Get out of the house and into the excitement offered at one of the BSA High Adventure Bases! You have three choices: a unique aquatic quest at the Florida Sea Base; a canoeing or winter camping challenge at the Northern Tier; or a wild west backpacking expedition at the Philmont Scout Ranch.

Northern Tier National High Adventure Bases

Charles L. Sommers National High Adventure Base,

National High Adventure Bases BSA

PO Box 509,

Ely, Minnesota 55731-0509

 (218) 365-4811

http://www.ntier.org/

This High Adventure Base provides year-around access. It offers a modem office building, spacious dining hail, Scandinavian-style cabin accommodations, large tent and camping area, tiled shower house, and -a Finnish Sauna. In addition, there is a well-stocked trading post, commissionary, canoe yard, and a repair shop, all included in a graveled parking area. All general needs can be taken care of in the town of Ely. There are about 80 people serving the summer program, all trained in canoe travel, low-impact camping, ecology and group leadership. The Sommers Base is six miles by water from Canada and offers access to dozens of wilderness routes on both sides of the border.

Northern Expedition Fishing

Bissett, Manitoba, Canada

This base provides fly-in and fishing at its best! Northern Expeditions at Bissett offer wilderness canoeing in the purest spirit of High Adventure. For those crews who crave this type of adventure, the Manitoba bush country east of Lake Winnipeg offers some of most diverse canoeing available, ranging from spectacular rivers to pristine lake country. Most crews take advantage of the optional charter float plane, beginning and ending their trip from air-only accessible Scout Lake.

Atikokan Canoeing

Atikokan, Ontario, Canada

This base is considered the canoe capital of Canada. The base contains a challenging land of lakes that provides thundering rapids and game fish running abundantly through the lakes. It is the newest of the Northern Tier High Adventure sites. The name comes from the Inuit name Woodland Caribou. Trips are featured north of the Quetico Park in the Turtle and Seine Rivers into areas south of the park. These areas provide challenge to the beginners as well as the master canoers.

Okpik Winter Adventure

Learn the skills of the north woods winter. Some of the programs offered cross-country skiing, snow shoeing, winter shelter, winter camping, and ice fishing. Weekend programs are generally the most popular. Staff members are provided to assist your unit in the basics of cold-weather camping. Older scouts can also be trained to be future staff members. Contact the Okpik Winter Adventure Base for additional information.

The Florida National High Adventure Sea Base

In the heart of the fabulous Florida Keys, on a sub-tropical island, 75 miles south of Miami. The Sea Base is scouting’s most complete aquatic adventure program offering: sailing, motor boating, canoeing, deep sea fishing, scuba diving, lobstering, and beach combing. Scouts can explore the vast ecosystem found in the Florida Keys.

The Sea Base facilities include a large, fully equipped galley with indoor and outdoor dining areas that comfortably seat 120 for meals. The elevated dorms overtook Florida Bay and one of the bridges that separates the Atlantic Ocean from the Gulf of Mexico. The harbor has a 300 foot dock for the larger sailing yachts as well as many shorter docks for smaller vessels. The swimming area is complete with a step down deck and marker buoys. The Trading Post sells many items that you may have forgotten or that you want to take home as a remembrance of your adventure. Just a mile off shore lies an extensive underwater coral ecosystem that forms a protective barrier around the islands. Thousands of tropical fish make the reef their home. The Florida water is crystal clear, making vision under water optimum. To this day the lure of discovering buried treasure is still a possibility. While at the sea base, there is no dead time, considering your adventure starts the day you arrive at the base. After you arrive, a swim check and snorkeling skills are immediately tested. After that, you will go to the galley for a meal and briefing of the activities you will undertake while at the Sea Base. Some of the programs offered include:

* OUT ISLAND ADVETURE

* BAHAMAS ADVENTURE

* CORAL REEF SAILING ADVENTURE

* FLORIDA KEYS ADVENTURE PROGRAM

* SEA EXPLORING ADVENTURE * SCUBA PROGRAMS (Scuba Certification & Scuba Adventure)

* KEYS ADVENTURE - NON-SUMMER

* KEYS WEEKEND ADVENTURE

For information on individual programs, write to:

P.O. Box 1906

Islamorada, FL 33036

(305) 664-4173

http://www.bsaseabase.org/

Philmont Scout Ranch

Cimarron, NM

17 Deer Run Road
Cimarron, NM 87714

(505)-376-2281

http://www.scouting.org/philmont

http://www.troop764.org/Philmont/

Philmont Scout Ranch is the most popular High Adventure Base of all Boy Scouts. Philmont is spread over 137,493 acres of the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range in northeastern New Mexico. Included in Philmont are alpine meadows, vistas, mesas, and rugged slopes.

Each year Philmont hosts over 15,000 Scouts, Explorers, and leaders from all over the entire world. Philmont offers many educational and high adventure programs are offered at each of Philmont’s staffed camps. Some of the programs offered include: panning for gold, hiking, rock climbing, fur trapping, rifle and shotgun shooting, burro racing, fishing, horseback riding, spar pole climbing, and educational side hikes.

Within the vast, working ranch, the elevations range from 6,500 feet to 12,441 feet at Mount Baldy.  A crew can choose from various itineraries, classed on difficulty and programs offered. There are over 300 miles of developed hiking trails that link staffed and non-staffed camps together. 24 preplanned itineraries are offered which can be chosen by program or route. Of the 24 itineraries, some are more strenuous than others and all of them are spread over either the North or South Countries.

RAYODO MEN

Older more experienced hikers who think that a regular trek isn’t much of a test, then Rayodo is the adventure for you. Rayodo Men offers outdoor leadership building, group dynamics, wilderness problem-solving, advanced outdoor skills, and close to 210 miles of hiking over the 21 day span.

TRAIL CREW I OA TRAIL CREW

OA Trail Crew and Regular Trail Crew are programs designed to preserve the beautiful Philmont wilderness. Regular Trail Crew has no charge except transportation and OA Trail Crew has a minimal fee of 100 dollars. OA Trail Crew is a 14 day trek with 7 days of conservation and trail building and 7 days on the trail. Regular Trail Crew consists of 18 days at a back-country work project and then a 10 day regular trek.

OTHER GREATADVENTURES INCLUDE:

*Expeditions *Cavalcades

*Mountain Men *Mountain Women

*Kanik *Autumn Adventure