David Goss: Inspiration from first class hikes of the past

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At this time of year in the 1960s, Doug Carter and I would be out hiking the countryside to prepare orders for our Boy Scouts who wanted to reach the first class level by doing an overnight 14-mile, 24-hour hike. This would give them a chance to prove they had learned all the Scouting wilderness tricks a tenderfoot and second class boy was exposed to as 12- and 13-year-olds. These skills included knot tying, map and compass work, building fires and cooking meals outdoors, selecting proper clothing and footwear for comfortable outdoor travel, what to do if it rained, how to set up a campsite, and precautions to take to avoid injury, and how to deal with mishaps if they occurred.

This was, of course, in the days before cell phones so it would mean the boys could not be in contact with their leaders or parents. Doug and I would try to select routes where we could check on the boys during their evening in the woods without them knowing we were doing so.

In fact, they were always told they would not be checked on, although parents always knew where they would be and that they would be checked.

One of the routes that worked best for us time after time again is shown in the map with today’s column. The boys were left off at Lakeside, and were to walk to Brawley Lake where we could pick them up the following morning. They would be given certain tasks to accomplish as they walked. For example, at that time, there was a closed, one-room school at the start point, and they had to measure it by width, length and height, using estimation skills they had been taught, and then include a drawn image of it in the written log of their journey, which they had one week to submit along with a map.

On then very remote Brawley Road they were told to watch for a tumbled down structure where they would find potable water flowing out of a pipe. However, they were warned that an unfriendly owner of the well lived in the house, and they must not be observed getting their water. The lady in question knew they would be by and was actually welcoming to visitors, but telling them this added a challenge to their passage.

One boy had a mother who was very much against her son making the trip unless she could check up on him. We told her that was not possible if he was to pass the test. Imagine our surprise when we were skulking through the trees to observe the boys at their campsite, and there was the mother doing the same to ensure her son was okay. We passed him anyway.

Another route we used was what we called the Philadelphia Line on the north side of Spruce Lake, and around the west side of Menzies Lake and then east out the Acamac Backlands Road. The boys doing that very remote route were told to camp on an island in Menzies Lake. One time, this proved problematic, as it had rained hard, and the water was too high to allow them to get to the island. The other disadvantage of this route was that Doug and I had to walk seven miles to check on the boys.

We only used it a couple of times, then switched to what became out most popular route, the Holderville Campsite on the Kingston Peninsula.

In the latter, the boys crossed the river at Westfield, and hiked highway 845 to Holderville. To give them the 14 miles, they would be directed to make a detour to Crystal Beach, and do measurements of the old pavilion. Then they would be challenged to find a way to estimate the river current off the Day’s Landing wharf.

As I wrote this, I realized that we took risks setting the boys out on these first class hikes. Today Scouter Keith Melvin of St. Mark’s Troop tells me Scouts Canada has dropped this program. Too bad, as when I meet boys who took these hikes, it is one of the things they remember best from their Scouting days.

Hopefully, this exploration recollection might inspire you to go to the sites of these first class hikes, or to go to someplace that you hiked in times past that you have not done recently.

David Goss is a local tour guide, story teller and author. He appreciates comments on these columns, and suggestions for topics he can explore at gosswalk@nbnet.nb.ca.