Bosca Dubh

We set up our camp in a site normally used for Tomahawk’s summer camp, with tent platforms and a nice view of the lake. I imagine it looks very different when there are leaves on the trees and no snow on the ground. (Our troop usually camps at Many Point for our long camp, but Tomahawk made a pretty good impression on our crew.)

Everyone insisted on a turn with the sled, which probably wasn’t the most efficient way to make progress on the trail,

While the dogsledding program provides huskies, we had to provide our own pulling power.

All of our camp gear was carried on a pair of sleds, which contained our first aid kit, extra gloves and hats, shovels, stoves, fuel, and food. We had a few hills to tackle on the way, but met the challenge without too much difficulty.

After much gear-wrangling, we finally hit the trail about 9:30 AM. Our destination was about a quarter mile away, and our travels took us maybe three miles from base at the furthest, but we looked like we were ready to trek across Antarctica!

We were outfitted in the camp’s gear, which was a mix of top-quality items like Black Diamond mittens and charmingly vintage Army surplus wool trousers. Getting into the gear took up a lot of time, and required some patience; there were also a few arguments about socks (no cotton!) and some grumbling about the incredibly unfashionable (but very warm!) clothes. I personally liked my baggy trousers, though I was disappointed that the East German Army set I picked out first was too big–they had a nice finish to them.

A lot of our morning at Snow Base was spent going over gear and safety. The margin for error in winter camping is much narrower than the rest of the year: get a little snow in your boot, drop a glove in the woods, or break a binding on your skis, and you can go from cheerful to miserable in seconds. Luckily our activities were close to the main camp, and our guides were experienced and helpful, so we were rarely in danger of more than a little discomfort. But experiencing some of the risks and thrills of challenging the outdoors is a good thing for young Scouts, especially if they’re going to try some of the high adventure activities in coming years!

At the end of January I went to Snow Base at Camp Tomahawk with six Scouts from Troop 1 (five Falcons, one K-9), our advancement chair/Scout mom, and my new Pentax K-30 (I decided to give a digital camera a try, and went with the K-30 because it works with my collection of old K-mount Pentax ME lenses).
Snow Base has several programs: Snow Huskies to introduce you to winter camping, Spearhead for sleeping out in a snow cave, Expedition for the hardcore winter campers, and Dogsledding for the mushers. Our crew, all Tenderfoot and Second Class Scouts, did Snow Huskies: we spent about 12 hours outside, built a kitchen and simple shelter, ate two meals on the trail, and tried snowshoes and cross-country skis, but slept inside instead of in a shelter. (Given the noise that three troops of young Boy Scouts can make, I’d have preferred sleeping outside).