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Seeking Summer Memories, Merit Badges

Glasgow Boy Scout Troop Paddles 74 Miles on the Missouri

Members of Boy Scout Troop 850 (Glasgow residents, all) took to the Missouri Aug. 4 in search of merit badges for Theatre, Pioneering, and Canoeing, as well as some good, clean fun in sun.

Scout Master Sean Esaias and Assistant Scout Masters Kyle Gibson and Sterling Beck led the group of boys on their planned 74-mile journey from Boy Scout Park to the Hwy 13 bridge in Wolf Point. In point of fact, the trip was largely the boys' idea.

"The boys needed at least a 50-mile trip to obtain a merit badge," Gibson told the Courier, "and this was something they wanted to try."

The group included Senior Patrol Leader Wilson Overby (13), his brother Tanner (15), Kyle Ross (16), Cody Godwin (16), Dillon Godwin (14) and Jeremy Chalmers (16).

Along the way, the troop wrote and performed a 20-minute skit (complete with miming), practiced "swamping," or sinking and raising their respective craft, and constructed a monkey bridge made of twine and sticks. The latter proved sturdy enough to hold a 250-pound man and was, according to Gibson, "by far everyone's favorite part."

Throughout the 5-day journey, the young men prepared their own campsites (including dugout "recliners" at an island site on Aug. 7), shouldered cooking duty with items like spaghetti and enchiladas prepared in Dutch ovens, and fished species such as shovelnose sturgeon, goldeneye, common carp, walleye, sauger, red horse sucker and catfish. The latter was caught in such abundance that a stew, described by Gibson as "really good," was the menu item of choice on Aug. 7 near the confluence of Sand Creek and the Missouri.

The group was able to pause and jump from sandbars and other recreational activities despite covering an average of better than 18 miles per day. Their final day on the water was the toughest, with headwinds strong enough to push the paddlers upstream whenever their pace slackened. They were met at their destination by Ben Allen and Kevin Ross, and proceeded directly to the Wolf Point McDonald's for a meal.

According to Gibson, plans are already forming up for a trip from Fort Benton to Fred Robinson Bridge (130 miles!) next summer.

Troop 850 would like to extend their gratitude to those members of the community who came out earlier this spring at the Glasgow Elks Lodge to support their fundraising efforts.

 

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