Three Scouts and three adult leaders from Troop 380 (Capitol Hill) spent August 2–9 on a wilderness canoe trek at Maine High Adventure Base at Matagamon, on the northeast edge of Baxter State Park. After a two-day drive from Washington, the crew designed its own route with an MHA guide — favoring rivers over lakes, moderate whitewater, and a real share of portaging — then spent eight days paddling, portaging, and camping in the largest undeveloped forest east of the Mississippi. Along the way they navigated wind and current across open water, cooked every dinner over an open fire, purified their own water, and stored food beneath overturned canoes in the North Woods style.
The trek was youth-led from the first evening. Scouts ran the cooking rotation, built the fires, tracked mileage against the map, and made the daily calls on when to push for the next campsite and when to wait out the wind. One of the week’s best moments came early, when the crew leader assigned a fellow Scout to run dinner before stepping away — a small act of delegation that set the tone for the rest of the trip. By the final days the adults were mostly passengers.
The wilderness held up its end. The crew spotted two moose from the water on the eighth day, an otter the next morning, and had clear night skies most of the week. They came home tired, filthy, and already asking about the next trip. Troop 380 recommends Maine High Adventure to any unit looking for a genuine backcountry experience close to home — it’s a smaller program than the national bases, and all the better for it.
Charlotte, a Scout from Troop 130 in Alexandria, VA, was recently featured by ALXnow (Everything Alexandria) for her Eagle Scout project, which helps teach young people about protecting local waterways and the environment.
Projects like Charlotte’s demonstrate how Scouts identify needs, develop creative solutions, and lead efforts that benefit others. By focusing on environmental education, she is helping empower the next generation to care for the world around them.
Fun Wildlife Discoveries
