with about 15 taking part in the weekend’s event. The Troops built their own sleds. Instead of dogs, the Scouts have to pull the sled around to nine different “villages,” and their sleds also carried essentials such as water, toilet paper, a gold sack and the Boy Scout Handbook. The Scouts have to avoid “claim jumpers” as they carry their supply of serum to sick Klondike residents at the trail’s end. Each village takes in account some of the things the Scouts learned over the years in Scouting, according to Johnson. While the Scouts had to build a fire at the “Skinning” Camp, they had to shoot sling shots at the “Kibbles N Bits Turkey Shoot.” Each village also had its own “mayor” who got to decide when to award the Scouts with pieces of “gold.” Every adult leader is trained in safety and background checks were done on each one, Johnson reported. Scouts can earn bonus nuggets for cooperation, encouraging each other or other positive actions as decided by Scout leaders. The sled with the heaviest bag of gold wins the Klondike and the traveling trophy. Troop 726, North Webster, won overall with the most gold weight collected. Johnson said the top three places were decided by less than one piece of gold. Johnson said they had 16 sleds in the competition, with each sled having four to 12 Scouts on the team. Every sled has a lead Scout. It started at 9 a.m. Saturday and ended when the Scouts completed their visits to all nine villages. The goal was for everyone to be completed by dusk, Johnson said. Troop 761, Pierceton, was the first to finish all nine villages at around 3 p.m. and had 21.1 ounces of gold in its sack. “Probably the land ski (was the hardest) because the snows on it and you keep slipping off and the ground’s not flat,” said Pierceton Scout Nick Meadows. “We got a record in the land ski with the furthest distance,” noted fellow Scout Jack Truman. Logan Sills also said his team set the day’s record in the Turkey Shoot with 18 cans hit. Johnson said it takes one hour just to walk through all nine villages. The Klondike uses 150 acres of the 200 at Camp Logan. “I would have to say the obstacle course (was the most fun),” said Alex Garcia. “Just having the element of teamwork.” Truman, 17, said he’s been in Scouts since he was a Bobcat, about 10 years. This year’s event was different for him, he said, because, “I’m leading along with Takota (Fretz). It’s kind of like you’re a parent. You get to understand where the leaders are coming from and you get to help out a lot.” Fretz, 14, has been in Scouting for about seven years. Luke Spurlin and Caleb Stromatt were participating in the Klondike for the first time. “I thought it was great,” Spurlin said. “I like interacting with the Boy Scouts. Next year when I move on I will have a general idea of what I’m doing.” “It’s nice, fun because I got to pull a sled by myself and I got to run around,” said Stromatt. To improve the event for next year, the boys all agreed on it being “less cold,” but disagreed on whether they wanted more or fewer hills. “More activities like archery and shooting,” said Matt Smith. “More foot races.” Spurlin suggested, “I also think it would be better if we have more games like the blindfolded one where we have to work together.” The Lions Clubs of Milford and North Webster sponsored lunches for the event. Organizations like The Lions Club of Milford, the Rotary Club in Syracuse and the North Webster United Methodist Church sponsor Boy Scout Troops. The Scout Troops of Milford, Syracuse and North Webster were hosts of this year’s winter challenge. Planning for the Klondike started about three years ago, with it kicking into high gear about six months ago, Johnson said. For more information about the Anthony Wayne Area Council and its events, visit its website at www.awac.org
