Horse Ridge / Millican Basin
	Desert Camp

At the annual planning meeting in 1998, the boys identified desert camping and desert survival to be one of their goals for 1999. Bend and most of Central Oregon lies along a "banana belt" atop the lava flows on the east side of the Cascade Mountains. To the west are 10,000 foot snow capped peaks, a multitude of lakes, and the high cascade forests of ponderosa an douglas fir. To the northeast lie the Ochoco mountains and the ancient tablelands, fossil beds, and mesas of the John Day country. To the southeast lies an often overlooked area - the vast open spaces of the desert. This is the extreme northern tip of the Great Basin Desert, which extends south all the way through Nevada and east into Utah. Horse Ridge and the Millican Basin lie on the edge of this vast area, about 25 miles east of Bend.

This outdoor experience was intended to introduce the boys to the desert area, and to the different techniques and approaches to camping in an arid environment vs a forested environment. Coming after the Spring Advancement Outing, it was also intended to introduce the new scouts to "backpack" style camping, where the scouts worked as teams of two, cooked off small backpacking stoves, and carried their own water vs using the troop equipment.

Some highlights of the weekend included....

• The realization that desert means "dry", not "hot". Yes, it gets cold, very very cold, in the desert.
• Staking down a tent in sandy soil takes a different approach and some ingenuity.
• Distances are very difficult to judge in the vast open basins of sage.
• Despite being a "desert", there is an incredible amount of plant and animal diversity in the area.
• Scout Nic Saarinen has the "gift" - he was able to lead the Scouts up a ridge with no large vegetation for cover to within 100 yards of a herd of elk (big bull and half a dozen cows) without their being seen, smelled, or heard!
• Eagle Scout Bryan Hartke hates the cold.

Advancement included...

• Hiking in to your campsite
• Menu preparation, food handling, and cooking
• Using a lightweight stove vs open fire
• Five mile hike with map and compass
• Identify plant life and signs of wildlife
• Pitch a tent and sleep overnight
• Basic knots
• Finding your way without compass by day and by night

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