NPUC CAMPOREE 2022

Aubrey, from St. Maries Seekers Pathfinder Club, did the Search and Rescue honor. She said she was doing all the pilot honors to make sure there was enough participation for them to be considered as new honors in the NAD.

Bradley and Zach, from Sandpoint Northern Lights Pathfinder Club, took the Land Survey pilot honor. Once it’s accepted as a new honor, they will get a special patch for being part of the piloting process.

The Tombstones honor was another being piloted at the camporee. Emma, from Cascade Eagles Pathfinder Club, said it was interesting to learn about the different materials used to make tombstones and see the variety of epitaphs engraved on them.

While many clubs were working on their honors, Sandpoint Northern Lights Pathfinder Club went to Lawrence Park and spread mulch on the trails as a service project. They did their part to leave Kalispell better than they found it, an unofficial motto of Pathfinders. Several other clubs left their mark on Kalispell as well.

Afternoon activities included the indoor venues: Wildlife Bear Show, Creation Show, Pathfinder Museum and Camporee Store. Mr. Dillon from the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks department came to share about bears and bear safety for day two. Sam, from Wheatland Coyotes Pathfinder Club, said he really enjoyed the bear spray video and thought the grizzly bear skull on the table was interesting as it could open.

Wendy Wolfswinkel da Silva began a project of listing every club on Pathfinder flags back in 2004. She is now up to three flags. Many Pathfinders tried to find their club’s name on the flags.

Outside activities continued with the addition of a dunk tank. A long line of Pathfinders and staff waited to dunk each other. An obstacle course included a tire run, large round bales of hay to climb and run across, a log walk and a tube to crawl through.

Two other popular activities were human foosball and the cave maze. During human foosball, players held onto a PVC pipe on a rope. They had to help their team make a goal without letting go of the pipe. The cave maze was brought by Oregon Conference, who converted their semi-truck trailer into four mazes, ranging in skill level from easy to very difficult. Most of the kids were lined up for the two more difficult mazes.

Malea, from a local 4-H club, brought animals to show the Pathfinders. Her two sheep, horse named Ranji, Nigerian/Alpine hybrid milking goat named Peaches and Peaches’ two kids all met the Pathfinders inside a fenced area and were happy to be pet or pose for a photo.

The Big Show, which had been canceled due to rain on day one, was rescheduled for day two. Bert and Frannie Davis and The Muttley Crew presented a dog show and rodeo. They showed how they taught their dogs to barrel race. Four dogs ran, two at a time.

Bert then invited two boys and two girls to run the barrels. The corral was quite muddy and thick, and while it was not soupy, it did make it difficult to run. Malachi, from Wheatland Coyotes Pathfinder club, was the fastest. Bert then pitted Malachi against Glory, one of the dogs. It was close, and they both turned the last barrel about the same time. Glory looked over to see how close Malachi was on her tail as he kicked it into high gear right across the finish line.

After dinner, every club marched in the Grand Parade toward the nightly program building. They marched in their Class A uniforms and, if they didn’t have those uniforms yet, in their field uniforms. It was a great way to welcome the Sabbath. More