High Adventure

Older Scouts (those who are at least 13 years old or have completed the seventh grade) seek challenge and variety. How does Scouting capture their interest? Through diverse high-adventure and outdoor opportunities, which many Scouts consider to be the highlight of their outdoor Scouting experiences.

High adventure activities include:

• Bicycle Touring
• Caving
• Horse Packing
• Mountain Biking
• Rafting
• Rappelling
• Rock Climbing
• Sailing
• Scuba Diving
• Skiing and Snowboarding

Recent Troop 3:16 high adventure experiences include rock climbing and rappelling at a local park under the supervision of a trained instructor, visits to local ski resorts, a white water rafting trip, and scuba diving at Camp Emerald Bay.

The councils of Southern California created a council based High Adventure Program. A Council High Adventure Program is well-planned and balanced while fitting within the framework of the Boy Scouts of America. It is a program that is designed for all ages, abilities and genders. The Council High Adventure Program offers much to supplement the local outdoor program. When implemented, the High Adventure Program will offer: supplemental outdoor training, a collection of recognition awards, a collection of resources and opportunities for youth.

The council-based high adventure program can provide the following resources:

• Help to Troops planning wilderness outings.
• Establish and conduct backpacking, canoeing, cycle touring, Nordic skiing, snow-shoeing, rock climbing, outdoor seminars, training sessions and other awareness courses.
• Help to identify suitable local back-country and wilderness areas for short and long-term outings. Provide guest speakers, movie, slide shows, equipment demonstrations and planning seminars about High Adventure activities for Troop, District and Council events.

The National Council operates High Adventure Bases offering Scouts three exciting choices: a unique aquatic quest at the Florida Sea Base; a canoeing or winter camping challenge at the Northern Tier; or a wild west backpacking expedition at the Philmont Scout Ranch.

• Florida Sea Base. Located in Islamorada, the heart of the Florida Keys, the Florida Sea Base operates nine different adventures out of three different locations. The adventures Coral Reef Sailing, Sea Exploring Adventure, Scuba Adventure, Scuba Certification, and Live Aboard Scuba Adventure operate in the Florida Keys at at Sea Base on Lower Matecumbe Key located 75 miles south of Miami. Out Island Adventure and Keys Adventure programs operate in the Florida Keys on Summerland Key at the Brinton Environmental Center located 125 miles south of Miami. Bahamas Adventure and Bahamas Tall Ship Adventures operate out of the Bahamas Sea Base in Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Bahamas, located about 100 miles east of Fort Lauderdale.

• Northern Tier. One of the most beautiful, and remote parts of North America offers a unique opportunity for canoeing, hiking, fishing, and winter camping in and around the beautiful lakes of northern Minnesota and southern Canada await you at the Northern Tier. A wilderness canoe trip in this area is not just a fishing trip or a laid-back vacation. Just as the voyageurs who traveled through this area in the 1700's, modern-day voyageurs are physically challenged as they travel through the woods by paddle and portage. Typical treks may cover 50 to 150 miles and take 6 to 10 days. With each crew is a highly skilled technician/instructor called an "Interpreter". Sometimes called "Charlie Guides", these people can make the difference between a wilderness ordeal and an exciting and wonderfully memorable experience.

• Philmont Scout Ranch. Philmont Scout Ranch is a large, rugged, mountainous ranch located near the town of Cimarron in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of the Rocky Mountains of northern New Mexico. Philmont Scout Ranch is the Boy Scouts of America's oldest national high-adventure base. Its 34 staffed camps and 55 trail camps provide an unforgettable adventure in the high country along hundreds of miles of rugged, rocky trails. Program features combine the best of the Old West — horseback riding, burro packing, gold panning, chuckwagon dinners, and interpretive history — with exciting challenges for today — rock climbing, burro racing, mountain biking, and rifle shooting.

  The standard and most popular Philmont program is the trek. A typical Philmont trek lasts 10 days and covers anywhere from 50 to 120 miles (80 to 190 km) of trail. Cavalcades, which are similar to standard treks, but are conducted on horseback. Rayado, a prestigious and very strenuous twenty-day program. Scouts are challenged physically, mentally, and spiritually. Rayado crews, accompanied by two of the Ranger Department's best qualified members, are put together by Philmont staff, and consist of people from different parts of the country. Mountain Treks, which last five days and are conducted by the Philmont Training Center for trainees' families. The Roving Outdoor Conservation School (ROCS), which teaches participants about ecology, conservation techniques, and trail construction methods. Order of the Arrow Trail Crew is a 14-day program for Order of the Arrow (OA) members between the ages of 16 and 20, inclusively, allowing participants to work on various conservation projects around the ranch before embarking on a self-devised, week-long trek.

  Philmont is also home to the Philmont Training Center

  , which is the main center for BSA's national-level training for volunteers and professionals. While a Scouter is participating in a conference, every member of his or her family (from infants to adult children) is involved in a full schedule of age-specific activities. After-hours fun for the entire family is also offered. In addition to its extensive BSA programs, Philmont continues to operate as a ranch, maintaining a relatively small stock of cattle, horses, and bison.
  

  See Also

  • BSA Support
  • Outdoor Program
  • Summer Camp
  • Order of the Arrow
  • High Adventure Web Links