by Sabrina Redlingshafer  photos complied by Maria Donnelly

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Senior Kathleen Blanck has been a part of a Venturing crew in the Kansas City area since she was a freshman. The Dart sat down with her to explore her position and memories about Venturing.

What is a Venturing crew?

A Venturing crew is basically a coed form of Boy Scouts. It’s the coed Boy Scout troop. You can sign up when you are fourteen years old and we do not kick you out until you are twenty-one years old.

What happens when you are twenty-one years old?

After twenty-one years of age, you can become like an adult leader because of college at eighteen year old, that is when most people usually leave crews. But the advantage of having an older age than eighteen years old is because we get to keep people around. So if they still want to help with campouts, they can still be involved until they are twenty-one years old.

What are some other activities besides campouts?

We do haunted trails every October. so we set up a scary area in Camp [Theodore] Naish [Scout Reservation] every year and try to scare Cub Scouts.

How did that go?

Our first time being successful scaring them was this year. We did the idea of “Slender Men” and it’s a bunch of Venturing crews that do it. In all the different areas of Camp Naish, there are scary areas. This year we were scary and I was very impressed with us.

So there are different crews around different areas of the city?

Yes.

Did you start your own or how did you get involved in one?

The way it worked actually, I was about fourteen or fifteen [years old] during freshman year and I had always known I wanted to join a Venturing crew because I had seen my brothers in Boy Scouts, so my dad was like, ‘Well let’s look into some Venturing crews.’ So we called the Venturing of America Council and they gave us numbers of Venturing crews in my area. There was one down my street, but they did more of camping and really small group activities, so we kept looking around until we found the one where I’m at right now.

Describe your current Venturing crew.

It’s based in Prairie Village and they do more high adventure campouts, which is what I was interested in. So there were a lot of different options for me to go with, but that is the one that was closest to my interests.

So what kind of activities happen at high adventure campouts?

There are four high adventure Boy Scout camps. Philmont Scout Ranch, where you backpack for two weeks. You have to be registered with the Boy Scouts of America to get on the territory. Another is Boundary Waters, where anyone can go. It is adventurous and the longest hike we ever did was like a half mile stretch and then another, but you have to carry everything over you, like canoes and packs. The third is The Summit, which is more about extreme sports, like mountain biking and zip-lining. It’s either in Virginia or West Virginia. And last is Seabase in Florida. I believe you canoe out to the Florida Keys. My cousin did this and they caught/ate own fish and survived on their own for a week or two on an island.

Do you travel places with your Venturing crew or mainly stay in Kansas City?

We have done a few campouts in and around Kansas City. Two summers ago, we went to Philmont which is in New Mexico. Last summer, we went to Canada for Boundary Waters camp and this summer we are going to Philmont again. Other than that, we do not make any large trips, though we could if we wanted.

Who is in your Venturing crew?

The crew is 2091, connected to Boy Scout troop 91. We have seven girls. Some include senior Katie Law, Beth Mitchell just joined, my cousin [sophomore] Jacqueline Blanck, two girls from public schools in Kansas, one from the Blue Valley and another from the Olathe district. There are quite a few other Venturing crews. I also know [campus ministry and retreat leader] Joe Lascala is an adult leader in venture crews and I think [senior] Bree Begnaud is in it.

How are Venturing crews different from Boy Scouts or Girl scouts?

The big difference is it is coed. Girl Scouts generally do not have the opportunity or funding that Boy Scouts do. Boy Scouts of America funds all scouts and they get a lot of donations, like all of Philmont land. Camps still costs like $600-700 for two weeks, meals and group equipment, though we can rent equipment if wanted.

Were you ever a Girl Scout or Brownie when you were younger?

I was a Brownie, then we got to Junior Girl Scouts then leaders quit. I never really into Girl Scouts because they made dolls and learned sign language. I saw brothers doing great things, like going out in campouts and went to my brother’s activities and participated as much as I could, like go-kart races and fun campouts. Then I realized Girl Scouts do not have as many opportunities, which is what both pushed me away from Girls Scouts and pushed me towards Venturing crews.

What made you want to join a Venturing crew?

The high adventure. My dad and uncle had gone when they were kids and my dad had always talked about taking us to Philmont and hiking mountains. My cousin also went to Philmont and I hear a lot about it because it’s involved in my relatives.

How big of a commitment is it?

I am the president for two years in a row now, I was just re-elected, so it is obviously a big commitment. We try to do one campout every month and have monthly meeting at Foo’s on 95th and Mission to eat ice cream and discuss venturing. It’s super informal. We are going to have a cinnamon roll fundraiser in December.

Who is your adult leader?

Our adult leader is Walt Snell. His sister started the crew with a lot of boys about five or six years ago, then she was diagnosed and died of cancer. He was living in Maine and came back and decided he wanted to be part of the crew for big experience, stories and fun.

Do you feel this prepares you to become a “responsible and caring adult?”

You learn from a lot of experiences. Philmont gave me this mindset you do not really have a lot, but you have to do what you have to do. And a lot of people do not get that. When you are at Philmont and have an eleven mile hike in one day, just because it gets dark, does not mean you stop until you get to your destination. It makes me a better leader, working with adults and people my age. I also value teamwork and learning alternate solutions like following through with activities. If you let it improve you, it will make a difference on you.

Please share a memory about one of your hikes.

We were hiking one day and go through a meadow, then down a really steep decline which was really difficult. We saw clouds looming in a distance. You are on top of a mountain, so a storm is literally the last thing you want to see. So we started walking as fast as we could and saw the clouds were catching us. There was no way we were going to run it, so we put rain gear on and kept walking. Then it started pouring, thundering and lightening everywhere. I was in the front of the group with two others girls and we had lost everyone else. We found a hanging cliff to stop, go into lightening positions and be dry. Eventually we made it safely to our destination through the rain, and took pictures. At the end, I saw my cousin and it was great to see her. It was the best reward of getting through the difficult day. Walking through a thunderstorm is not fun.

What this your hardest hike? If not, describe your hardest hike.

The hardest hike was eleven miles at Mount Phillips, which is the second highest mountain at Philmont. That was the day we hiked from 8 a.m. until 11 p.m.. I lost my voice on the trek shouting instructions to people.

Do you plan on continuing venturing in college?

It depends where I go to school. If I go somewhere close enough, I definitely want to still go on campouts with my crew. I definitely want to be active, but maybe not as active. I’ll try to stay involved or find somewhere at my college that has it. I love my program and I would love to work at Philmont some day.