Jamboree on the Trail

From the Jamboree on the Trail (JOTT) website,

“Jamboree On The Trail is an annual day for the World Scout Movement to hike together. All Scouts, whatever their age and wherever they may be in the world, are invited to participate in whatever way they can. Cubs and younger Scouting sections could visit a local nature trail as part of a weekend camp. A Scout Troop might check out a hiking trail while working on badge requirements. A Rover Crew might make a Service Project out of restoring or maintaining a hiking trail. In their own way, everyone will be hiking the same direction: towards a better future through Scouting. JOTT is held on the second Saturday of May each year.”

Locally, JOTT is hosted by the 40th Baden-Powell Guild at Belcarra Park, on the second Saturday in May from 9:30 to 3:00. There is typically not much organized for this event other than doing a short opening (flag break) for the assembled Groups at 10:00, lunch for the participants at noonish, and a few demonstration tents for things like the Archaeological Society of BC, Atmosphere, Coquitlam River Watch, Geocaching BC, METRO Parks naturalist / conservationist, etc. Groups start drifting away after lunch. The Section leader should sign in with organizers who will give you an envelope with meal tickets and badges.

Each individual Group makes up their own mind as to where they want to go and how long they want to be out. When the Group returns to the park, they line up for lunch. We start at the park and usually go for a ramble north to Jug Island Beach or south to Admiralty Point or further to Burns Point. The distance and time depends on the energy of the group. The Section leader should bring some snacks (snack bars and juice) for a break at the end. The youth should be encouraged to bring a backpack with a water bottle and snacks for themselves. In Beavers, we give them some slack, but by the time they are in Scouts, they are on their own!

The organizer of the event is Jim Pound, scouterjimp@gmail.com, 604 944-1332, 40th Canadian Baden-Powell Guild, 1123 Wallace Court, Coquitlam, BC, V3C 4X4.

The registration deadline is usually late March and he needs to know how numbers and lunch preference (hot dog or hamburger). The fee is nominal and covered by the Group. Even if you hike on your own and don’t want to order food through Jim, you can order patches for ~$2.00 each through him.