Northern Tier High Adventure is a collection of high adventure bases run by the Boy Scouts of America in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness of Minnesota, Ontario's Quetico Provincial Park and Canadian Crown Lands, Manitoba's Atikaki Provincial Wilderness Park, Woodland Caribou Provincial Park, and points beyond. Northern Tier is the oldest of the four National High Adventure Bases operated by the Boy Scouts of America; the others currently in operation are Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, Florida Sea Base in the Keys, and The Summit in West Virginia. The oldest, largest and most prominent of the Norther Tier bases is the Charles L. Sommers National High Adventure Base. Central to its programs is trips into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA) and Quetico Provincial Park
Programs at the Northern Tier vary by season. In the summer, participants undertake wilderness canoe excursions. There are no lodgings along these trips, and aircraft and motorboats are heavily restricted. Typical treks may cover 50 to 150 miles and take 6 to 10 days, with a maximum duration of 14 days. Accompanying each crew is a staff member called an "Interpreter", formerly known as a "Charlie Guide".
Programs and bases
Northern Tier consists of the following bases: Charles L. Sommers Canoe Base on Moose Lake in Ely, Minnesota offers canoe trips to the Boundary Waters and the Quetico Provincial Park. Donald Rogert Canoe Base in Atikokan, Ontario Canada offers canoe trips into the Quetico and Crown Lands. Northern Expeditions Base in Bissett, Manitoba offers canoe trips into the 2.5 million acres combined Atikaki Provincial Park and Woodland Caribou Provincial Park. All trips here start with a float plane trip to the drop off point and canoe cache.
Other programs
Most typical are summer canoe trip programs, signed up as groups. Other programs include:
Fall Rendezvous offers a chance for crews to experience the Boundary Waters in the fall. The National Cold-Weather Camping Development Center is located at the Charles L. Sommers Base. The center provides materials for, and specializes in problems associated with, cold-weather camping for councils and other organizations. In the winter, the Okpik program is offered, with activities such as cross-country skiing, dog sledding, snow shoeing, ice fishing, and shelter building. The OA Wilderness Voyage, organized by the Order of the Arrow does work on the portage trails in the Boundary Waters area. In 2009, the program was expanded to include trips into the Quetico.
History
History of the Northern Tier High Adventure program
The Northern Tier program's founding year is considered 1923, when a canoe trip organized by the Virginia Council led by scout commissioner Carlos S. Chase launched from Winton, MN at St. Croix Lumber and Manufacturing Company. In 1926 it became a BSA Region 10 program and was named Region 10 Canoe Trails. In the early days, there were no permanent structures, and Winton, Minnesota was the launch point. The Winton Resort Hotel became a sort of headquarters but it was mainly a mailing address and a place where Scouts could stay before and after a trip, and the basement was used for some storage. Later the headquarters moved to the Forest Hotel in Ely, but the actual base of operations was an old building in Winton thought to be the power house of a defunct saw mill. By 1932 they contracted with Sigurd Olson to provide canoe outfitting and trip services. Olson was then an outfitter and later became famous as a wilderness advocate and author.
The base of operations moved to Canadian Border Lodge on Moose lake in 1933 and then further east on Moose lake to Hibbard's Lodge. In 1941 the current site on Moose Lake was selected and secured, with construction beginning in December 1941 including a 56' x 36' log lodge built by seven Finnish axemen. The name was later changed to the Region 10 Wilderness Canoe Trails. Soon after, it became the permanent base of operations and was named the Charles L. Sommers Wilderness Canoe Base, taking the name of a Scouter who was the first Chairman of Region 10. Mr. Sommers was an avid Base supporter, canoe trip organizer and participant. However, the name Region 10 canoe base remained in use, including on patches and publications. The name stuck until 1972 when BSA consolidated regions and the base became part of the National High Adventure Program. The name was then changed to the Charles L. Sommers National High Adventure Base. With expansion of the program, Sommers is now part of the Northern Tier High Adventure programs.