Klondike Derby 2009

The older boys and I attended the Klondike Derby this weekend at Camp Stigwandish near Painesville, OH. On Friday, temperatures were near 40F and snow had begun to melt off of paved surfaces creating a wet, slushy mix of mud and ice. The forecast for the evening predicted another cold front and a drop to the teens in temperature, and perhaps a bit of snow. Very typical weather for NE Ohio in January. Jacob did pretty well packing his bag, but Joseph had trouble figuring out that he couldn't be deeply engrossed in reading a book and pack at the same time. We picked up Garn Smith, our brave scout leader who made the arrangements, grabbed a couple bundles of firewood from Home Depot, then headed up in the dark to camp.

The boys put together a fine menu of soup and bread for dinner and chocolate chip cookies. Joseph also wanted Klondike bars, but he got out-voted when were at the store. It ended up getting down to about 7 degrees F or so that night. I was quite uncomfortable and my toes got frosty. I neglected to bring a sleeping pad, so my body spent much of the night trying to warm the frozen platform underneath our tent. We shoveled 12 inches of wet snow off the platforms before we were able to set up the tents. Joseph was in tears at the beginning of the night because he had trouble getting his sleeping bag out of the duffle bag. He then co-opted Jacob's sleeping pad and went to sleep. He also had my pillow that I forgot to grab from the backpack.

We camped with boys from Kirtland and Perry Wards. They had constructed a couple of snow forts and were discussing God's time, geologic time, Adam & Eve and how to fit all of this together in a coherent story in between snow fights and wrestling matches. I was very tempted to join the discussion (and the wrestling), but I decided that these ideas were best to come to gradually and on one's own. I overheard quite a bit about Mayans, Aztecs, and other peoples of the Americas from boys throughout the day. There were even discussions of astronomy, chemistry and logic. Again, interspersed with sledding, fire making and food. Many of the ideas were still new and not exactly to current scientific understanding (for example, Mayan society being destroyed by Aztecs 10,000 years ago) but it was nice to hear the banter.

We planned a breakfast of eggs, sausage, hasbrowns and chocolate chip cookies, but the camp ended up feeding everyone French toast and bacon in the dining hall, which turned out to be a nice warm respite to prepare us for a day in the cold. Another fine spot to visit was the First Aid/Warming cabin. It was very toasty in there, with a couple of EMTs in short-sleeves handing out hand warmers. Out in front of that cabin was a huge pot of hot soup consisting of a mixture of ramen noodles and cans of vegetable soups--watery and warm and oh, so nice to hold a cup full of that soup.
During the day, Garn, the boys and I went to various stations to try some activities and answer first aid and nature ID questions. Jacob and Joseph are still pretty inexperienced in first aid skills and nature ID questions, but we had a good time learning together. The boys got to throw tomahawks and atlatls, make fire, toss tethered tennis balls, make bullets and fire black powder rifles. I was very jealous and missed being a boy. We did not stay for the Klondike sled relay. We were cold and definitely out of league for the competition. And we didn't have a sled. Besides, we had just finished the shooting range, and what could be more fun than that?

Lunch was our low point. The food was fantastic--grilled Italian sandwiches, frozen strawberries and chocolate chip cookies-- but it was very cold, sunny and the wind was biting. Any uncovered bit of skin, particluarly fingers preparing the food became super-chilled in seconds. (The one time when the prayer phrase, "Bless the hands that prepared this food" is appropriate.) Jacob was crying from the pain of cold hands, and I had to pull his hands near the fire to warm them up. He was too cold and hurting to move himself or pull his gloves on. We got him warmed back up. After we got home, a couple of unused packets of handwarmers from the First Aid station fell out of Jacob's pocket. I asked him why he didn't use them at camp. He said that he was too cold to get them out.

We made it home safely after participating in an official scouting event. Overall, it was worth the trip. We managed our minor crises, played some games, and got to observed how other boys interact. Throughout the experience, I kept thinking, "How did our ancestors do this? How did they manage the cold without all the gear and technology we have today? Why would anyone think that living in this area or others like it during the winter was a good idea? I am grateful for them, and I am grateful that I am not them.