School is back in session, giving students a chance to regal teachers and fellow students alike with the perennial “what I did this summer” stories. All of them are good ones, but youngsters in Boy Scout Troop 298 of New Hyde Park certainly had the most adventurous summer of young people in the area.
The Scouts spent the summer doing their usual strenuous outdoor activities, but where they did them was a big story, too.
In July, the Scouts traveled upstate to attend a camp in Livingston Manor. The real story was a journey all the way to scenic northern Minnesota, where the Scouts canoed and portaged more than 50 miles through northern Minnesota’s Canoe Country. In both instances, the Scouts won numerous awards to bring back home.
The Livingston Manor trip took place from July 17 to 23. On those dates, 32 Scouts attended Onteora Scout Camp. The Scouts worked on their scouting and leadership skills by participating in numerous scouting activities and merit badge courses. Troop 298 completed a record 128 merit badges, won a number of competitions and earned the 500 club honor patrol for getting perfect scores on camp site inspections.
Then it was back home to New Hyde Park for a brief respite from scouting duties. The next trip was a special one. From Aug. 6 to 13, seven Scouts and four leaders went on a high adventure summer trek to the Northern Tier in Minnesota. In their journey through Canoe Country, the Scouts and their leaders navigated though lakes and rivers that span thousands of square miles. (Minnesota is known as the “land of a thousand lakes.”) Rainer Burger, Troop 298 scoutmaster, said the country is one of the last great wildernesses left on the North American continent. The forest of waterfalls and bogs, bears and wolves, and granite crags, he said, remains nearly as much of a wilderness as back in the 1600s. Once again, the troop earned many awards.
“It is an awesome and humbling experience to watch and see these Scouts, lead, perform and excel day in and day out,” said Burger, scoutmaster. “They are committed not only scouting, but serving their community. They are the true leaders of tomorrow. Thank you also to New Hyde Park and surrounding communities for supporting Troop 298 and the scouting program.”
