Sandy Bridges Program Center (part II)

One of the things I never got around to was showing off a little bit more of the Sandy Bridges Program Center. So in a fit of nostalgia for Up North, here's some more information about it (at least as it was at the end of the summer).

The front of SBPC

Out front is really nice (at least in the summer). I personally think that the large stones give a nice touch. Scouts could probably throw around a ball or Frisbee on the lawn after getting off water too. "The Boy Scout" statue also gives the area a nice little touch.

"The Boy Scout"

"The Boy Scout" (click to enlarge)

Main entrance

The main entrance leads directly to the mess hall. Interpreters and leaders do official check-in (getting permits, checking paperwork, etc.) in an office directly by the entrance too.

All the goodies are upstairs. There is the porch, which is absolutely great for sitting with a Dorthy Malter's Root Beer, hanging out with a crew after a trip, or just relaxing anytime. The trading post and snack stand both see a lot of business.

The new trading post

I love the new trading post. It is so much more spacious and could almost completely outfit a scout who wasn't prepared. There's not EVERYTHING (I don't think they have sleeping bags or pads), but there's certainly a lot. Need an Otterbox for your camera? Got it. Want a fashionable Northern Tier belt? Sure! Loved Hudson Bay Bread so much you want to make it at home? We've got mix. Want to read up on all the best fishing techniques? There are guide books. Loved your trip so much that you want start planning your own back home? You can even buy the the same (but new) packs you used on trail.

For a more complete list of what is offered at the Trading Post, go to their website: http://northerntiertradingpost.org/

I didn't spend nearly as much time in the snack shop, though it has some good stuff too (the root beer floats are great). Ice cream, candy, root beer, and slushies are some of the things they offer.

For most visitors, that's all there is upstairs. There's a sink and place to make coffee and a couple of conference rooms, but when I was there they weren't for crew use. I would guess that they'll be used more for training and official conferences.

All and all, having the new Sandy Bridges Program Center this last summer was fantastic. It's a great addition to the base.

The end of the Polar Pure Age for Norther Tier?

Love it or hate it (as I know some of my crews did certainly did), Polar Pure has always been a constant at Northern Tier. Even if you used other methods for purifying water (I used bleach, chlorine tablets, filters, or boiling were this last summer), Northern Tier has always required crews to take out Polar Pure.

But now, that may change in the not-so-far-off future. The DEA has made it near impossible for 88-year-old Bob Wallace to continue to produce Polar Pure because iodine (the active ingredient in Polar Pure) is used in the production of crystal meth.

DEA Says Polar Pure is being used by Meth Labs

At this point it's unknown what will happen to current stocks of Polar Pure, but I would suspect that they'll be left alone. Given how long each bottle of Polar Pure lasts (2,000 quarts water purified), Northern Tier's stock could last a long time, especially since we got a shipment from Philmont this year (Philmont has switched away from Polar Pure to chlorine tablets - they sent us their remaining stock). Polar Pure, however, is one of the most frequently lost or broken pieces of equipment that the Bay Post sends out, so well see how long it lasts before it's the of Polar Pure at Northern Tier.

Work at Northern Tier!

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An End and a Beginning

There's a lot I can say about this summer, but if there is one thing that sums it up more than anything else, it was that this summer was absolutely AMAZING. I loved the people I met this summer, whether it was the people I worked with or the crews that I guided. You all made my summer great.

Unfortunately, it was so great I did not get enough time to finish all the blogs I wanted: my last couple of trips, another on the new Sandy Bridges Program center, one on Leave No Trace. Hopefully I'll get around to writing them eventually, but for the moment I have a new adventure: studying abroad in Germany.

Thank you everyone for the fantastic summer.

To end, I have this poem from Sam Cook:

“Up North is a certain way the wind feels on your face and the way an old wool shirt feels on your back. It’s the peace that comes over you when you sit down to read one of your old trip journals, or the anticipation that bubbles inside when you start sorting through your tackle box in the early spring.

Up north is the smell of the Duluth pack hanging in your basement and the sound of pots clinking across the lake. It’s a raindrop clinging to a pine needle and the dancing light of a campfire on the faces of friends.

Up north is a lone set of cross-country ski tracks across a wilderness lake and wood smoke rising from a cabin chimney. It’s bunchberries in June, blueberries in July and wild rice in September.

Each of us has an up north. It’s a time and place far from the here and now. It’s a map on the wall, a dream in the making, a tugging at one’s soul. For those who feel the tug, who make the dream happen, who put the map in the packsack and go, the world is never quite the same again.

We have been Up North. And part of us always will be.”

-Sam Cook as quoted from his book "Up North."