A group of scouts from the Salina area is among 30,000 participants at the 2013 Boy Scout National Jamboree. The Salina scouts left earlier this week for the event, which begins Monday.

The new home of the Boy Scouts of America’s national Jamboree in West Virginia offers miles of bike trails, zip lines, rock climbing and Olympic-size pools. And to get there from base camp, Scouts must walk.

Exercise is part of the organization’s focus on combating obesity, and that includes the 10-day Jamboree that starts Monday.

This year, 30,000 participants ages 12 to 20 and their leaders were required to meet a threshold for body mass index and other health factors before being allowed to participate.

It’s the first time the Jamboree is being held in West Virginia after nearly three decades at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia.

Boy Scouts’ Summit Group director Dan McCarthy says the site was designed for Scouts to walk to various venues.

Follow the progress of the Salina scouts:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/150905165028690/?ref=ts&fref=ts