Five from Inver Grove Earn High Scout Award

Five members of Boy Scout Troop 507 in Inver Grove Heights recently earned the Triple Crown Award for their BSA High Adventure experiences. Awarded by the BSA  Sommer's Canoe Base Alumni Association at Northern Tier in Ely, MN.

This award recognizes BSA members for completing treks/adventures at all three national high adventure bases: Philmont, Northern Tier, and Sea Base.

Troop 507 recipients include Eagle Scout Michael Rich, Scoutmaster Randy Sampson,  Assistant Scoutmaster Scott Rich, Assistant Scoutmaster/Eagle Scout Rick Oesterreich, and Eagle Scout  Brandon Walkush (pictured separately).

To earn this award, crew members spent 11 days camping and hiking over 80 miles of mountain trails at Philmont, which is located in the southern Rocky Mountains in New Mexico.

 At Sea Base just north of Key West Florida, they kayaked to Big Munson island in the Atlantic Ocean, camping five days on the island while deep sea fishing, kayaking and snorkeling the Looe Key Reef, the second most-visited coral reef in the world. Their most recent trip was a BWCA canoe trip through Northern Tier, where they camped and canoed for a week, covering a distance of 75 miles.

"Being able to take scouts on High Adventure trips like these, really keeps the older scout's interested in the program." Sampson said. "Since my first trek to Philmont in 2001, I have had the privilege of taking scouts on at least 10 high adventure trips.  Half have been to BSA High Adventure bases, the other half the scouts plan and execute on their own. High Adventure is where they get the chance to really put their scouting skills to work, and have a lot of fun experiencing first-hand, areas in the United States that most only read about." 

Troop 507 is heading, once again, to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico this August. At the end of this trip, two more members will have earned the Triple Crown award.