TROOP452NORTHERNTIERPARENTS GUDIE 1.0 1.OVERVIEW Troop425isplanningforahighadventuretripinsummer2009.Thisyearwehave selectednortherntierasourtroophighadventureactivity.northerntierisoneof thetopthreehighadventureprogramsofferedbybsa,theothertwoarephilmont at New Mexico and Sea Base at Florida. In Northern Tier, we are talking about canoeing, meaning we canoe, we camp, we portage, i.e. carrying gears and foods from one water point to another, wadding in muddy and rocky paths. As this is a longtrip,wepaddleonaverage6hrsandportagingseveraltimesaday,wehaveto make sure our scouts are both physically and mentally prepared to meet the challenge. They will learn to how to navigate in water wilderness and at the same timeenjoythebeautifullakesbetweenlyingacrossminnesotaofusaandontarioof Canada.Wethinkthisisgoingtobeagoodandenjoyabletrip,itwillhelpourscouts togrow,experiencethelongenduranceinthewild,enjoyandappreciatethebeauty ofthenature. 2.WHEREISNORTHERNTIER? NorthernTierislocatedatBoundaryofWatersCanoeAreaWildernessandQuetico Providential Park, the lakes lying across the border of northern Minnesota of USA, Ontario and Manitoba of Canada. It is run by BSA with three bases, they are ArtikokaninOntario,BissettinManitoba,andCharlesL.SommersinMinnesota. 3.WHENAREWEGOING? FromJun23 Jul3,2009 PreliminaryFlightSchdule: 1NW362L23JUN2SFO 0035MSP 0603 2NW3274L03JUL5INL 1630MSP 1740 3NW122L03JUL5MSP 1900SFO 2111 4.WHOISGOING? Troop 452 scouts and parents. In Northern Tier, participants are grouped into crews. Each crew consists of maximum 9 people, 8 from Troop 452 and 1 from BaseCamp,theInterpreter.Ofthe8participantsfromTroop452,atleast2mustbe 1
adults, therefore we can have maximum 6 scouts per crew. We plan for 2 crews, total12scouts,and4adults. 14 scouts and 6 adults have signed up. We have to go through our training programsandmakeafinaldecisionatalaterdateonhowarewegoingtoformthe 2crews. Wehavelistedbelowalistofselectioncriteria,whichwewillbaseontomakeour finalcrews membersselection.thelistisnotarrangedinpriority. Attendance TrainingPerformance IndividualFitnessrecords SICs Scoutswithparentgoing Seniority We might form a third crew, depending on further response from undecided scouts and parents.thedecisionwillbemakebyendfebruary2009. 5.WHOARETHESICs/AICs? KevinChuang LeadSIC(TrainingandOverallPlanning) CedricFlamant SIC(Documentation) PatrickPhoon SIC(Gears/Equipments) JeffreyChiu SIC(RoutesPlanning) WayneHo LeadAIC(LogisticandOverallPlanning) CSGoh AIC(Training/Equipments) PeterChiu AIC(Documents) PeterPoon AIC(Finance) 6.REQUIREMENTSFORTHETRIP Scouts MustbearegisteredBoyScout. Mustbe13yearsoldatthetimeofthetrip. MeettheNorthernTierSwimmingClassificationrequirement CompleteT452GroupandIndividualFitnesstrainingprograms. Adults 21yearsoldandabove, MeetNorthernTierSwimmingClassificationrequirement. CompleteT452GroupandIndividualFitnesstrainingprograms. CompleteBSArequiredSafetyCourses 2
7.TRAINING The training programs are devised to help every participant to be prepared physically. Group trainings will include canoeing practices, canoeing camp, backpack hiking with incremental load to meet challenge of 65 lbs, and lastly Swimming Classification test. We also emphasize on daily fitness training. Everyone has responsibility to keep fit physically, by doing daily fitness activities and exercises. Individual daily fitness activities will be logged and submit to SIC/AIC in timely manner. Good attendance and good daily fitness records are criticalasthesewillbetheirreportcard. GroupTrainingSchedule Trainingprogramsaresubjectedtochangetomeetmajorityschedule.Scoutswho areabsencefromanyofthegrouptraininghavetodoamake up. 2/07Satafternoon 1 st practice(canoeing) 2/28Satafternoon 2 nd practice(hikingxxlbs,xxmiles) 3/07Satafternoon 3 rd practice(canoeing) 3/14Satafternoon 4 th practice(hikingxxlbs,xxmiles) 3/22Sunmorning 1 st swimcheck 3/29Sunmorning 2 nd swimcheck 4/25Satafternoon 5 th practice(evaluation,1 st gearcheck) 5/02Sat/Sun 6 th practice(canoeingcamp) 5/16Satafternoon 3 rd swimcheck(finalswimcheck) 5/23Sat/Sun 7 th practice(patrolcamp) 5/31Sun Briefingn2 nd GearCheckforscoutsgoingtoEmeraldBay 6/12 6/20(1day) FinalGearCheckforscoutsnotgoingtoEmeraldBay 6/21Sun FinalGearCheckforscoutsgoingtoEmeraldBay 6/23 7/03 NorthernTierExpedition IndividualFitness Any physical activities like jogging, swimming, push up, sit up, walking, hiking, treadmill, etc that are carried you during the school s PE or after school are countable. SafetyCourses OtherthanparticipatinginGroupandIndividualFitnesstrainings,adultsgoingfor thetripneedtoensurethefollowingtrainingsarecompleted. YouthProtectionTraining BSAonlineclass SafetyAfloat BSAonlineclass SafeSwimDefense BSAonlineclass CRPandFirstAid AmericanRedCrossofferclasses 3
8.HOWMUCHANDWHENTOPAY? Troophasapprovedabudgettosubsidizetwoadultsforthetrip.Theamountwill beequallysharedamongtheparticipants.wecanonlyestimatethecostfornow TripCost EstimateExpeditionCost:$0,000.00/person EstimateTransportationCost:$0,000.00/person EstimateTroop ssubsidy: $0,000.00/person EstimateTotalCost:$0,000.00/person ========== PaymentSchedule 1 st Payment:$0,000.00 DD/MM/2009 2 nd Payment:$0,000.00 DD/MM/2009 3 rd Payment:$0,000.00 DD/MM/2009 FinalPayment:$0,000.00 DD/MM/2009 RefundPolicies Twoscoutsunabletoparticipatewillgetthefullrefund. Selectedscoutsoradultsdecidednottogowillneedtogetareplacement,but therestillbeacostincurred.wewillimplementapenaltyifweareunableto findareplacement. *$100between5/23 6/21,withreplacement *$100+penaltybetween5/23 6/21,withoutreplacement *$460+penaltyafter6/21. Note:theamountsanddateswillbeadjustedaccordinglyaswemovealong. 9.ROUTEPLANNING Our adventure starts from Artikokan Base at Ontario, Canada; and finishes at CharlesL.SommersBaseatEly,Minnesota. Northern Tier does not allow 2 crews to be together once we are on the water, meaning that the crews have to go on separate routes. The following routes are pickedforinitialstudy. Route1:KahshapiwiLake south Distance:80miles LongestPortage:220rods(0.7miles) NumberofPortage:23 Difficulty:ModeratetoStrenuous Route2:TheFarNorthland southbound Distance:80miles LongestPortage:193rods(0.6miles) NumberofPortage:16 Difficulty:Easy 4
10.GEARSINVESTMENT To minimize the burden on our scouts, we are very conscious on the amount of personalitemstobringtotrip.wewantonlywhatweneed,andweareconscious ontheweightandsizeofeachitem.therefore,wearelookingintosomelevelof gears investment by individuals. We attached here a list of major items that will helpparentstodothebudgeting.wewillhaveadetailgearlistlater. Boots($60 $100) This is the main item we are focusing on. The boots need to be sturdy, protect ankles, and most important, water resistance. American made Jungle Boot ($60) andchotawadingboot($100)aremostlyrecommended. SleepingBag($50 $100) Temperatures at Northern Tier in summer seldom fall below 45 deg. 35 deg sleepingbagisgoodenoughandwasrecommended.thereasonforwarmerbagis thatissmallerandlighter.thesizeofthesleepingbagshouldnotexceed18 x10. SleepingPack($35 $70) Light close cell foam and shelf inflating is recommended. Open cell foam act like spongewillgetheavyandhardtodrywhensoak.size,¾lengthrecommendedto keeptheweightandsizedown. PantsandShirts($50 $100) Havetobelightanddryupquick,thereforepolyesterornylonpantsandshirts,to be long sleeve, are good choice. Avoid cotton and no Jeans. A fleece will be sufficientkeepwarm. RainGear($30 $60) Good quality rain pant and shirt, no poncho. Light, breathable set will cost more, PVCistooheavy. 11.IMPORTANTDOCUMENTS Thereareseveraldocumentsrequiredparentsimmediateattention: Passport/PassCard/AlienRegistrationCard Proofofcitizenship,Passportvaliditytill endofdecember2009 ParentalPermissionForm foryouth17yearsoryounger NorthernTierHealthandMedicalRecordForm 5
12.PARENTSCONTACT WearegoingtoappointaParents Point Of ContactbackhomeatCupertino.AICs will, whenever possible, updates PPOC on the status of the trip. We do not encourageparentstocontactthebasedirectly,asfaraspossible,toavoidconfusion, unlessemergency. ImportantNote Oncethecrewsareonwater,theyarepracticallynotcontactableinthenext9days. OnlytheInterpreterhasasatellitephone,forEmergencyuseonly.Fortheparents benefit,weprovidetheppocandntcontactinformation. Parents Point Of Contact(PPOC) DennisChuang(ASM) Phone_(408)865 1549 NorthernTierHighAdventureBase 14798MooseLakeRoad, P.O.Box509 Ely,MN55731 0509 Phone (218)345 4811 Fax (218)365 3112 13.RESOURCES Scoutsareencouragedtoreferenceasmuchresourcesastheycan,togetthemselves familiarizedwiththetrip. ExpeditionPlanningGuide NorthernTierNationalHighAdventureBases,2009 VoyageurHandbookToAdventure NorthernTierNationalHighAdventure,BSA www.ntier.org/ OfficialNorthernTier swebsite. 6