Hiking to the next level
Naujaat cadets conduct land trip, Silver Star expedition
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Wednesday, May 18, 2016
NAUJAAT
A number of cadets in the 3055 Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps (RCACC) completed two of the season's final three major events during the past few weeks in Naujaat and Manitoba.
Naujaat cadets Master Cpl. Jan Kopak, left, and Cpl. Lorena Siusangnark set up their tent during the Silver Star expedition near Winnipeg, Man., earlier this month. - photo courtesy of Lloyd Francis |
The 3055 RCACC had 27 cadets head out for the corps' final land trip of the year on April 30.
The cadets were led by Capt. Lloyd Francis, Canadian Ranger Simeonie Kringayark and a number of staff members.
The number of cadets to participate in the trip was solid, considering the community was hosting the Arctic Circle Cup senior men's hockey championship at the same time, while a number of families also took advantage of 2 C temperatures to enjoy a family outing.
The cadets hiked between seven to 15 km on the trip. They also learned how to use GPS, how to build an iglu, skiing, orienteering and general camping-and-survival skills.
Francis said all in all, it was great day enjoyed by everyone who went on the trip.
He said the cadets usually do two or three land trips per year as part of their annual training.
"The snow wasn't great for building an iglu this trip but our Ranger was able to show them how to do it a little bit," said Francis.
"It was a great day out on the land with beautiful weather.
"It might seem strange to consider 2 C as hot, but I managed to get a sunburn from it out there."
Francis said the Arctic Circle Cup also attracted the elders who usually accompany the cadets out on the land.
He said you can't blame youths for wanting to watch the games in the community's main hockey tournament of the year, or for spending one of the first beautiful days of spring out on the land with their families.
"Naujaat ended up winning the tournament, so I'm glad those cadets were there to cheer them on.
"We didn't want to have the cadets stay overnight during this trip because we only had the one Ranger.
"We did all our training during the day but normally, we would stay out on the land overnight."
Francis said the cadets really enjoyed running a race during the orienteering course.
He said one of the cadets even managed to create a moment that won't soon be forgotten.
"An orienteering course is kind of like a scavenger hunt in that they're looking for nine flags which have a stapler attached to them with a specific design on them to punch their card with.
"I check when they came back to make sure they have all the holes punched and they match-up where they're supposed to.
"I didn't even notice at the time, but one of the cadets ran through the whole race barefooted because some of his friends told him he could run the course faster that way.
"It was so funny when he raced back to put his shoes back on."
Following the land trip, 21 cadets from Naujaat, five from Rankin Inlet and five from Arctic Bay headed to Manitoba to take part in their Silver Star expedition.
Francis said the Silver Star represents a cadet's third year of training.
He said as part of that training, they usually go to Manitoba for some hiking and skiing.
"We couldn't go to the park we were originally supposed to because of the fire bans in the area, so they ended up just doing the hiking part.
"I had eight Naujaat cadets in my group and we hiked 20 km on our Saturday.
"They had to do 10 km to complete their training, but the lowest group ended up doing 12 km, the next group did 14 km and another did 15 km.
"It was a great experience for them."
Francis said some cadets can be waved from the training due to allergies, because they must be within 30 minutes of medical attention.
He said the cadets also learn a number of other skills during the Silver Star expedition.
"They learn about camp routines, preparing for a hike, filtering water and environmental stewardship, in how to take care of the environment by cleaning up their campsite, taking all their garbage with them and things of that nature.
"We chartered down on 3 p.m. on May 6, and the kids got to do a bit of shopping at Wal-Mart until we headed out to Birds Hill Provincial Park about 45 minutes north of Winnipeg.
"We did our day's activities on May 7, were debriefed when we returned to the camp and returned to Naujaat the following day, May 8.
"Our final event of the year will be our annual ceremonial review on May 24, which will be attended by the commanding officer of the regional cadet support unit for the Northwest region Lt.-Col. Michele Claveau."
