By Kristine Kern
Review Staff Writer
Along with their creed, motto and slogan, the Boy Scouts of America have an Outdoor Code. It reads, “As an American, I will do my best to: be clean in my outdoor manners, be careful with fire, be considerate in the out-of-doors and be conservative minded.”
The Adrian/Luverne Boy Scout Troop 32 was faithful to this code during their Canadian canoe trip, July 10-18. Troop members Beau and Brady Loosbrock, Blake Madison, Mason Wieneke, Mason Wenzel, and Tyler DeCescrae, along with troop leader Miki Loosbrock and parent chaperone Les Madison, were led by a local guide. The group travelled 58 miles through the Atikaki Park and Caribou Provincial Park in Bissett, Manitoba, Canada. After first spending time in a base camp where they learned how to portage a canoe and take water samples and test them. The troop was divided in teams of three. The group travelled the distance by canoe, sometimes carrying the canoe through portages of forest or marshes. This meant one person carried the canoe, while the other two carried the tents and other supplies. The scouts completed some service work along the way, by testing the water at different sites and plotting the test sites on a map. The information they brought back to base camp at the end of the trip was sent in to various agencies for environmental purposes.
Plans have been underway for this trip for two years with the scouts doing a lot of fundraising along the way. A generous donation from the Worthington Area Foundation helped the trip come together. Along with the fundraising, the troop has also done volunteer work with the Luverne Veteran’s Home, been a part of a flag burning ceremony held by the Wilmont Legion, and they have been working with the Adrian Park Board on projects and continue to work on these projects.
This once in a lifetime experience also earned them new badges, including the 50 Mile Award, Duty to God Award (for conducting a worship service as well as devotions and prayers during the trip) and the Lake Monitoring Award.
