High Adventure takes a LOT of Planning. Here is a useful planner with a suggested timeline and leadership distribution.
This has the potential to be a 50-miler. Ross Lake is an extremely popular site for Scout Troops to go canoeing. There are ninteen boat-in camps avalible along the shores, all equipped with fire-rings, picnic tables, vault toilets, and bear boxes. A backcountry permit is required for any overnight camping at these sites.
The lake is generally full from late June through mid-September; during other months, drawdowns of the reservoir expose rocks, snags, and other obstacles.
We could likely rent canoes from the Chief Seattle Council
Cost would include canoe rental, food costs, and camping permits: this would be a relatively inexpensive adventure.
Whitewater Rafting
There are several options for whitewater rafting in the area, particularly on the Deschutes River and the Salmon River. It would be easy but expensive to charter with a rafting company: local troops like the Deschutes River Adventures, which we investigated in 2022 but ultimately dismissed. The drawback to this sort of rafting trip is you're not learning much, other than how to be a passenger in a boat. There is also a local Scouter who specializes in training and outfitting scout troops for rafting trips. There would have to be sufficient trained Adult Leader support to run this trip, but this would be a more interactive and affordable way to raft.
The alternative is to charter work with Karl Kohagen, a local Scouter who rents rafting equipment and provides training for launching your own rafting trip on the Salmon River.
For a week-long trip, budget about $450/person, with a group size of 12-30. (Fee to Mr. Kohagen is $265/person.)
Gear provided includes rafts, paddles, PFDs, Oars, etc, and a trailer to haul gear.
Training consists of:
1.5 hour for dryland training, introducton to raft specific LNT, cold water and personal gear selection and dry bag packing
3 hour flat water introduction to rafting skills, rowing and paddling, including flipping rafts
Full day down river oar raft training, rowing rafts thru white water
Full day down river paddle raft training. Paddling rafts thru white water
Sea Kayaking Around the San Juan Islands
Another outdoor adventure sponsored by Karl Kohagen, this would be a trip where we rent outfitting for the trip and get training (dryland and water) before launching our own sea kayaking trip around the San Juan Islands.
For a weeklong trip, budget about $265.00 per person total cost, with a group size of 8-34. (Fee to Mr. Kohagen is $165/person.)
Gear provided includes kayaks, paddles, PFD’s, spray skirts, bilge pumps, misc group dry bags, trailer to haul the kayaks, and safety gear.
Training consists of:
1.5 hour for dryland training, introducton to kayak specific LNT, Cold water, and personal gear selecton and dry bag packing.
4 hour on water introducton to paddling skills including capsize and recovery
Summiting Mount Baker or Mount Rainier
We are lucky enough to have a skilled climber (Hi Mr. Vicory! Hi Mrs. Trace!) within our leadership, and we also have access to a scouting-oriented mountaineering outfitter, who specializes in enabling scouting troops and venturing crews in completing mountain summits. (Mr. Kohagen)
A fee for a weeklong trek would give us access to everything you need for a successful trek (including ice axes, crampons, helmets, harnesses, carabiners, belay devices, pulleys, snow pickets, prussic slings, runners, ropes, and mountaineering boots).
In addition, the outfitter fee includes
1.5 hours of dryland training
3 hours of prussic and rappelling training
a full day of basic mountaineering skills training, including the use of ice axe, crampons, rope, team travel, snow anchors, and self rescue.
Clearly, you'd learn a lot on this adventure, not only about mountaineering skills, but also about yourself and what you're capable of doing! But you would also need to be committed to building up the skills and stamina to achieve a successful summit.
But, what an unbelievable accomplishment this would be. Here is a story about one troop's summit of Mount Rainier; Mount Baker is just as technical as Mount Rainier, but it has a lower altitude, and a shorter summit day, both of which make it more accessible.
Cost: $200 outfitting/training fee, plus costs of food and transportation (~$350 total)
Group Size Limitations: minimum of 6 and maximum of 16
Participation Limitations: At least 13 years of age and out of 8th grade.
Philmont is a National High Adventure base that spans about 220 miles of rugged mountain wilderness in northeastern New Mexico. Simply put, Philmont treks are guided backpacking treks through the desert, with programming activities along each leg of the trek.
More elaborately, Philmont provides an unforgettable adventure in ski-high backpacking country, along hundreds of miles of rugged, rocky trails. Program features combine the best of the old West: horseback riding, burro packing, gold panning, chuck wagon dinners, and living history provide exciting challenges each day. Rock climbing, mountain biking, and shooting sports, and more, are other possible activities at the end of a daily trek.
This High Adventure Base is considered a quintessential scouting experience, and Scouts and Leaders often refer to Philmont treks as the capstone of their Scouting career.
Treks range from 7-12 days, and can be anywhere from 40-120 miles of hiking. You would have to commit to getting yourself into the right physical shape to complete a trek of this length.
Another option is the Philmont Cavalcade, which is similar to a regular expedition, except that, instead of hiking, crews ride horses throughout their trek.
Cost: $1000 (7 day), $1200 (9-day) , or $1295 (12-day), $1050 (8-day cavalcade), plus the cost of transportation to/from New Mexico.
Group Size Limitations: Must have a crew of 8-12, including youth and adult participants
Participation Limitations: At least 13 years of age and out of 8th grade.
Located deep within the swamps of South Louisiana, Swamp Base offers high adventure paddling treks through the Atchafalaya Swamp.They currently offer one 6 day, 6-night trek, called Trek 1. It consists of paddling 61.6 miles through the Atachafalaya, paddling an average of 15.4 miles a day. The trek includes classes on short-term swamp survival and living off the swamp. Activities include swimming, an air boat ride, outdoor gamesstand-up paddleboarding, and fishing. You will be sleeping in hammocks or cabins in various outposts.
Scouts can also go as individuals as a part of a provisional crew, which leaves annually on June 18.
Cost: Trek crews of 10-11 = $745/person; Trek crews of 8-9 = $795/person; Trek crews with less than 8 people must pay $6,360 for the crew
Group Size Limitations: Crew size caps at 11, including youth and adult participants
Participation Limitations: At least 13 years of age, must pass the BSA Swim test as a Beginner or Swimmer
Florida Sea Base Sea Base is a national high adventure base offers aquatics programs including sailing, scuba diving, rustic camping on an undeveloped barrier island, and snorkeling, fishing, marine STEM programs, and more
Sea Base now operates 18 different adventures out of five locations: two in the Florida Keys, two in the US Virgin Islands, and one in Marsh Harbour, Bahamas.
Florida Sea Base on Lower Matecumbe Key, 75 miles south of Miami, offers Coral Reef Sailing, Sea Exploring Adventure, STEM Eco-Adventure, Scuba Adventure, Scuba Certification, and Live Aboard Scuba Adventures.
The Brinton Environmental Center on Summerland key, 125 miles south of Miami, offers Out Island Adventures, Keys Adventures, Florida Fishing, Marine STEM, and the Key West Sailing programs operate in the Florida Keys on Summerland Key at Mile Marker 23.8 at the located 125 miles south of Miami.
Sea Base Bahamas operated out of Marsh Harbor, Abaco, Bahamas, offers the Bahamas Adventure and the Bahamas Tall Ship Adventure.
Sea Base St. Thomas out of St. Thomas, USVI, offers St. Thomas Sailing Adventures and STEM Eco Sailing Adventures.
Basically, these experiences are either day trips (e.g., a scuba dive) launching from your home base on one of the bases, or else they are multi-day sails on sea base vessels. Treks are generally 6-7 days. It is highly recommended that participants get SCUBA certified before attending Sea Base
Cost: varies greatly based on the size of the crew and the program, but none of them are cheap (over $1000, and dependant on group size, as total fees are per crew) and there will be the additional cost of airline tickets and transportation to the base.
Group Size Restrictions: crew size can max out at 8, 12, or 20, including a minimum of two leaders.
Participation Limitations: minimum age of 12 (scouts must be 13+ for some programs, and they strongly suggest 12-year-olds have an accompanying guardian).
Horse Trek with the Cascade Council
This unfortunately cannot be a troop activity, because you must enter the admissions lottery as an individual, but the Cascade Pacific Council offers a 165 mile horse trek twice a summer between the Butte Creek Scout Ranch and Camp Baldwin. Scouts learn about horses, the wilderness, horse-backing, and cowboy tales. Food is served chuck-wagon-style.
Lottery is typically open November-December of the winter before the trek, and participants are notified by February.
Cost: $722
Participation Limitations: Must be age 13+ by Jun 1