Scouting to the extreme
DEVIN WEEKS/Press The Boy Scouts of Coeur d’Alene Troop 201 are triumphant Saturday as they raise their arms arms into the air while on top of the extreme campsite gateway they built for this year’s Scout-O-Rama
Thomas Moffett, 13, of Pinehurst Troop 322, holds a height-measuring tool as Jacob Severns, 12, of Coeur d'Alene Troop 202, works a hand pump to send a two-liter bottle sailing into the sky Saturday during Scout-O-Rama at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds. Also pictured (in blue coat) is Thomas' little bro Ephraim, 11. "It's a lot of STEM - science, technology, engineering, math," Thomas said. "The math is how we figure out how high it goes, with angles and algebra. The amount of water and the air can be science." (DEVIN WEEKS/Press)
COEUR d’ALENE — The triumphant Boy Scouts of Troop 201 towered over the Kootenai County Fairgrounds, full of glee as they looked upon the people below from the top of their campsite gateway.
They spent three weeks crafting the 30-foot structure, using 180 lodgepole pines and a special Dutch cloverleaf lashing technique to get their quadpods to sufficiently stand on their own and bear plenty of weight.
Senior patrol leader, Cooper Hancock, 14, said a gateway “shows how much dedication a troop has and how far they will go.”
“We went all out,” he said with a grin. "Our gateway is the most extreme here, without a doubt. It’s pretty awesome."
This awesome display of work and technique is exactly what Scoutmaster Aaron Merritt calls “extreme Scouting.”
“This was our definition of ‘extreme Scouting,’” Merritt said. “We wanted to do something different, a little more extreme than normal.”
The troop members showed off their extreme skills at Scout-O-Rama on Saturday by building the largest gateway in the history of the North Idaho event.
“We wanted to get the whole troop involved and to get them all up off the ground,” Merritt said. “We thought it would be pretty cool.”
Troop 201 quartermaster and patrol leader Evan Baldridge, 14, said his Scout-O-Rama couldn't be going any better. It was his first time attending one.
"I personally do like the gateways," he said. "Not even just ours, but all of them because they’re pretty creative."
About 200 Scouts from across the Inland Northwest Council roughed it overnight at the fairgrounds and participated in the many activities the next day had to offer — BB gun shooting, Dutch oven cooking, lessons in automotive repair, science projects and panning for gold, to name a few.
As well as showing off skills and learning new ones, Scout-O-Rama gave the Scouts opportunities to mingle with other troops and make new friends.
“It’s a chance for all the troops to come together, see each other, see what some of the really good troops are doing,” said Inland Northwest Council development and marketing director Kate Benson. "It’s also to share Scouting with the larger community. Scouting does amazing things, but most often our troops are meeting in church basements and out in the woods. This gives us a chance to let folks come and see all the fun activities they’re doing.”