Great Salt Lake Council

History

Founded in 1930, Camp Steiner is known for its many traditions including Mountain Man competitions and the Steiner Yell. The reenactment of the Siege of Mafeking, followed by the Honor Trail, a dawn hike and the Polar Bear Plunge are all a part of Steiner's program.

The legend of Hyrum is an old folktale about a miner who was blown to pieces in a horrible mining accident. Legend states that Hyrum still hikes the hills of Steiner as a monster of some sort.

The Lost Gold Mine is a true story of LDS miner Caleb Rhoades who mined what were considered to be the richest gold mines in the country. The story of the Rhoades Mines includes an ambush by Butch Cassidy and his "Hole in the Wall Gang." The locations of the mines died with Rhoades, but in his journal he describes a heart-shaped lake surrounded by castles; possibly referring to Scout Lake (formerly known as Heart Lake) and the cliff faces and mountain peaks that can be seen from the lake shores.

The docks on Scout Lake at Camp Steiner.

Facilities

The main buildings of the camp are the kitchen, the museum, the trading post, the wilderness cabin, the first aid cabin/director's office, the tool shed and the handicraft lodge. The camp has neither electricity nor cell phone coverage. The camp gets its water from a pump system that is gravity powered.

The climbing wall at Camp Steiner is a natural rock face located just above the campfire bowl, which is sometimes referred to as the amphitheater.

Program

The waterfront of Camp Steiner had a tower (which was rebuilt in 2004, yet collapsed in 2009 because of heavy snowfall), a canoe beach and floating docks. Canoeing, rowing, swimming and life-saving merit badges are available. Small-boat sailing was abandoned in 2003 because the winds were never good enough to consistently teach the merit badge, it was brought back in 2008 and 2009, but the Council has not been able to attain sailboats in good enough repair for the camp to use anymore. The lake has a temperature that stays between 35 and 55 °F (2 and 13 °C) during the summer. Passing the swim check is a rite of passage and swimming a mile in the lake is something that only between 10 and 20 people achieve every year. ^[7]

Steiner offers two different shooting sports: rifle and archery, although these Merit Badges are subject to weather. Several other merit badges are offered at the camp. Merit Badges offered in Handicraft: Basketry, Indian Lore, Leatherwork and Woodcarving. Merit badges offered in Outdoor Skills, once called Scoutcraft: First Aid, Pioneering, Orienteering, Fishing, and Wilderness Survival. Nature merit badges offered: Environmental Science, Bird Study, Soil and Water Conservation, and Forestry. Also for the 2010 season, two of the historic (centennial) merit badges were offered: Signaling and Tracking.

Adventure activities are designed to keep older boys, who may have completed the rank of Eagle, challenged and engaged in the camp program. They include hiking, team building games, and the Climbing merit badge. High Adventure staffers teach Leave No Trace training at least once a week.

There is also an action center program that teaches trail to First Class.

Thomas S. Monson Lodge

View of the Amphitheater at the Thomas S. Monson Lodge at the Hinkely Scout Ranch.

On May 27, 2015^[9] the BSA held a groundbreaking ceremony for a 23,000 square foot building that serves as the centerpiece of the Hinckley Scout Ranch.^[10] On October 5, 2016, a ribbon cutting and dedication were performed.^[11] The building was built for $5.5 million and financed by a group of donors. The Sorenson Legacy Foundation was the primary donor. The-two story building contains several training rooms, kitchen, and a trading post. It is utilized for training events, banquets, and National Youth Leader Training (NYLT) and Wood Badge training courses.^[11]

History

In 2002, a fire was started at the then-East Fork of the Bear River Scout Camps that led to 14,205 acres of forest burning down.^[12] The fire was started by 20 Boy Scouts who were camping overnight as part of the Wilderness Survival Merit Badge. Despite the fact that there was a fire ban in place for the area, the Scouts started numerous fires.^[12] The fire cost the State of Utah an estimated $13 million to put it out.^[12][13] Originally the State of Utah filed a lawsuit against both the Boy Scouts of America and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, after some criticism, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and then-U.S. Attorney Paul Warner dropped the Mormon Church from the lawsuit. Ultimately in 2003, the Boy Scouts of America settled the lawsuit for $6.5 million.^[14] While many were concerned as to where the money would come from to pay the settlement, the Great Salt Lake Council assured the community that none of the money would come from donations, but rather from insurance held by the national office in Irving, TX.^[14] As part of the settlement, the council also agree to plant over 9,000 trees so as to help the surrounding forest begin to regrow.^[14] They also agreed to provide additional training and information for both youth & adults as to how to better care for the area around them and to properly care for fires while in the outdoors.^[12]

In 2012 the East Fork of the Bear Scout Camp was renamed Hinckley Scout Ranch.^[8] Prior to the renaming, the camp contained 3 sub camps: Tomahawk, Frontier and Evergreen.^[8] The Hinckley Scout Ranch now operates as one camp with activities coordinated with between the 3 sub-areas: North Slope, Pinnacle, & Trail Head.

Ridgeline High Adventure

To provide a wider variety of experiences for those interested in visiting Hinckley Scout Ranch, older youth (14 years-old and up) may attend Ridgeline High Adventure, located within the Hinckley Scout Ranch. Ridgeline High Adventure provides a variety of activities including treks (backpacking), rock climbing, COPE, ATV, & others.

Camp Sunrise

Another camp within the Hinckley Scout Ranch is Camp Sunrise for Latter-day Saint young women. The young women who attend are able to experience many of the activities and adventures that Boy Scouts enjoy. The program is designed to allow the LDS wards & stakes to choose how they would like to allot their time. Many choose to participate in the activities provided by the camp as well as create some experiences on their own. Camp Sunrise is known for its great food and rugged scenery.

The gun range at Camp Tracy in the Millcreek Canyon Camps is typically the first time most Scouts are introduced to firearms.

Cub Country

Cub Scouts did not have a designated camp to utilize in Millcreek Canyon until 1977. After many long discussions with council officials, a group of volunteers was given permission to begin creating a camp for those young Scouts to attend during the summer months. Rather than just build one camp, they choose to build several. Each camp had a theme which the activities the Cub Scouts would participate in would be based around. This tradition continues to this day. Previous camp themes include:

Girls at Camp

For years the Millcreek Canyon Camps have allowed girls to attend camp to enjoy Millcreek Canyon. For girls ages 8 to 9 years-old, they may attend Cub Country camps. And for girls ages 10 to 11 years-old, they may attend Camp Traci for Girls.