PRESS PHOTO BY JIM MARSH Scouts from Troop 86, Alburtis, haul their skid sled from one Klondike Derby skill station to the next. The Scouts were judged by how well they performed the skills at each station, named for a city in Alaska.
Alburtis Troop 86 Scout Frank Kish, of Lower Macungie, reads instructions for the height and distance exercise that required triangulation to determine the height and distance of objects far away.
Eric Schnable, Scoutmaster of Scout Troop 439, sponsored by St. Thomas More Church, gives Scouts from Troop 86, Alburtis, tips on how to use triangulation to determine the height and distance of far-away objects at last Saturday's Trexler District, Minsi Trails Council, scout Klondike Derby held at Salisbury Township's Franko Farm recreation area.
Boy Scouts practice winter skills at Minsi Trails Klondike Derby
Wednesday, January 23, 2013 by Jim Marsh Special to The Press in Local News
About 130 enthusiastic Scouts from 13 area Troops practiced their winter Scouting skills at eight different Alaska-themed venues Jan. 19 at the Franko Farm recreation area in Salisbury Township.
Imaginative events in the Klondike Derby gave the students opportunities to train and develop skills in first aid, fire building, knots and lashing, lumberjack, stretcher carry, ice rescue, orienteering and determining the height and distance of distant objects using triangulation skills.
The cold did not seem to bother the warmly dressed Scouts who look forward each winter to the Scout Klondike Derby. When they were done participating in each skill, the Scouts enthusiastically pulled their wheeled and skid sleds from one widely spaced skills venue to another.
Each Troop was given a list of equipment needed in the skills-building exercises. The Scout-made sleds showed years of Klondike Derby wear making it clear this was not the first time they were being used.
The Klondike Derby is a Scouting tradition dating back to the mid-1960s.
Steaming mugs of hot soup and beverages supplemented the bagged lunches the Scouts brought with them. By the time the noon lunch break was over, amplified sirens sped the Scouts off to their next training venue.
While the day was brisk, the activities provided enough exercise and body heat that it seemed only the adult leaders confined to each training station needed hot coffee to sustain a comfortable body temperature.
