Trending
SPRING MILLS -- Take a historical stroll over the Appalachian Mountains and into the territory of Kentucky this weekend during the running of the 52nd Annual Juniata Valley Council Klondike Derby.
The theme is "Boone's Trace: The Wilderness Road," which focuses on the history of the main southern route.
Last year's Klondike Derby explored the "The Great Wagon Road," which stretched 800 miles from Philadelphia to Georgia. Historians believe it to be the most heavily traveled road in America and paralleled the Appalachian Mountains along much of its route.
The mountains are composed of a series of long, tall ridges with narrow valleys in between. Though heavily eroded, there are few gaps in them in each ridgeline, let alone across the entire mountain system. Therefore, the Appalachians posed a formidable barrier for those seeking to travel west.
There are only five major gaps in the mountain chain between New York and Georgia, and of these, only three would allow animal-powered transportation without feats of engineering to make them passable.
Perhaps the most well-known of these gaps was the "Wilderness Road," which passed through the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky and Tennessee. The other two were the "Cumberland Narrows" in Maryland, and the "Gaps of the Allegheny" in Pennsylvania.
The Wilderness Road became one of two routes for settlers in Kentucky. Though longer in distance, the route through the Cumberland Narrows was easier for wagons to travel, especially when the National Road was built in the early 19th century.
In contrast, the Wilderness Road was a rough, steep and narrow path, which could not be traversed by wagons, necessitating travelers to walk or ride horses. Despite the hardships of the road, thousands of settlers used the road to migrate west.
According to a press release from the scouts, the first Europeans in the southern Appalachians were the Spanish in the mid-1500s. The first English explorers penetrated the mountains a century later. Abraham Wood of Virginia was the first to write about the gap after exploring it in the 1760s.
In 1750, Dr. Thomas Walker, who explored the gap as part of the Loyal Land Co., named it after the Duke of Cumberland, Prince William, son of King George II.
In 1775, Pennsylvania native Daniel Boone set out with a group of 35 ax-wielding men to cut a new trail through the gap. Boone's Trace, as it was also called, evolved into the Wilderness Road, as improvements took place over the years. However, with the opening of the National Road after 1818, the Wilderness road started to fall into disrepair.
Its decline continued with the opening of other canals, river navigation then railroads on both sides of the mountains. By the 1840s, it was largely abandoned.
The old road made a comeback by the 20th century as it had been resurrected and paved. Over the next few decades, it became a major highway, although it was still considered dangerous to travel.
In 1996, a new tunnel -- under the gap was completed - which improved the road significantly. Today the gap remains and has become part of the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. Other sections are preserved in nearby state and local parks.
Since 2001, portions of the original Wilderness Road have been restored to their historic appearance, so visitors can experience what the gap looked like to those early explorers and the other natives that occupied the land for centuries.
Tour Lewistown troop cabin
The Lewistown Troop 4 Cabin will be open for visitation during the Klondike Derby from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The troop will be camping at the cabin for the last time during the Klondike weekend.
According to Rick Cahill of Troop 4, on Dec. 31, 2021, the lease between the Juniata Valley Council and Lewistown Presbyterian Church, for the Troop 4 cabin, expired. On Aug. 21, 2023, the council informed the troop that the cabin can no longer be used for camping.
The council's plan is to remove the cabin from its current location sometime in 2024. The council gave Troop 4 special permission to use it during the Klondike Derby weekend, Cahill said.
About the derby
The Klondike Derby is a competition between patrols or dens with teams of 5 to 12 scouts. Their vehicles resemble Alaskan dog sleds, but, for the derby, scouts take the place of the dogs.
Along the trail, each team stops at various stations to test their scouting skills at problem-solving. Scouts from outside the Juniata Valley Council are also invited to participate in the derby each year.
The two competition divisions within the derby are:
Scouts ages 11 to 18, enrolled in a Scout Troop, Varsity Team, or Venture Crews compete in the Cumberland Division, named for the famous 5 Cumberland Gap, which the Wilderness Road passes through.
Webelos, ages 9 and 10, compete in the Wilderness Division, named for the road.
The stations along the trail are a mix of fun and skill stations, including a tomahawk throw to cooking and first aid. There are 12 stations for scouts in the Cumberland Division to complete and nine in the Wilderness for the Webelos.
The teams are ranked by their total scores as each station is worth a maximum of 100 points. Scoring is based on the team's performance in completing the problem and how well the team works together. The top five teams in each division receive awards.
Special awards are also given out to the teams for best-themed and most rugged sled designs for the scouts and most colorful and original sled designs for the Webelos as well as the most likely to collapse.
Volunteers, serving as "Town Mayors," staff each station, and the public is invited to attend and observe the derby.
Hot dogs, Yukon fries, homemade soup, cocoa, coffee and other items will be on sale in the Dining Hall.