SOUTH YANKTON, Neb. (KTIV) – A Pennsylvania boys camp embarked on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure that very few people get the chance to experience.
On Saturday, Aug. 3, a wooden raft named Eagle's Nest was set adrift for a 1,000-mile adventure down the Missouri River. Measuring 17 feet by 36 feet, the raft was built by students and counselors at Bald Eagle Boys Camp in Mills Hall, Pennsylvania, according to the Omaha District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).
USACE says the expedition team is made up of a group of ten boys and four counselors from the boys' camp.
“We offer a therapeutic program for boys ages 9 to 16. The boys in this program come from difficult families and lives,” said Nate Kauffman, Bald Eagle boys camp counselor.
USACE says the inspiration for the boy's trip comes from two previous trips the group took, a trip down the Missouri River in 2005 and another down the Ohio River in 2015, leading to the boy's takeout spot in Cairo, IL.
USACE said the boys began cutting down the trees that would become the raft's plank and hull, then began planning.
Once the eagle's nest was built, the boys tested the raft on a local Pennsylvania river. After testing the raft on the water, the boys disassembled it to make it easier to transport to the Missouri River.
“Guitars and analog diversions like dominoes and board games found shelter under the large banquettes that surrounded the center table, common area and raft school. Wooden utensils, cast iron cookware in the galley and an iron stove with kerosene lanterns adorned the vertical wooden posts at the stern. The 21st century also could not be brought aboard the Eagles Nest, except for the outboard motor as a necessary boating insurance policy,” said Josh Plueger, a member of the USACE Omaha District.
In addition to gathering navigational charts and notes on the river's conditions, Kauffman traveled to Yankton, South Dakota, to assess the landscape and the challenges the team would face on their journey.
The Corps said Kauffman then found a way to haul the raft back up while USACE helped the boys set up a base camp in a nearby area for the next three days of the trip.
USACE said: “As the crew learns the movement of water and perfects navigation on the Eagle’s Nest with their ore brooms, they will experience the river in a way that very few modern people have. For the next 1,000 miles, the young men will no longer live in air-conditioned rooms, cars or buildings; their thermostat will rise in the east and fall in the west; their music will be played live; and their bonds will grow stronger with each obstacle they overcome. They will no longer be separated from the rhythm of nature, but an integral part of it.”
For more information about the Omaha District, Follow this link.
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