Boy Scout troops in Chittenden County practiced their survival skills Saturday for the annual Klondike Derby in Jericho.
10-year-old Sean Plumer just earned his bobcat badge with Boy Scout troop 645 in Huntington, and now he's taking on a new challenge.
"I've never been to a Klondike before. This is the first I've ever heard of it. In a meeting I went to with the Boy Scouts, I heard about the Klondike, and my dad said it would probably be fun to go to, so I'm like 'Okay, let's go,'" said Plumer.
On Saturday, Plumer participated in his first ever Klondike Derby, an event Boy Scouts across the country hold each year
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"It's a traditional Boy Scout event that's held in the winter time, and the boys build dog sleds and pull them around with all their gear and demonstrate their scout skills and have a lot of fun,” said Mike Flock, with Troop 645.
Troops from across Chittenden County were out for the derby at the Mills Riverside Park in Jericho. The kids packed their dog sleds and wagons with gear and traveled around to various activities to learn different survival skills, like building a fire.
"Magnesium, flint, and you light that over a cotton ball. We had Vaseline on the cotton ball so they would light easily. Then we put small twigs and leaves over the cotton ball, so it would light our fire. So we had that going for us," said Plumer.
Troops also practiced building a shelter, using a compass and slingshot, and taking care of an injured friend. Plumer says he had to pretend to be hurt and have his friends build a stretcher to carry him.
"Well you had to build a stretcher, then the person with the broken leg, which was me for a few minutes and then it was Theo, and you had to...everybody was blind except for the person with the broken leg, and you had to lead them around our little tree set ups here," said Plumer.
Troop leaders say the activities aren't just about wilderness training or survival.
"The goal of Boy Scouts is really to teach leadership to the boys, and they start small, young in the patrol, and they learn how to be patrol leaders and soon they're Eagle Scouts and leaders in the community," said Flock.
At the end of the day, boys like Sean Plumer say they're just excited to use their new skills the next time they're out camping with family or friends.
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