High adventure programs of the Order of the Arrow
Encyclopedia
Order of the Arrow
The Order of the Arrow is the national honor society of the Boy Scouts of America . It uses American Indian-styled traditions and ceremonies to bestow recognition on scouts selected by their peers as best exemplifying the ideals of Scouting. The society was created by E. Urner Goodman, with the...
in the Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
, in its focus on service
Community service
Community service is donated service or activity that is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions....
, contains four different high adventure
High adventure
High adventure is a type of outdoor experience. It typically is meant to include activities like backpacking, hiking, kayaking or canoeing. It may also include mountaineering, rock climbing, mountain biking, orienteering, hang gliding, paragliding and hot air ballooning.-High adventure in...
programs at the national level that focus on conservation. These programs occur at the three national high adventure bases
High-adventure bases of the Boy Scouts of America
High-adventure bases of the Boy Scouts of America are outdoor recreation facilities located in several locales in North America operated by the Boy Scouts of America at the organization's national level. Each facility offers wilderness programs and training that could include sailing, wilderness...
that the Boy Scouts own. They are only open to youth
Youth
Youth is the time of life between childhood and adulthood . Definitions of the specific age range that constitutes youth vary. An individual's actual maturity may not correspond to their chronological age, as immature individuals could exist at all ages.-Usage:Around the world, the terms "youth",...
aged 16 to 20 and are available at a substantially lower price than other programs at the base. They each include a week of service
Community service
Community service is donated service or activity that is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions....
and a trek week during which the participants get to plan their own routes and experience the best of the bases.
Trail Crew
The first program that the Order of the Arrow established occurs at Philmont Scout RanchPhilmont Scout Ranch
Philmont Scout Ranch is a large, rugged, mountainous ranch located near the town of Cimarron, New Mexico, covering approximately of wilderness in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of the Rocky Mountains of northern New Mexico...
in New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. Beginning in 1995, the program has sessions every summer that last for a two week period and include a week of conservation work and a week-long trek for the participants. Among its important achievements at the base are creating the new trail
Trail
A trail is a path with a rough beaten or dirt/stone surface used for travel. Trails may be for use only by walkers and in some places are the main access route to remote settlements...
on the Tooth of Time
Tooth of Time
The Tooth of Time is an igneous intrusion of dacite porphyry formed in the Tertiary period of the Cenozoic era some 22-40 million years ago. The Tooth is located five miles southwest of Cimarron, New Mexico, USA and is on the property of Philmont Scout Ranch, and is one of Philmont's most popular...
and working on US Forest Service land in the Valle Vidal
Valle Vidal
The Valle Vidal is a 100,000-acre area in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains within the Carson National Forest, northwest of Cimarron, New Mexico. Pennzoil donated the Valle Vidal to the American public in 1982. Valle Vidal hosts a number of species of animals including elk, black bear, turkey,...
Unit of the Carson National Forest
Carson National Forest
Carson National Forest is a national forest in northern New Mexico, United States. It encompasses 6,070 square kilometers and is administered by the United States Forest Service...
.
At Trail Crew, participants are led by Foremen, employed by the Philmont Conservation Department, and spend the first week of the program building a trail to be used by the thousands of scouts and scouters who visit the ranch each year. Compared to a regular Philmont trek, OATC is a bargain at $200 (plus transportation), and is used by many scouts as a way to get to the scouting mecca of Philmont at a much more affordable price. Although the program is inexpensive, many OA lodges and sections will give scholarships to youth in need of assistance with the program or travel costs.
Wilderness Voyage
After the success of the Trail Crew program, the Order of the Arrow established another program following the same model at the Northern Tier National High Adventure BasesNorthern Tier National High Adventure Bases
The Northern Tier National High Adventure Bases are a collection of high adventure bases run by the Boy Scouts of America in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness of Minnesota, Ontario's Quetico Provincial Park, Manitoba's Atikaki Provincial Wilderness Park and points beyond...
in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. Here, instead of hiking the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
the participants use canoes for transportation. Their work occurs in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness , is a wilderness area within the Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota under the administration of the U.S. Forest Service...
in the Superior National Forest
Superior National Forest
Superior National Forest, part of the United States National Forest system, is located in the Arrowhead Region of the state of Minnesota between the Canada – United States border and the north shore of Lake Superior...
. Since its inception, the program has worked on some of the most treacherous portage
Portage
Portage or portaging refers to the practice of carrying watercraft or cargo over land to avoid river obstacles, or between two bodies of water. A place where this carrying occurs is also called a portage; a person doing the carrying is called a porter.The English word portage is derived from the...
trails in the area including the notorious Birch to Frog and Ensign to Boot portages. In the summer of 2007, the program did its first work in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
on the Big Knife portage on the US-Canada border.
Like its sister program Trail Crew, participants are led by Foremen but at this program they make up the entirety of the Northern Tier Conservation Department. The cost to attend is $200. It also has a week of service followed by a week-long trek. Crews at this program have traveled all the way to International Falls and the Grand Portage National Monument
Grand Portage National Monument
Grand Portage National Monument is a United States National Monument located on the north shore of Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota that preserves a vital center of fur trade activity and Anishinaabeg Ojibwe heritage....
on Lake Superior
Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
in only a week. The program also draws a lot from the history of the area, as many of the trails were previously maintained by the Civilian Conservation Corps
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
and crews often map their treks around historic routes often including the Height of Land Portage
Height of Land Portage
Height of Land Portage is a portage along the historic Boundary Waters route between Canada and the United States. Located at the border of the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S...
.
In 2003, the program and the Order of the Arrow received the US Forest Service Chief's Volunteer Award for Youth Volunteer Service.
Ocean Adventure
Starting in the summer of 2005, another program was established at the Florida National High Adventure Sea BaseFlorida National High Adventure Sea Base
The Florida National High Adventure Sea Base is a high adventure program base run by the Boy Scouts of America in the Florida Keys. Its counterparts are the Philmont Scout Ranch in northern New Mexico, the Northern Tier National High Adventure Bases in Ely, Minnesota, and The Summit Bechtel Family...
in the Florida Keys
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a coral archipelago in southeast United States. They begin at the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry...
. This program also has a week of service but here it follows a week during which participants gain PADI
Padi
Padi or PADI may refer to:* Padi, Chennai, India* Padi , a musical group* Paddy field, a type of cultivated land * Professional Association of Diving Instructors, a scuba organization...
SCUBA
Scuba diving
Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....
Certification. The program offered a definite bargain to participants not only to attend the base but to receive this expensive certification. The OAOA provided services such as marine life monitoring for the Reef Environmental Education Foundation, and coral reef conservation for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. OAOA was nonoperational during the summer of 2010 and will be redesigned for the summer of 2011.
Canadian Odyssey
The newest Order of the Arrow High Adventure Program began in the summer of 2009. Based at the Northern Tier National High Adventure Bases, this program builds on the success of the Wilderness Voyage program by doing trail work in Canada. Their work will occur in the Quetico Provincial ParkQuetico Provincial Park
Quetico Provincial Park is a large wilderness park in Northwestern Ontario, Canada, renowned for its excellent canoeing and fishing. This park shares its southern border with Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, which is part of the larger Superior National Forest...
in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. Its crews canoe from the base in Atikokan, Ontario
Atikokan, Ontario
Atikokan is a township in the District of Rainy River in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. In 2006, the population was 3,293. The town is one of the main entry points into Quetico Provincial Park and promotes itself as the "Canoeing Capital of Canada"...
to base Ely, Minnesota
Ely, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,724 people, 1,912 households, and 916 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,369.5 people per square mile . There were 1,912 housing units at an average density of 703.2 per square mile...
.
Connections
In an effort to keep former participants and future participants connected, the High Adventure team produced a Blog, a Facebook group, and a Twitter Account. The team used, NOAC 2009 to promote these resources to the Nation.See also
- High-adventure bases of the Boy Scouts of AmericaHigh-adventure bases of the Boy Scouts of AmericaHigh-adventure bases of the Boy Scouts of America are outdoor recreation facilities located in several locales in North America operated by the Boy Scouts of America at the organization's national level. Each facility offers wilderness programs and training that could include sailing, wilderness...
- Northern Tier National High Adventure BasesNorthern Tier National High Adventure BasesThe Northern Tier National High Adventure Bases are a collection of high adventure bases run by the Boy Scouts of America in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness of Minnesota, Ontario's Quetico Provincial Park, Manitoba's Atikaki Provincial Wilderness Park and points beyond...
- Florida National High Adventure Sea BaseFlorida National High Adventure Sea BaseThe Florida National High Adventure Sea Base is a high adventure program base run by the Boy Scouts of America in the Florida Keys. Its counterparts are the Philmont Scout Ranch in northern New Mexico, the Northern Tier National High Adventure Bases in Ely, Minnesota, and The Summit Bechtel Family...
- Philmont Scout RanchPhilmont Scout RanchPhilmont Scout Ranch is a large, rugged, mountainous ranch located near the town of Cimarron, New Mexico, covering approximately of wilderness in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of the Rocky Mountains of northern New Mexico...