Klondike Derby

By Sam E.

We arrived at Little Bennett Regional Park, where the Derby is held every MLK weekend for the Potomac District, on Friday evening. We set up camp, got our sled and equipment inspected, and went to sleep. We woke up on Saturday to find almost an inch of snow on the ground, which had not been forecasted. It was really cold! Luckily, we had made sure to discuss proper packing for winter camping at a recent troop meeting, so everyone was able to stay warm. All of the patrols at the event (about 80 of them, from thirty or so different troops) spent the morning and afternoon going around to different stations, where we were scored out of fifteen points for completing certain tasks using Scout skills, like building a shelter, using a compass, and tying knots. Whoever got the most cumulative points would win the patrol competition. Our troop didn't have enough people attending for multiple patrols, so we went as a single patrol. We got good scores at all the stations we went to. The problem was that in the afternoon, the front wheels fell off our sled, so we had to go back to our campsite, about half an hour away, and repair our sled. Because of that, we didn't get in very many stations. In the evening, everyone attended the campfire, where the winners of the patrol and dessert competitions were announced. Some people also did skits, which were pretty funny, if not all that politically correct. Sunday morning was the sled race. We tripped over each other while pushing the sled, and came in last in our heat. After the race, we packed up camp and went home.