Northern Tier 2016 Information Page
Posted by Mark Williams on January 18, 20152016 Participant Handbook
Advisors Planning Guide 2015_16 – Part 1
Advisors Planning Guide 2015_16 – Part 2 Ely Specific
Parental Release Form
Parental Consent Form
Dietary Restriction Card
Northern Tier Instructional Videos
What: 3 7-day Treks to Northern Tier – National High Adventure Base.
This is a maximum of 24 Scouts and Scouters (max. 8 people per crew)
Where: Charles L Sommers Base, Ely, MN; Northern Tier National High Adventure
Troop 16 treks will be out of Charles L Sommers Base, Ely, MN
Northern Tier offers wilderness canoeing expeditions in Northern Minnesota, Northwestern Ontario and Northeastern Manitoba through three canoe bases. All trips are fully outfitted and provisioned. A highly trained staff member, called an Interpreter, accompanies all crews on their trek.
Northern Tier crews paddle in almost 6 million acres of canoe-access only wilderness – from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) of Minnesota to the Atikaki Provincial Park of Manitoba.
More info at http://www.ntier.org/
When: Depart: Wednesday, June 22, 2016 / Return: Thursday, June 30, 2016
June 22 is a travel day. Northern Tier check-in is June 23.
Who: Available to all Eligible Scouts and Scouters who sign up.
Eligible Scouts: Scouts must meet the following requirements to attend:
- Thirteen years old and finished 8th grade OR Fourteen Years Old by the time of the trip
- First Class Rank must be received at least 6 months prior to the trip to allow time to find a replacement if not achieved
- Scouts must weigh at least 100 pounds (slightly less will be allowed, but will challenge the boy significantly; and if your son is close to the minimum – under 120 – you should consider renting a lightweight canoe for the week which will add about $180 to the trip cost for you)
- Passed BSA Swim Test
Adult Requirements:
- Adults must not exceed a weight to height ratio found in part C of the BSA medical form http://www.scouting.org/filestore/HealthSafety/pdf/680-001_ntier.pdf, this includes not exceeding 295 pounds
- Passed BSA Swim Test
- Adults must be registered with the troop, and
- Adults must be willing to complete required training by January 2016 (Youth Protection, Weather Hazards, Trek Safely, and Wilderness First Aid and CPR). Please note: Wilderness First Aid and CPR generally costs between $80 and $120 and is a 16 hour class.
The minimum and maximum weight limits have been identified by Northern Tier. Extra weight puts strain on the back, joints and feet. The portage trails can be very muddy, slippery and rocky presenting a great potential for tripping and falling and potentially breaking an ankle. Extremely small participants will have a very difficult time carrying canoes and heavy packs. A canoe’s load is another important reason to limit participant weight. Northern Tier assigns three people to a canoe. The total participant load per canoe must not exceed 600 pounds, averaging 200 pounds per participant.
All participants must pass a Class III (Parts A, B, and C of the national BSA health form) Physical and be found physically fit to attend by their family physician. The medical form may be found at http://www.scouting.org/filestore/HealthSafety/pdf/680-001_ntier.pdf
Sign-up:
The Web Sign-up will go live on Wednesday, January 21 at 7:00 pm with a link posted online. Priority will be given to those who sign up no later than Thursday, January 22 at 7:00 pm based on a points system. Deadline for sign-up, to ensure we don’t reserve too many spots, will be Monday, January 26 at Midnight.
Troop 16 has 3 crew reservations. Each crew consists of up to 8 people, and must have 2 adults minimum. To ensure each crew will have enough people to still attend, in case someone who is signed may not attend, each crew must have at least 7 people signed up. Monday, January 26 at midnight will determine the final number of crews that will be in attendance. If 7 – 13 people sign up, only 1 crew will be confirmed. If 14 – 20 people sign up, only 2 crews will be confirmed. 3 crews will be confirmed if at least 21 people sign up. For each crew, youth will have priority for 6 of the spots of the crew for the first 24 hours of signup.
Points will be given to all boys that sign up within 24 hours of the sign-up being published and the boys with the highest number of points will get highest priority, provided they pay their $125.00 per person deposit by Tuesday, January 27. A waitlist will be provided in the event that all the spots are filled. A deposit of $800 per crew is due to Northern Tier Friday, February 6. The deposit per person is based on 7 people per crew.
The points system is as follows:
- Age: 2 points for being age 17 at the time of the trip or 1 point for age 16 at the time of the trip (no points given for younger ages, since they will have future opportunities to attend)
- Rank: 3 points for Eagle rank, 2 points for Life rank, 1 point for Star rank at the time of sign-up,
- Active: 1 point for being an active camper in the past year (attending 10 or more nights camping),
- Interest Signup: 1 point for having signed up on the interest only signup page
- Leadership: 1 point for each leadership position held in the past year (max 2 points)
Adults will be given priority based on the following:
- Their son’s points, plus
- 1 point for being an active camper in the past year (attending 6 or more nights camping)
- 1 point for being a registered SM, ASM, Committee Member, Charter Organization Rep
- 1 point for each event planned or activity coordinated in the past year (max 6 points)
- Note: their son must be selected for a trek to be eligible
We will determine the number of adult and boy slots based on the sign-up, with preference given to getting as many boys to Northern Tier as possible, except that at least 2 slots per crew will be reserved for adults.
Approximate Cost:
The following costs are an estimate of the costs of the trip, excluding any special equipment or clothing you may need or want to purchase. They are based on published information on the Northern Tier website, and travel information from Expedia.com:
7-day Trip (per person) Trek Cost: $545-$620 ($620 per crew (max 8-person) per night)
Flight: $350-$500 (currently $350 on Southwest, so hopefully we will improve on the budget here)
Rental Cars: $100-$150 (currently $75 on Expedia, plus insurance)
Gas: $30 (550 miles, 20 mpg, $4.00/gal divided by 4 people)
Hotel: $30-$50 ($126/night at Best Western White Bear Lake plus taxes & fees / 4 people = $35/person per Expedia)
Meals En Route: $100 (Start of trip: $25 dinner, $15 breakfast, $15 lunch; End of Trip: $15 lunch, $25 dinner)
Spending Money: $100
Fishing License: $30
Crew Picture: $5
Map: $10
TOTAL: $1,300-$1,550/person
If the crew decides to canoe into Quetico Provincial Park, will pay additional park fees at the time of entrance into the park. Crews should plan to budget an additional $750-$1500 for these park fees.
A $125/person deposit will be due to the troop once we confirm our treks to hold your reservation. The remainder will be due as follows: 50% due September 1, 2015; 50% due March 1, 2016.
Crew Advisor(s):
To be determined based on final sign-up commitments. Contact Mr. Williams with questions about this signup. Drivers will need to reserve rental cars and pay for them, then be reimbursed by the troop.
Contact: Mark Williams, 2016 Northern Tier Contingent Leader.
The Northern Tier 2016 Travel Plan will be completed as planning gets closer. But, an initial set of information follows:
- June 22, 2016 – Travel from Denver to a location near Ely, MN
- June 23, 2016 – Arrive at Charles L Sommers Base, Northern Tier
- June 24, 2016 – Begin canoeing
- June 30, 2016 – Return to Sommers Base, Northern Tier; check out; travel to Denver