It was noon on Tuesday, when on-site activities officially opened at the International Pathfinder Camporee in Gillette, Wyoming. Among the many options were a few hosted by the Oregon Conference, including a fan favorite: The Oregon Cave Trailer!
The Oregon Cave Trailer has become a staple of the International Camporee experience, and as coordinators Michael Gregory and Glen Campbell were making the final adjustments, Pathfinders were already lining up!
Why? Because they remembered the popular “Flooded Mine” cave route from 2019’s Oshkosh camporee and wanted to be sure they wouldn’t miss out on the unique experience. Nearly 100 Pathfinders were in line when the activity officially opened.
The Flooded Mine route begins with a climb up a narrow ladder before dropping down into the “flooded” mineshaft, a compartment that is around 24 inches tall, a few feet wide, and 20 feet long. Completely filled by hundreds of plastic balls, spelunkers must “swim” through to get to the other end of the 20-foot passage. Those who conquer the claustrophobia and make it to the end of the “flood” are met by a labyrinth of small twisting, turning passages that lead toward the exit. This highly difficult cave route isn’t for everyone, but it is the star of the show. By Tuesday afternoon, some Pathfinders waited in line for three hours for the chance to spend 15 minutes navigating this most difficult route.
Alongside the cave trailer and its four different routes is a new attraction this year: the Bouldering Wall. Made of plywood and rock-climbing holds, the Bouldering Wall has proven to be a fun place for Pathfinders to learn the basics of rock-climbing in a safe environment.
Rounding out the Oregon activity offerings this camporee is Human Foosball. The human-sized foosball game pits teams of seven against each other with a soccer ball at their feet. Each player can only move horizontally across the field, while keeping their hands on a side-to-side sliding pipe, limiting them to horizontal movements across the field as the soccer ball was kicked back and forth toward the opposing goals. It’s foosball. But bigger. And the Pathfinders love it!
On Wednesday morning, the entire campus awoke to the aftermath of the big thunderstorm from the evening before and camporee organizers determined that it would be best to delay the opening of activities until 1:00 PM to give clubs the opportunity to rebuild the camps that had been damaged by the storm. While the decision was certainly appreciated, it soon became apparent that thousands of Pathfinders with lightly impacted camps were left with little to do throughout the morning. By 9:00 AM, the Oregon Conference clubs had opened their activities to give Pathfinders something fun to do before the remainder of on-site activities opened.
The Oregon Cave Trailer has become an anxiously anticipated part of the International Camporee activity landscape. No doubt, there are already Pathfinders excited to navigate the “Flooded Mine” again when the camporee returns in 2029!
