2021 Old Ephraim District Scout-o-rama

 

We are excited to have our first Old Ephraim District Scout-O-Rama on June 11-12, 2021 at the Cache County Fairgrounds.  We hope all of our units will mark that date on their planning calendars and come and have a great weekend of Scouting.  

We will have a traditional campfire program Friday evening with a cracker barrel so be prepared with your favorite skits and run-ons.  Saturday will be a fun filled morning of booths, activities, and displays.  Our Cub Scouts are welcome to the Saturday events.  The Cache County Fairgrounds stipulates no campfires, only propane stoves for cooking will be allowed so plan accordingly.   The cost of the event will be $8 for Scouts and their leaders; $5 for Cubs and their leaders.  For any questions contact the Scout office at 435-764-8059 or John Brenchley  435-757-5738. Be sure to check back for more details as the date gets closer.

2021 Klondike a Success! (In spite of the wind)

 

The 2021 Old Ephraim Klondike Derby was a huge success in spite of the bitter, cold arctic
wind that blew most of the day on Saturday. A total of 13 troops, including two girl troops, participated in this year's derby. Nearly 100 youth participated (99 to be exact) and nearly 50 adult leaders were there as well.

Almost all of the troops camped Friday night, mostly in snow trenches, but there were a few snow caves and tents as well. Fortunately the wind didn't blow as much in the camping area and it snowed a little all night long so everyone was able to sleep warm and cozy. 

Activities on Saturday included searching for a person (which looked a lot like a bag of candy) after an avalanche, lighting fires with just two boards, a cotton ball, some petroleum jelly and a few ashes, and putting together a personal first aid kit. The ROTC unit from Utah State University helped man many of the stations and even demonstrated a flame thrower. For more great photos of the entire event you can click here. There is also a 13 minute video of the activities on Saturday (a snippet of the video is at the end of this blog). The photos and the video were all recorded and shared by Michael Gordon.

Of course, the days events were capped off by the traditional Klondike sled race. The course this year was much longer than the past so troops weren't required to have a rider on the sled, but they still appeared exhausted by the end of the course. Kudos to everyone that was there for surviving the wind all day!

A big thanks to Paul Harris and his volunteers, the USU ROTC cadets and of course all of the scouts and their leaders for making this event a big success.  Also thanks to the US Forest Service for allowing us to hold the event at Sunrise Campground and thanks to UDOT for allowing us to use the Bear Lake Overlook parking area and restroom. We will see everyone again next year!

Klondike Derby 2021!

The tradition continues! Old Ephraim district is sponsoring the annual Klondike Derby. It will be held February 19-20, 2021 at Sunrise Campground up Logan Canyon just before you descend to Bear Lake.

There will be plenty of activities to test your Scouting skills with a particular focus on fire building and first aid. Attendees may find it helpful to bring their Scout Handbook and download the American Red Cross First Aid app (Click on buttons below to download).

The fun starts with a cracker barrel at 8 pm Friday night. The activities start Saturday morning with a flag ceremony at 8:30 am and ends with the Klondike race at noon. 

Parking will be tight so please avoid bringing trailers if you can. Be sure every one is dressed and prepared for the cold. Remember to clean up after yourself and leave your camp area clean by hauling out all of your trash and following Leave No Trace practices including taking appropriate care of your ashes. Please use the restrooms at the Bear Lake overlook. 

There will be a fee of $5/person to cover the cost of the patch and supplies. A downloadable flyer is available and contact information is available at https://www.utahscouts.org/OEKlondike. You can register your unit online now.

Update: There are 19 stations planned. Anyone who can come up on Saturday to help with those stations would be appreciated and will receive a free patch.