LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Scouts and leaders from Moraga Boy Scout Troop 212 participate in an Alaska High Adventure Trek


Troop 212 Scouts with Davidson Glacier in background. From left: Steve Bartis, Griffin Bartis, Lucas Cronk, Michael Coane, Justin Nagayama, Kye Wesselman, Declan Dolorico-McPeake, Nolan Cuddihy, Jared Avenell, Leo Kim, Brandon Mayo, Ryan Sintchak, Mason Fara, and Jeff Fara. Photo provided

Twelve Boy Scouts and two adult leaders from Moraga Troop 212 on July 23 set out from SFO to Juneau, Alaska for a 10-day trek into the Alaskan wilderness. After landing in Juneau, the Scouts boarded a ferry for the five-hour sail to Haines, where they set up a base camp at the Chilkoot High Adventure Base (CHAB). The following day they loaded Sea Kayaks with 50 pounds of gear each and paddled into rough seas with three to five foot swells and 20 knot head winds. On their way to set up camp on the remote island of Delasuga, the group passed two beautiful glaciers, Rainbow and Davidson.

After paddling back to base camp, the Scouts each repacked 60 pounds of gear for a four-day backpacking trek to climb Alpine-style, using crampons and ice axes, up to a Tundra campground 3,500 feet above sea level. The Scouts trained with professional guides from Alaska Mountain Guides for safety on the glacier which contained deep crevasses by learning how to self-arrest with an ice axe in the event of a fall.

Separated into three mountaineering teams to hike even higher onto the glacier, the Scouts put their mountaineering skills to the test when they rappelled into a crevasse using a safety harness and rope and individually ice-climbed back to the top using their crampons and ice axe.

Once the group arrived back at base camp after a 4,000-foot descent, they boarded a ferry to return to Juneau for a day of fishing where they netted wild Coho Salmon and viewed pods of Orcas as well as a feeding Humpback whale.

The Scouts included Campolindo High School graduates Jared Avenell, Michael Coane, and Mason Fara; current seniors Griffin Bartis, Leo Kim, and Ryan Sintchak; Juniors Nolan Cuddihy, Kye Wesselman, and Brandon Mayo; Sophomores Justin Nagayama, Declan Dolorico-McPeake, and Lucas Cronk. Adult Leaders included Jeff Fara and Steve Bartis, both assistant Scoutmasters in Moraga Troop 212.