Getting out of our gear at the end of camp was a relief: those boots and pants were heavy, and though they kept us warm they weren’t the most comfortable outfits we’ve worn.

Back at base camp on the last day, we met up with the dogsledding crews and their teams. The dogs were a hit, and there was some interest expressed in trying that camp next winter.

The roads at camp aren’t exactly ideal for cross country skis: far from being groomed, they can actually turn out to be a gravelly if you’re not careful. Our guide took us along the summer horse trails, which weren’t bad, but here’s a Scout from another crew trying to negotiate a trail better suited to an ATV than to skis.

The introduction to orienteering was a hit, and the Scouts were pretty good at it, even though we only found two markers and they didn’t quite get the concept that once you’ve identified your mark and set your compass you don’t have to walk in a straight line through the underbrush.

There are several raised platform trails around Camp Tomahawk that let you pass through the swampy areas without disturbing the fragile environment or getting your feet muddy. In the winter the wetlands are a field of white, with only a few stalks of swamp grass poking out of the snow.

At the end of our snowshoe trail we found a reminder of summer: half of the exoskeleton of a large bug of some sort. It will be a few months before these are flying around the woods again!

I love snowshoes, because they can get you out to places that are impossible to visit in the summer. After we strapped on our shoes (the camp provided green Redfeather shoes exactly like my own), we headed out across the pond and scrambled up a hill, thankful for the sharp cleats.

After a cold lunch (Uncrustables and GORP), we hiked up the trail to do a little cross country skiing, and then challenged another crew to a game of broomball. It was a fun game, if not exactly played in-bounds or with close attention to the score.

We set up our camp in a site normally used for Tomahawk’s summer camp, with tent platforms and a nice view of the lake. I imagine it looks very different when there are leaves on the trees and no snow on the ground. (Our troop usually camps at Many Point for our long camp, but Tomahawk made a pretty good impression on our crew.)

Everyone insisted on a turn with the sled, which probably wasn’t the most efficient way to make progress on the trail,

While the dogsledding program provides huskies, we had to provide our own pulling power.

All of our camp gear was carried on a pair of sleds, which contained our first aid kit, extra gloves and hats, shovels, stoves, fuel, and food. We had a few hills to tackle on the way, but met the challenge without too much difficulty.

After much gear-wrangling, we finally hit the trail about 9:30 AM. Our destination was about a quarter mile away, and our travels took us maybe three miles from base at the furthest, but we looked like we were ready to trek across Antarctica!

We were outfitted in the camp’s gear, which was a mix of top-quality items like Black Diamond mittens and charmingly vintage Army surplus wool trousers. Getting into the gear took up a lot of time, and required some patience; there were also a few arguments about socks (no cotton!) and some grumbling about the incredibly unfashionable (but very warm!) clothes. I personally liked my baggy trousers, though I was disappointed that the East German Army set I picked out first was too big–they had a nice finish to them.

A lot of our morning at Snow Base was spent going over gear and safety. The margin for error in winter camping is much narrower than the rest of the year: get a little snow in your boot, drop a glove in the woods, or break a binding on your skis, and you can go from cheerful to miserable in seconds. Luckily our activities were close to the main camp, and our guides were experienced and helpful, so we were rarely in danger of more than a little discomfort. But experiencing some of the risks and thrills of challenging the outdoors is a good thing for young Scouts, especially if they’re going to try some of the high adventure activities in coming years!

At the end of January I went to Snow Base at Camp Tomahawk with six Scouts from Troop 1 (five Falcons, one K-9), our advancement chair/Scout mom, and my new Pentax K-30 (I decided to give a digital camera a try, and went with the K-30 because it works with my collection of old K-mount Pentax ME lenses).
Snow Base has several programs: Snow Huskies to introduce you to winter camping, Spearhead for sleeping out in a snow cave, Expedition for the hardcore winter campers, and Dogsledding for the mushers. Our crew, all Tenderfoot and Second Class Scouts, did Snow Huskies: we spent about 12 hours outside, built a kitchen and simple shelter, ate two meals on the trail, and tried snowshoes and cross-country skis, but slept inside instead of in a shelter. (Given the noise that three troops of young Boy Scouts can make, I’d have preferred sleeping outside).