By David Fleet
Editor
Hadley Twp.— The Ortonville Recreation Area on the banks of Big Fish Lake once again hosted hundreds of scouts for their annual “Hike in the Boonies” on April 15, however, this year’s event took the youth further off the beaten path than ever before. The event was modified to Lost in the Boonies: 2023 a challenge in a series of orienteering courses.
The boonies hike started in the mud from the horse camp on Fox Lake Road with about three or four scout troops in 2008 and has grown over the years. The camp was small so the leaders asked the DNR if the scouts could camp overnight at Big Fish Lake in April before it was busier later in the summer. Since the Ortonville Troop was the farthest north in the Pontiac-Manito District the Big Fish Lake area was tagged “The Boonies.”
Southern Michigan Orienteering Club challenged the youth to navigate a series of courses through the wilderness using maps and compasses. A brainchild of SMOC member Jen Pineau, the event swelled the numbers of scouts to 239 participants, a substantial increase in attendance over recent years.
“I’ve been a part of that club for 20 years, and I’ve put on other orienteering events,” Pineau said.
“They were very excited for the opportunity to work with that many Scouts.”
Pineau arranged for multiple courses of varying difficulties: white (1.5 miles), yellow (2 miles), orange (3 miles), brown (4 miles), green (6 miles) and red (7 miles). Volunteers were present to “retrieve” any teams that strayed too far off course, with only a few Scouts ultimately requiring their assistance.
“They may not have known as much about orienteering as they thought they did,” Pineau said.
“They had to brush up on their skills. I had one group of girls who got lost and made their way back to the pavilion, but they were still very happy that they went out.”
Troop 199 of Clarkston won the day and with it the coveted “Boot” award for their performance on the courses. The trophy is theirs until the next camp out, when troops from across the region will once again vie for the bragging rights it validates.
This year troops from Capac, Clarkston, Croswell, Davisburg, Lake Orion, Ortonville, Oxford, Waterford and Yale, plus more attended. Several communities have more than one troop.