OKPIK Scout winter camp

[TZBrown]

On the first weekend of January we held an indoor training session for information and preparation of Boy Scouts and leaders for the last weekend of January where we held the outdoor portion of the training.

The Objective:
Boy Scouts and Leaders learn to camp in the winter, and have fun doing it.

Tall Pine Council, BSA.
At Camp Tapico, near Kalkaska MI.

Making a Quinzee requires about 20 to 30 man hours, it is a LOT of work for a one night shelter.

More Pics are here

Activities included:
Building a Quinzee
Learning that the attendees need large shovels
Trying out Snowshoes
Pulk packing and pulling
Learning to use an alcohol stove
Learning that white gas stoves can be finicky
Trying new foods, MRE's
Learning the value of dry mittens
Alternative Shelters
A midnight snowshoe hike, (at 7 PM), looking for stars, and the Northern Lights, in a snowstorm
Climbing, and falling through, the Quinzee, snow conditions were marginal at best.
Awards

Low temps for the weekend were about 14f

A lot of knowledge was gained by the Scouts and leaders that attended.
Everyone stayed in the field the whole time, only minor issues with cold feet or hands.
The smiles at the end were worth the effort

[Alamosa]

Sounds like you had a good time and covered a lot of material. I've been to a couple of those myself and they are a lot of fun. Of course now they will expect you to attend all the winter campouts.

Thanks for sharing.

[TZBrown]

Sounds like you had a good time and covered a lot of material. I've been to a couple of those myself and they are a lot of fun. Of course now they will expect you to attend all the winter campouts.

Thanks for sharing.

Yeah they can be a lot of fun, sometimes a bit trying, working with varying levels of skill, or interest though.

I am one of the 5 trainer on these, so I do get to go to every one.

Just love it

[Fronkey]

Awesome photos man! That looks like a ton of fun and it's great to see some actual snow on the ground.

Fronkey

[DocTheo]

That looks and sounds like a great time! I'm trying to convince a bunch of Florida Scouts and Scouters that an Okpik trip is an awesome idea! Maybe these pics will help!

WWW,

Ted

[Alamosa]

I am one of the 5 trainer on these, so I do get to go to every one.

I have been doing more of the training for the OKPIK and IOLS training courses in our district to. I'm not sure why they take one look at me and assume that I can teach the cooking. Of course I am afraid to ask the question (I think I know the answer).

[OutandBack]

I never got to do that kinda stuff when I was in the Scouts.
What a Great bonding and learning experience.
Nice job TZB, those boys will remember that trip for the rest of their lives.

O&B

[Carver]

Thank you for all that you do for HF and the Scouts.

[stairguy]

Nice TZ!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm jealous of all the snow.Like the tin can in the trangia. Was that set up as a double burner? Any problems w/scouts/scouters over heating?

[TZBrown]

Nice TZ!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm jealous of all the snow.Like the tin can in the trangia. Was that set up as a double burner? Any problems w/scouts/scouters over heating?

Only about 18 inches of snow on the ground, and Friday it was to wet to build with. We got about 4 inches of fresh and the temps went down enough to dry it out some.
Still some structures were not strong enough to hold the whole crew Sunday morning. It is really fun to watch their expressions as they drop inside and then crawl out the door

The number 10 can fits that cook kit perfectly. It can hold more snow, and the MRE packs stand up and are fully inside the can allowing a lid to be used when heating them.

Always have a few who overdress at the start, but after about 10 minutes on the trail are down to only one layer and a wind layer.

When shoveling the snow, and digging it out after it sets up, some others did have to be reminded to take off, and add layers, as the workload changed.

All changed to dry clothes before getting int their bags and were warm all night