I received word that Northern Tier High Adventure Base in Ely, Minnesota, still has some open slots for OKPIK Winter Adventures. This would be a great opportunity for a last minute adventure trip for your unit!

The Okpik season begins Dec. 27 and ends March 7, 2010. They offer a number of adventures, such as: Cabin Stay, Skiing Expeditions, Snowshoe Expeditions, Musher Camp, Dog Sled Expedition, Webelos OKPIK Weekend, and Cold Weather Training.

Here is some additional information from Vern Miller the Okpik Chief Interpreter:

Okpik at Northern Tier High Adventure Base in Ely is one of Scouting’s best kept secrets. Okpik was featured in this month’s (October 2009) Boys’ Life Magazine and recently on the Outdoor Channel’s Scouting for Adventure program.

We offer weekend and weekday customizable trips featuring: winter camping, cabin stays, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, dog sledding, ice fishing, and leave-no-trace. Last year we introduced our Webelos Okpik Weekend (WOW) to encourage young scouts to take advantage of this amazing program.

Okpik offers an exciting and varied program, if you know of any scouts wishing to have an extreme high adventure experience please consider passing along information on Northern Tier High Adventure’s OKPIK Program. Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Vern Miller

(218)-365-4811
www.ntier.org
okpik@ntier.org

Learn more at the Northern Tier Website.

Plan now to attend the 2010 an Order of the Arrow High Adventure Program. The 2010 applications for OA Trail Crew, OA Wilderness Voyage, and OAWV: Canadian Odyssey have been posted on the OA High Adventure website (http://www.adventure.oa-bsa.org). There will be nine sessions of each program, including the new Canadian Odyssey Voyage, running from early June through mid-August.

The Ocean Adventure program at Sea Base is currently being revised to give Arrowmen the oppurtunity to leave an even greater impact on the area, at a lower cost to the participants. Deatails abou Ocean Adventure as well as the application, will be available later this summer.

The Order of the Arrow High Adventure program committtee encourages Arrowmen to apply as soon as possible. Each year the OA’s High Adventure programs continue to grow in popularity and have been filled to capacity for four straight years.

For more program information including promotional flyers, videos, participant testimonials, newsletter articles, scholarship form templates, website banners, training syllabi and more, visit the resources section of the OA High Adventure website.

The Charles L. Sommers Alumni Association has posted a blog entry about a storm that hit the Boundary Waters Canoe area ten years ago. The storm which damaged over 350,000 acres of trees changed the land forever…

On July 4th, 1999, Northern Tier staff was aware of an oncoming storm and while finishing lunch in the dining hall the storm hit. The wind and rain was immense to the point you could not see out the windows. When the storm cleared staff looking out the glass pane window towards the dining bell finally realizing the extent of the damage: “Wasn’t there a large tree there before?”. The Sommers base was left strewn with fallen trees and without power or phones. Likewise the eastern part of the Boundary Waters was also devastated with fallen trees. While equipment, portages, and campsites were left covered with trees amazingly injuries were minimal.

Check out the Charles L. Sommers Alumni Association Blog for more information, links to the original 1999 articles about the storm, and additional pictures.
Ten Years Later: The 4th July Incident (Boundary Waters Blowdown)