Lincoln Troop 1102 hosts Boy Scout Klondike 2026

[January 26, 2026]  Lincoln Boy Scouts Troop 1102 hosted a Klondike at the Logan County Fairgrounds on Saturday January 24th. The Klondike is a winter event hosted nationally by local Boy Scout organizations. Klondikes typically include a camping element, something that was left out of this Klondike due to the extremely cold temperatures. In addition to camping, the scouts participate in several winter themed activities, some of which teach important winter wilderness skills, and others that are more for fun.

Local 1102 Headmaster Jason Maxheimer shared that this Klondike was almost canceled, but the other scout groups were still interested in coming so they decided to brave the weather.

Maxheimer shared a bit about the importance of the skills the scouts were learning, which included tomahawk throwing, first aid, knot tying, fire building, toxic waste disposal, orienteering, sling shot, and sled races. Maxheimer stated that these are “lifesaving skills that you learn in boy scouting… like the first aid, we are practicing for cold weather emergencies.”

At the start of the event, Maxheimer addressed all the scouts and the volunteers, telling them about the stations, as well as encouraging them to come inside if they were getting too cold. There were several heaters going in one of the barns at the fairgrounds, as well as a red warming tent that was set up. Maxheimer informed people that if it appeared anyone was showing signs of hypothermia, they would be calling an ambulance.

Lincoln’s local troop, as well as the other 5 guest troops, were then dismissed to their own stations. Guest troops included 919 and 920 of Bloomington, 181 of Pekin, and 007 of Normal. Each of the eight stations the teams participated in were being judged, with those who received first, second, and third place overall receiving a trophy at the end of the day.

Each skill was set up at its own station, with some being outside and others inside. One of the indoor skills was toxic waste disposal. The volunteer overseeing this station was David Wilmert. He stated that the skill was mostly geared toward teamwork, as the team had to take a bucket full of “toxic waste” from one side of the barn to the other and empty the contents into an empty bucket. They had to make sure to stay inside blue lines made with tape and could only lift the buckets with ropes they were given. The buckets were not filled with anything toxic, instead, having water and a bath bomb placed inside. The teams were given a few minutes to plan before they had to execute their plan.

Another inside skill was knot tying, the cornerstone of scouting skills. What made this variation a winter skill was the requirement of wearing large gloves while attempting several types of knots. First aid was also set up inside, teaching the scouts cold weather first aid and requiring them to show what they learned.

Orienteering was the only skill that was both an indoor and outdoor skill. Logan County Engineer Bret Aukamp was the volunteer for this station, starting off by teaching the students about maps and atlases then requiring them to show their mapping skills. After the indoor portion was complete, Aukamp and the troop he was working with would go outside. They were given several minutes to have one of their group pace a measured distance, counting their steps. The troop then had to search a small area for several “dinosaur eggs” that were in the field. They would then need to use a compass to determine the direction the egg was from a set point. Next, the pacer walked from the set point to several eggs in the field. The pacer then reported their number of steps, and the rest of the group would have to determine the approximate distance away the egg was, using their initial pacing measurement as a baseline.

Outside, there were a few more stations, such as fire building and tomahawk throwing. At the fire building station, the troop would have to use scraps of wood to build a fire in the shortest amount of time possible. They were given three matches, and had time added to their total if they needed more. At the tomahawk throwing station, each troop member was given three tomahawks to throw, getting points depending on where they hit a target.

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Two other outdoor stations were slingshot and sled races. At the slingshot station, groups would take turns firing a tennis ball at one of three dinosaur cutouts, each a different distance from the slingshot. They would get more points if they could hit the farther targets. The slingshot itself was built of twine and large sticks, with the person firing the slingshot sitting in the middle and pulling back the firing mechanism with their body weight.

As for the sled race, the troop would need to put one person in a sled and then run them between two sets of cones and back as quickly as possible. The teams were given time to plan, as turning the sleds at high speeds, it turned out, was not very easy. Lincoln Troop 1102 had a creative solution, running rope through the front of the sled and tying either end of it around the waists of two of their older members. One other member pushed from behind. While unconventional, the method worked quite well, as the team took home second in the event.

Once all teams finished at each station, they came back inside for a meal. The kids chose between chicken noodle soup or chili and then were also given a grilled cheese sandwich. After everyone finished eating, the awards were handed out. What follows is the top three teams in each category:

● Toxic Waste:
○ 1st: 920
○ 2nd: 919
○ 3rd: 1102

● First Aid:
○ 1st: 181
○ 2nd: 007
○ 3rd: 919

● Knot Tying:
○ 1st: 007
○ 2nd: 919
○ 3rd: 181

● Tomahawk Throwing:
○ 1st: 1102
○ 2nd: 919
○ 3rd: 007

● Fire Building:
○ 1st: 919
○ 2nd: 181
○ 3rd: 1102

● Sled Race:
○ 1st: 919
○ 2nd: 1102
○ 3rd: 007

● Slingshot:
○ 1st: 007
○ 2nd: 920
○ 3rd: 1102

● Orienteering:
○ 1st: 919
○ 2nd: 007
○ 3rd: 181

An overall award was given to the top scoring team. Scout Troop 919 was presented with a large trophy to keep for the year, so long as they agreed to come back and defend it at the next Klondike.

Even though Troop 1102 did not win overall, they still seemed to have a great time and did take home trophies in five of the eight events.

[Matt Boutcher]

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