On the first day of his troop’s 65-mile canoe trek in Montana, Jake Stonebrook stepped into the river.
The water was cold. Absolutely frigid.
It was late June, but the air temperature had plunged into the 40s that morning, and the river felt just as chilly.
The troop coasts along part of the route that Lewis and Clark traveled in the early 1800s.
But the 14-year-old Star Scout and his friends in Troop 362 of El Cajon, California, were ready. They had packed warm clothes for the weeklong journey on the Missouri River, following part of the path that explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark took 220 years ago.
As the temperatures heated up through the week, so did the adventure. The Scouts navigated across lakes and past rocky cliffs while learning about the pioneers who had gone before them.
Left: Christopher Kish and William Reinstein take off on the Missouri River in central Montana.
Three decades ago, the adult leaders of Troop 362 created a plan for the Scouts to paddle part of the Missouri River in central Montana. The adults had been inspired by a book called Undaunted Courage by Stephen E. Ambrose, which details Lewis and Clark’s more than 8,000-mile trek from the St. Louis area to the Pacific Coast and back. It was a rugged, dangerous journey to explore the scarcely charted Louisiana Territory and attempt to find a water route to the Pacific Ocean.
The troop’s first trip was a hit. Every few years since, the troop has gone back to canoe the same route.
“I thought it was very cool,” says Luke Myers, 16, a Star Scout. “Something great was done before you, and you’re basically doing the same thing.”
Canoeing in Montana has become a tradition for Troop 362 of El Cajon, California.
Teamwork and communication are important when canoeing. That’s why the troop practiced their skills before the trek by going on two paddling outings.
“A lot of issues come up when syncing the paddles together,” says Star Scout William Reinstein, 16. “The guy in the front sets the intensity of how you’re paddling. He also has the freedom to paddle as fast or as slow as he wants. The steerer in the back pretty much has to match his rhythm.”
The guys also reviewed their knots so they could weave a web of rope over their gear while on the river. Some of the adults drove along with a trailer packed with supplies, but they couldn’t always meet up with the Scouts because some campsites were accessible only by water.
Left, Jake Stonebrook displays a replica flag. Right, Aidan and Julian stand by their gear-filled canoe.
The trek started slowly as the group faced the elements.
“The first day was probably the worst. We had a headwind and very little current,” says Larry Mast, 16, a Life Scout. “It took us a very long time.”
The Scouts adjusted as they progressed, studying the currents and strategizing how to find rest stops.
“Teamwork saved us a lot of work,” says Life Scout Julian Koczwara, 15.
Aidan McGehee and Julian Koczwara carry their canoe to shore after the first day on the water.
Halfway into the journey, they took a day to hike to a site memorializing those lost in the Mann Gulch fire. In 1949, lightning started a wildfire in the canyon. Firefighters called “smokejumpers” parachuted in to extinguish the blaze, but unfortunately, the fast-moving fire killed many of them.
Working with the U.S. Forest Service, the Scouts cleared brush along the trail that leads to the memorial site and installed a plaque commemorating it as a National Recreation Trail. Coming from California, where wildfires are a frequent danger, the Scouts could solemnly reflect on the sacrifice made at Mann Gulch.
Left, Benjamin Thompson and Luke Myers attach a National Recreation Trail plaque to a tree. Right, Riley Stonebrook gives two thumbs-up before the troop starts its trek.
The guys also took time along the trek to pause and appreciate their surroundings.
“We would do a 10-second break where we made no noise at all,” says Arman McGehee, 16, a Star Scout. “The best parts were where it was just wilderness, and you can see and hear whatever was around you.”
The troop spotted bald eagles, pelicans, beavers, deer and snakes. The route flowed into lakes in some places and then went through jagged canyons covered with evergreen trees.
“The scenery was really grand,” William says. “There were so many mountains and hills.”
Scouts paddle under a bridge as they near the end of their trek.
During Lewis and Clark’s journey from 1804 to 1806, the expedition party encountered dozens of Native American tribes. To build friendly relationships, the group gave gifts of beads, medallions and flags, among other things.
Replica flags emblazoned with an eagle fluttered above the stern of each troop canoe. The Scouts had ordered them to symbolize a link from the past to the present.
Julian Koczwara and Christopher Kish try fishing.
On the troop’s last day on the water, the flags really flew as the crew raced to its final campsite, covering more than 20 miles in half a day.
“The river was flowing fast. It felt like an easy day,” Larry says.
Lewis and Clark’s expedition crew didn’t always have that luxury because it often traveled upstream. In one area, the group had to portage (carry their gear and boats across land) 18 miles around a series of hazardous waterfalls, which took a month to complete.
“It makes you more appreciative of what they did,” Julian says. “It was way harder.”
The troop at the interpretive center in Great Falls.
The trek also made the guys more grateful for Scouting. An ambitious idea years ago became a troop tradition, giving generations of Scouts the chance to learn more about their country and themselves.
“Our troop does a lot,” William says. “The biggest thing is to go out and do it and try to have as much fun as possible.”
Meriwether Lewis (left)
and William Clark
• Explore Lewis and Clark’s epic expedition to the Pacific Ocean with our interactive map!
Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson, Lewis and Clark aimed to find a reliable aquatic route from the eastern part of the United States to the Pacific Ocean.
The crew, named the Corps of Discovery, took more than two years to complete the expedition. Although they didn’t find a continuous route to the ocean, Lewis and Clark documented more than 170 types of plants and 120 species of animals and studied the climate, geography and geology along the way.
Sacagawea, a Native American teenager, was an important member of the crew. She helped them survive by finding edible plants and letting other tribes know they came in peace.
JL VETERAN 37 MALANG
