It was a winter wonderland for a group of Boy Scouts from Thomson.
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Dave Joesbury, Brett Buffington and Scout Leader Donnie Reese gather snow to build a polar dome.
David Jenkins/Special
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Six members and two leaders from Troop 125 went to the Northern Tier Scout Base in Minnesota to brave more than a foot of snow and temperatures of 5 degrees Fahrenheit to participate in cold weather camping.
The group of 13 to 16-year-olds spent part of the school holidays at the camp to learn first-hand about various winter camping activities. The troop left Thomson at 5 a.m. the day after Christmas and returned home at midnight on Jan. 2.
"What we're trying to do is to give them extra experiences that they wouldn't get here in the South," said David Jenkins, the assistant troop leader. "I had a great time. I think (the scouts) did."
In the camp, which is located about five miles from the Canadian border, scouts learned to build polar domes out of snow, to walk using snow shoes, cross country skiing, dog sledding, ice fishing and snowmobiling.
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Boy Scouts from Thomson work on building a polar dome that became the overnight home for three of them.
David Jenkins/Special
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One of the troop's favorite activities was the polar dome, according to Mr. Jenkins. The group started shoveling at 9:30 a.m. and gathered four to five acres worth of snow from the surface of a frozen lake to build the dome.
Three scouts, Carl Jenkins, Brett Buffington and Ben Barmore helped build the polar dome during the day. The three of them then camped out on the surface of the lake in the dome that night.
"They were the warmest ones out there," Mr. Jenkins said. "A foot of snow is very warm."
Currently the troop leaders are working on preserving the memories from the trip in the form of pictures and video. That step is important so that other people can learn from their experiences.
"We opened up new doors and new experiences for the guys," Mr. Jenkins said. "What we've got to do now is just go ahead and document that."
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Members of Boy Scout Troop 125 from Thomson learned cold weather camping at a camp in Minnesota. Anthony Langham, Dave Josebury, Bob Brunson, Ben Barmore, Brett Buffington and Carl Jenkins were the scouts that went. Scout leaders Donnie Reese and David Jenkins chaperoned the trip.
David Jenkins/Special
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The scouts even got to participate in a side trip. During their time in Minnesota, they had a chance to visit the Mall of America which is the largest mall in the United States.
