So, our main difference this year was that we have a scout with Spina Bifida in our troop now, that walks with a cane. We really wanted to make sure he was included, especially in our High Adventure activities, so one of our scouts decided to make a stretcher type carrier, with a seat in the middle, for his Eagle Project. He then donated it to the Spina Bifida Foundation of Utah for families of kids with Spina Bifida to check out and use. We checked it out first to make sure it worked on our trip.
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| Hiking around Hovenweep National Monument |
It worked great! I was a little worried about some of the boys complaining about having to carry their troop member, but I had no need to worry. The boys were practically fighting over who got to carry him, and going out of their way to carry the packs of the porters. I had to force myself into the line to get a chance to try out the carrier, and carry our scout for awhile!
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| When it was too rough or narrow for the carrier, we carried him on our backs |
There were times when the trail too rough, or too narrow, where we couldn't use the carrier. In these circumstances we carried him on our backs, and kept on going. He is the neatest scout you'll ever find, he was grateful for the help - maybe a little bit embarrassed, but grateful to have so much help from his peers. And to have them fighting over who got to help him! It was awesome!
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I got the chance to carry him a couple of times (only because I cut in line and said it was my turn), and it was a really neat experience. I carried him on a flat trail that was overgrown with weeds to the point that we had to keep lifting him high to get the weeds unstuck from the legs of the seat. I also carried him going up a hill (San Juan Hill for those that know their Utah Pioneer History). On that hill we had planned on switching off part way up, but the other leader and I just kept going. As we got past 1/2 way up, the other boys gathered around us and each grabbed onto the carrier and lifted. They helped us make it the rest of the way to the top! It was awesome! Nobody asked them to help, they just saw the need so they jumped into position to help! I wish we had gotten photos of that part, but unfortunately we didn't. Even so, it will be a memory that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
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| Hiking up San Juan Hill |
We had such a good experience that we have planned a trip soon to backpack up to the top of Timpanogos Peak with him. We will be backpacking about 5 miles and then camping the night, bagging the peak the next morning, and then backpacking back down. It's 7 miles each way, with an elevation gain of 4,500 feet! I wouldn't even try this if we didn't have a bunch of older scouts that are pretty tough, and up to the challenge of either carrying their pack with someone else's stuff, or carrying their fellow scout while someone else carry's their stuff. It's going to be a challenge, but it will sure have rewards when we all get to the top of the peak!
It was such a great experience that I encourage any troop with similar challenges to definitely try what we did. It has helped create so much unity in our troop!
BACK TO BLANDING HIGH ADVENTURE
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