Alexandria Boy Scouts Troop 112 was the host for the 2015 Klondike Derby, attracting 292 scouts and adult leaders to the annual two-night camp out and leadership and skills competition at the Teetertown Preserve in Port Murray, Jan. 23-25. The scouts woke up to six inches of snow on Jan. 24, ideal for a winter scouting event, held nationally since 1949.
Event organizer Tom Callahan and the youth and adult leadership of Troop 112, sponsored by the Alexandria First Presbyterian Church, set up a schedule of eight challenging stations, including animal track and fur identification; knots and pioneering skills; compass orienteering course; a first aid station where scouts dealt with a simulated polar bear attack; fire building competition; ice rescue station; and a Lumber Jack station where using a double cut buck saw, scouts sawed through a log for the best time. The culmination of the Arctic challenge was a sled race, where the Scouts served as sled dogs, with the 18 Troops from Hunterdon and Mercer Counties competing on a figure eight course.
Annually, scouting districts throughout the U.S. and Canada host a Klondike Derby event, which is based on the Klondike Gold Rush, but varies by district. For more information on Troop 112 activities, please visit www.bsa-troop112.net.