By Keegan B.

One of the big yearly events that happen in February for Boy Scouts is the Klondike Derby.

For Troop 5, it’s the Northern New Jersey Council’s Lenape Trail Klondike Derby, held at the South Mountain Reservation.

It is a competition between Troop and Troop, Patrol and Patrol, as well as Scout and Scout within the Council.

It tests groups on a full array of Scouting skills, such as first aid, lashing and cooking.

Some skills are easy to some while hard to others.

In this event, Patrols choose their path to where they want to go.

This helps maximize enjoyment and effectiveness.

“In this event, Patrols choose their path to where they want to go.”

There are breaks such as for lunch, but otherwise it is non-stop action.

Patrols have old-fashioned sleds to bring necessary materials along their path for each skill. The sleds are helpful and easier to to manage when there’s snow on the ground, for which they were designed and built. The past few years, they’ve had to be dragged over bare ground.

Each area where the skills are tested is known as a ‘town.’ Each ‘town’ is sponsored by different Troops.

The Patrol with the most points wins.

On the side, the Order of the Arrow helps with hot dog sales, as well as offering free hot chocolate and ramen.

Though some might find it stressful, it is still a lot of fun and worth your time.