2009 Buffalo Ridge Camporee

Troop 4 Brookings parents put on the Buffalo Ridge Fall Camporee October 9-11, 2009 at Oakwood State Park where the temperatures were around the teens. This was not a desert but setting up tents in a windy snow fall was a new adventure for some Scouts.

The village of Maefking is located in the desert of South Africa, a lonely outpost, baked by the sun nearly year round. Therefore, it was only appropriate that the Buffalo Ridge Fall Camporee to honor this famous Battle where Baden Powell made his name was started off by a blizzard, and never saw temperatures above freezing.

During the weekend, boys from across the district competed in various events testing their Scouting skills to determine the winner. They competed in events that tested their plant and animal identification; land navigation knowledge; archery skill; teamwork on a portage; rope throwing abilities; and several problem solving activities at all hours of the day. The maximum score possible during the weekend was 840 points, and the first three place teams were:

Troop 4, Brookings, SD - 714 points

Troop 14, Brookings, SD - 692 points

Troop 255, Madison, SD - 454 points

Other Troops attending 320, 1

Congratulations to these teams for showing the fortitude, cunning, and Scouting ability to survive the 24 hour ordeal. To the other Troops that competed, the trail was long, cold, and difficult, and surviving as long as you did is extremely commendable, and is nothing of which to be ashamed.