Duluth, Minnesota — This wasn’t a bad dream, especially for Isaac Oatman and those who knew him. The pandemic started when he was 12 years old, and as a skylark, he decided to sleep his 10 nights outside. That was him in April 2020. When the first task was accomplished, he decided he could run longer and did so.
Rain, wind, hail, snow, heat and humidity in the summer, midwinter.
There was a flavor of winter nights that stood out in Isaac Oatman’s memory.
“It was 38 degrees below and I was in a hammock by Lake Pecan, with two under quilts, two over quilts, and a down sleeping bag.
was it cold? Not really I was warm.
On Thursday night, Isaac built an igloo-like building with his mom and dad, where he spent his thousandth night.
We asked Melissa Oatman about her son. “Is this your son? Yes. What were you thinking? We support what we are doing.”
Isaac is a Boy Scout and his dad is a Scout leader. His unit has about 30 members. Early on, Isaac challenged the other scouts to stay outside with him for as long as he intended to.
Clark Garthwaite, District Director of the Voyageur Regional Council of Boy Scouts, is very proud of Isaac. “He set his goals and that’s part of the Scout. He’s reached outside his comfort zone, he’s set his goals and he’s been doing it. That’s what a Scout does.” .”
Isaac’s father Andrew says his son is very determined to succeed in whatever he does. So this is just one of many he’s done.” His dad says Isaac has grown about eight inches and has matured.
So everyone involved seemed fine with spending this thousand nights outdoors. But it took another Boy Scout, Joshua Christensen, to voice what many would be thinking. “
I know it’s silly, but I respect that he’s outside 1,000 days in the middle of winter, or very hot and humid, regardless of the temperature. “
This is not the end of Isaac Oatman sleeping under the stars. He will at least go to the Boy Scout Jamboree.
