Four adult leaders and 12 Scouts left the Snowville bus terminal on Saturday July 17th for a 24 hour bus trip to Atikokan, Ontario, Canada which was the Northern Tier canoe base. There were several other Troops on the bus for a total of about 61 people. Arriving at Atikokan on Sunday, we met with our guides, got our gear together and prepared to leave on the trek on Monday.

Every canoe held 3 people who took turns canoeing in the front and stern or resting in the middle. They also took turns on each of the portages in hauling either the two packs of gear, personal and Troop, or the canoe. A portage is the part of the trip on foot, since you needed to go over land to get to the next waterway. PFD's were ALWAYS on while on the water.

The weather was fantastic, except for one day of rain, the mosquitos and flies were nasty, the rapids were amazing, the comraderie was great. A few stayed up to view the Northern Lights, a once in a lifetime experience. One of the crews spent a day at a waterfall where their guide made them pizzas.

An awesome trip, and I look forward to writing more from other Scouts on this adventure!

Norther Tier Photo Album