Scouting at the 80th anniversary of the Abraham Lincoln Pilgrimage!
The Spring 2025 Camp Review with New Gear Reviews!
For 80 years, the Abraham Lincoln Council's marquee weekend has been the Abraham Lincoln Pilgrimage, which takes place on the last weekend of April. The weekend is among my top three all-time scouting experiences as a youth scout—Philmont is #1. Naturally, when I became a leader, I wanted to return to the event where I had so much fun as a youth.
The first Abraham Lincoln Pilgrimage was hosted by Scouting America’s Abraham Lincoln Council in 1946. The event first began at the Illinois Old State Capitol and finished at Abraham Lincoln’s tomb. The Pilgrimage has been reversed, starting at the tomb of the 16th President of the United States in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois. The Scouts participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the tomb and listen to the featured speaker.1
The biggest Saturday event is the Lincoln Heritage hike. The hike begins at New Salem State Park near Petersburg, Illinois. The State Park is a historical site for two reasons: It is a rebuilt village of Abraham Lincoln’s early adulthood on the Illinois frontier, where Lincoln would launch his political career. 2. It was built as part of FDR’s New Deal Civilian Conservation Corps, helping Americans recover financially during the Great Depression. The day hike is quite a challenge for Scouts; it consists of a nearly 20-mile hike. The hike begins in the park, so a good idea if you’re part of a Scouts BSA troop is to camp at New Salem State Park. The troop can wake up Saturday morning and hit the trail when the sun rises.
I completed the hike twice during my tenure as a youth Scout. It begins in the wooded area of Illinois State Park and has some challenging hilly terrain. The Scout council generally has approximately five stations to help Scouts refuel, take a break, or tap out if the hike proves to be too much for them. Most of the hike takes place on the flat terrain near farmland throughout Mernard and Sangamon counties; the distance proves to be the challenge for a Scout.
Our troop is a little over a year old, and already, it has had its ups and downs regarding membership. As Cubmaster, I am trying to build the Pack strong in the hope of having Scouts committed to the Scouting program feed into the troop, but for the moment, it’s fledgling along. However, as the Troop Committee Chair, I have Scouts who need to make rank now—they can’t wait until the Pack feeds into the troop. Luckily, I have found another troop in the district that has allowed dual memberships into their unit, so our Scouts can camp with them. Thank you to them. So, one of our scouts teamed up with the other troop and completed the nearly 20-mile hike!
As Cubmaster, with younger Cub Scouts in the Pack, I’ve decided that camping for a single day is the best approach for the Pack. Camp Illinek in Springfield, Illinois, is a smaller and fantastic place to bring Cub Scouts to enjoy nature while reasonably close to the city. Some of my parents are new to the camping experience, and the more they do it, the more comfortable they get. One of the parents went from not camping when we first chartered to this last campout, one of the pros in the field. I was very impressed; I had to praise them for it.
Camping was not a big part of the Cub Scout program during my experience, so I would continue with what I knew about it. However, someone showed me some research that shows that camping is foundational for retaining youth in Cub Scouting. Now, my Pack camps!
My wife could not make the spring trip, so my son and I camped together for the first time—it was great. I had to bribe him with some Oatmeal Creampies, no shame on my part. The Pack came in on Saturday morning and easily set up camp; well, everyone except the Cubmaster. I have a two-person backpacking tent, the Hex-2 from Alps Mountaineering, which I love concept of it because there are no poles for it. The tent uses trekking poles, and tension is set using the guy lines to put it up. The tent never goes up easily for me—maybe it’s user error. The tent does keep the rain out, I’ve seen several lose this battle—I do not. I recommend Alps Mountaineering; it’s a great company that helps scouts. I ordered a brand new plain dome tent, made from recycled material, from them—I’m sticking with conventional poles now!
I had the scouts bring brown bag lunches so we could start the day’s activities quickly. The day was filled with fishing, a nature hike, teaching how to make a fire, playing games, including Backyard Bass (Scouting America Certified Angling Instructor, I will likely do an article on this game alone in the future). And before we knew it, it was time to start making dinner and winding down for the night! Backyard Bass is so popular with the kids, I had to put it away, so they would help make dinner, and they still asked to get it out.
Below is a video of a PE class using Backyard Bass for its unit on
The evening's menu was spaghetti with meat sauce and garlic bread. I taught the Cubs the three-pot method of cleaning our dishes. Finally, it was time to start winding down for the night.
It did get cold during the night, but it was still April. I brought my 20-degree Kelty Cosmic down sleeping bag. I started a little too toasty when I went to bed, but the middle-of-the-night lows did not affect me; from what I was told the next morning, some were not as fortunate. I woke up early the next morning. During the night, my son had kicked off his sleeping bag and used a blanket on his pad, so he was a little chilly. I unzipped my bag and lay it over him for a blanket—he got nice and comfortable.
It was a beautiful Spring morning by Lake Springfield at Camp Illinek. I paused for a moment to take in the view—this is part of the magic of camping—and the sounds of the morning. The moment of silence from human activity to take in the sounds of nature waking up and the dawn chorus of nature’s choir—birds!
The next morning, I broke out the Dutch Oven and cooked Mountain Man Breakfast for the Scouts. I lined the Dutch Oven with tinfoil so we could make a quick exit in the morning. The breakfast is more or less a casserole, with the main ingredients being eggs, sausage, and hashbrowns. The recipe includes red peppers, onion, and minced garlic, giving it a good palate profile. One of the Pack’s fellow leaders commented on the excellence of the breakfast, so I highly recommend trying it when you’re on your next camping trip.
The Pack broke camp before 10 a.m. on Sunday. A Scout has a duty to God, so I wanted to ensure our Scouts could attend church services with their parents in Springfield before the pilgrimage event at Lincoln’s tomb picked back up at 12:20 p.m. So, I attended Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, not too far away from Oak Ridge Cemetery, where Lincoln’s tomb is located, where I met my wife and daughter, and then we headed to the tomb. The end of the pilgrimage is approximately 2 miles, so we staged one of our vehicles at the Cathedral, a few city blocks away from the end of the pilgrimage route at the Old State Capitol.
When we arrived at Lincoln’s tomb, we saw a sea of Scouts looking to pay honor to the legacy of the 16th President of the United States. We began the march toward the Old State Capitol Building around 12:40 p.m. The event is always exciting for Scouts in the area. There is traditionally such a concentration of Scouts in a single area, it’s great for anyone who participates in the Scouting program to take part in the event to feel the spirit of Scouting unfold in real time. During my youth, I remember being told that it’s typically the largest single-day event for scouting attendance. The most recent statistic I’ve heard is 1000 Scouts from eight states—another successful event.
So, what about gear? The new gear I brought on this campout is the Yoke Outdoors Chuck Box, Klymit Static V2 sleeping pad, and the Swiss Tech Battery Bank.
The Chuck Box is pricey, but growing up in Scouting, one of the main features of camp was the Patrol Box. Instructions on how to build one are in the Patrol Leader Handbook, written by Green Bar Bill Hillcourt. In my opinion, the Patrol Box is an outdated camping option. We’ve inherited two of them, and they’ve aged through the years and weigh a lot. I searched the internet for another option, like maybe one that’s made lighter, and discovered the Yoke Outdoors Chuck Box, made in the USA in Minnesota. Our leaders were impressed with The Chuck Box because it is sleek for camping—there is no wasted space, but it is designed so you can bring your kitchen camping supplies along the way, including your Coleman stove. I am happy to move on to this updated Chuck Box for our units. I give it my highest recommendation.
The Klymit V2 sleeping pad’s best feature is how small it packs down for the avid backpacker. It is a little over the size of a softball that you can hold in a single hand. Honestly, I say sleeping comfort is above average. It’s probably the best night’s sleep I’ve had since returning to Scouting and the camp life. So, if you’re looking to save space in your pack and also have the opportunity to get a good night’s sleep, then give this pad a try. The way it is designed, by putting air in cell pockets, allows your body to disperse its weight evenly on the pad, with the addition of letting it pack down small.
Finally, the Swiss Tech Battery Bank! Of course, I want to take pictures of our Pack to recruit new Scouts and show them all the fun things Scouting is all about, but my phone ran out of battery for the weekend. Our local Walmart is beginning a remodel, so it had a lot of items on clearance to make space, and I found this battery pack. It’s excellent for its purpose. When I went to sleep, I plugged my phone into the bank at night, and it was fully charged by 5 a.m. the next morning.
What’s next? June Father’s Day Fishing Derby, teaching Scouting America’s Angling Educator Course three times this summer (twice during summer camp), and in the Fall, I am teaching the Certified Angling Instructor course to complete my Director’s ticket. Stay tuned!
Are you Interested in Fishing? Data suggests that Scouting America’s National Fishing program strengthens your Troop or Pack’s program by allowing your units to recruit new Scouts, retain the ones you have, and reactivate Scouts. If you’re a Scouting America leader interested in finding an Angling Educator Course to start holding unit Fishing derbies, leave a comment below. I will help you find a course!
Abraham Lincoln Council, Lincoln Pilgrimage 80th Anniversary Pilgrimage Guide, Springfield Scout Office, 2025.