BSA High adventure bases, Amazing adventure awaits.

Philmont Scout Ranch. Cimarron, New Mexico

Philmont scout ranch is 75 years old and has had more than 2 million scouts trek it's majestic trails and overcome it's tough obstacles. Crews, Troops, Teams from all over the country register a preset itinerary and backpack anywhere from eleven to twenty one days. Philmont is known to have the majestic Tooth of Time, Mount Baldy and Cimarroncito peaks. It has thousands of friendly staff members with a variety of activies ranging from 30-.06 Rifle shooting, horseback riding, Rock climbing and various team building exercises. I went to Philmont in 2013 with my Troop and had a great time and never met a person who regretted going.

Toot of time.

This majestic mountain lies in the South country and is approximately 9,000 feet above sea level. It overlooks the plains and it is said that back in the old days if you were at the Tooth of time you were two weeks away from Santa Fe now it's a two hour drive.

Mount Baldy

Standing at over 12,441 feet above sea level this mountain is more than two miles high. Feel the satisfaction of climbing this beast and climbing 3,000 feet in three hours from Baldy Town at the base of the Mountain and enjoy the view and some crew can eat/ camp at Mount Phillips along the ridge line. If you have sprint you even get five bars of reception and for the first time in days you can call your family and friends and tell them you're on top of a mountain while they lounge around their house or whatever it is they do.

Tent city

You keep your tent clean from any dust. You stay the night here on the day before and after your Trek and also do a gear shakedown at the tent with your Ranger to see if you're missing something or need to discard anything. Base camp also has showers, a Mess hall with great food and a quality outdoors store to buy memorabilia or any important gear you may need or just a place to chill. Philmont's Tooth of time traders was voted the most profitable outdoorsman outfitter for it's space and inventory. At night there are many religious services that cater to protestant, orthodox, Jewish, Mormon, Catholic, Muslim you name it, Philmont probably offers a service for it.

Florida Sea base, the Premiere Maritime base for the BSA

Here you and your crew can sail a tall mast ship for a week or more and do some fishing, snorkeling and scuba diving in one of the largest Coral relief in North America. It's a blast for anyone participating.

Paradise

Sail tall mast ships, snorkel and scuba dive in beautiful coral reefs and catch some good grub to eat in the Caribbeans!

Spider man

Triple crown award

Any scout who has been to all three high adventure (Now four) bases through the BSA can earn the Triple crown award.

Northern Tier High adventure bases. Charles L. Sommers base Ely, MN

2 countries, 3 bases, one adventure for a lifetime. The beautiful waters of the Boundary Waters Canoeing area offers tons of adventure year round in some of the most pristine and well guarded lakes in the world. Here the U.S. Forrest Service and the Canadian Ministry of Resources work together to ensure future generations can enjoy this beautiful land of 10,000 lakes.

The Challenge

Canoeing sounds easy right? Not when the wind is blowing in the opposite direction your paddling and you have to paddle ten plus miles a day. On certain days when you need to get to an opposite side of the lake or a different lake you have to get on land and carry your canoe while some buddies carry over three people's worth of gear (Around 80 pounds in the beginning).

Okpik, BSA premier cold weather camping experience.

Units can register to go to Okpik and be outfitted for a few hours then decide their itinerary. Valuable cold weather camping skills are taught such as Dog sledding, Ice fishing, Quinzee building (basically an igloo to live in, Cross Country skiing and cold weather cooking. Units can stay for the weekend for a longer holiday stay in the winter. Crew can earn the Zero hero patch for camping in below zero temperatures for the weekend.

DOGS!

Summit Bechtel Reserve, the newest adventure base.

Located in the beautiful mountains of West Virginia, the gracious donors from the Bechtel contracting company donated tens of millions of dollars to make the Reserve. For decades the National Jamboree has been held at Fort A.P. Hill but now the BSA has a permanent place that it can call it's own to host the Jamboree. 2013 Jamboree was a success and was the first Jamboree to allow Female Venture crew participants to come to the Jamboree.

Battling the rapids.

SBR offers many programs including The river where White water rafting, Kayaking and small boat sailing are done. The park has the second largest skating park in the U.S. complete with foam pits and many ramps. Over 27 miles of Mountain biking trails are the Summit. Many rock climbing courses and over nine miles of zip lining. The second largest shooting range in the U.S. complete with Rifle, Shotgun, Archery and Semi-automatic pistols. The Summit is now as of 2014 an operational high adventure base with a week long summer program and many weekend programs throughout the year.

Order of the Arrow High adventure and Service programs

Members of the Order of the Arrow live by the principles of Scouting and dedicate themselves to cheerful service and the High Adventure bases offer many treats to OA members. In almost every single base you will be building trails, decommissioning old trails and maintaining old ones. It's hard work but rewarding and work that must be done. These programs include Philmonts Order of the arrow trail crew (OATC) Northern tier's Wilderness voyage (U.S. side) and Canadian Odyssey (Quentico Provincial park. Ontario) and Summitcorps (Summit Reserve) these programs are very selective on how many slots can fit their programs but the experiences are rewarding and any Arrowman should apply regardless of their rank in the OA.