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Home Article Section Content The Call of Adventure: OAOA and OATC 2011
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OA High Adventure is one of the best programs a member of our order can do to find deeper meaning in what it means to be Arrowmen. These programs exemplify the purpose of our order through meaningful service by the participants and the bonds of Brotherhood which are formed between the participants of a crew during the trek.

Since this is an Order of honored campers, being outdoors in some of the most beautiful places in the world will make any Arrowmen’s heart sing. The amazing thing is that this opportunity is provided at a fraction of the cost of a regular trek to any of these bases. Last year I went through the OA program at the Northern Tier and it inspired me to follow the call of adventure and cheerful service at the other two high adventure bases.

My first adventure of this summer was OAOA (Order of the Arrow Ocean Adventure) which was in the Florida Keys. My crew, OAOA 708, was the last OAOA crew of the summer. We were some of the first Arrowmen to go through the new OA program at Sea Base since it changed from the scuba program. During this eight day program we did four days of service and then four days of exploring the Keys on a forty foot sail boat.

For our first two work days we canoed to Munson Island. On Munson we lined trail, built around 100ft of trail, and built a few benches in the campfire ring. The service during these two days will help out the Boy Scouts of America’s program on that island.

We left Munson Island and went to Crane Point to do some invasive species removal for our last two days of service. Crane Point is a beautiful area in the Keys where we helped preserve its natural beauty by removing certain invasive plants--the Lead Tree and Night Blooming Serious. The work we did during those days was hard work and was made more arduous by the heat and mosquitoes. In spite of the hard work and uncomfortable conditions the service we provided was quite rewarding. During all of this we went from being random strangers to being good friends and brothers in our Order.

The service the OAOA program provided was unique compared to the other two bases. The OA program at Northern Tier provides service to the public and the OA program at Philmont provides service to the Boy Scouts of America, but the program at Sea Base provides service to both the Boy Scouts and the public.

After providing cheerful service our trek days began. Our daventure began when we arrived at the Trade Winds which was the forty foot sailboat where we spent the rest of our stay. We sailed, fished, snorkeled and explored Key West. It was a very exciting experience seeing the vitality of wildlife in the Keys while we sailed and snorkeled. We saw a sea turtle, dolphins, sharks, barracuda, and numerous other fish. All of the wildlife we saw put me in awe of the beauty of the Keys and the Ocean. The day we explored Key West was amazing. We toured Truman’s Little Whitehouse, the NOAA center in Key West and the Sunset Festival. All of these places in Key West had something interesting to offer. The adventure we had during the trek days showed us a little of what the Keys and the Ocean has to offer.

OAOA is definitely an awesome experience full of the beauty of the ocean but sadly that adventure had to end and its ending marked the beginning of another journey in New Mexico at Philmont Scout Ranch for OATC (Order of the Arrow Trail Crew). OATC has an amazing legacy, it is where OA high adventure was started and it has an amazing legacy of service. My crew was OATC 727 OA1 and we started our week of trail building in Trail Canyon which is part of Philmont North Country. During the work week we were also with our sister crew OA2.

During this week we learned a lot about trail building and its five steps—surveying, pioneering, ruff cutting, finishing, and maintenance. During the work week we only did pioneering, ruff cutting and finishing on the Trail Canyon Trail. This was pretty hard work yet it was rewarding as well. Pioneering is where you clear out the brush on the sides of the trail. Ruff cutting is cutting the tread of the trail. Finishing is where you make complete other parts of the anatomy of a trail. This entails making sure the hydrodynamics of the trail work properly and that it is comfortable to walk on. We also dug holes for the bear pole anchor lines at a future trail camp at the end of Trail Canyon.

During the work week we connected the trail to Promontory Point with ruff cutting. The OA has been working on this trail since 2007 so we were a small part of this trail’s legacy. All of this work provides meaningful service to Philmont and the Boy Scouts of America. It is amazing to think that our crew is now a small part of the legacy of the OATC program and of Philmont by doing this service.

After the work week we began our trek week. During the work week our crew voted on the five things we wanted to do most at Philmont then our foremen put together a trek. We hiked approximately 68 miles in the Valle Vidal and North Country, as well as climbed many mountains and bushwhacked many miles during our trek. We did many amazing activities including mountain biking at Whiteman Vega, sleeping in a hayloft in a barn at Rich Cabins, black powder shooting at Miranda, and climbing Baldy and Little Costilla. Baldy is the largest mountain on Philmont properties but Little Costilla is larger by several hundred feet and is the largest accessible from Philmont Properties. The view from Little Costilla is amazing and well worth the climb. The trek week was amazing. What we did would make anyone who loves the woods and camping long to come and stay but like all things it had to come to an end.

What we did on these treks and the service we provided during OAOA and OATC is one of the most memorable and meaningful things I have ever done and makes me long to do them again. I highly encourage all of you who read this and are between 16 and 21 to go and have an adventure that makes a difference, you will not regret it. For those of you who are too young or old to do this encourage others to go and have this life changing experience.
Last Updated on Saturday, 07 January 2012 11:12
 

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