DURHAM - The story of Boy Scout Troop 451 is etched in black marker on the inside roof of Jim Salamon's 15-passenger bus.

Here you'll find, in Salamon's scrawl, a list of all the places these Durham scouts have gone. Among all the more predictable 300-mile round trips to nearby state forests, one jaunt stands out.

Alaska. 2004. 11,778 miles.

That was the first of two trips Salamon, Troop 451's longtime Scoutmaster, took with a group of his Scouts to Prudhoe Bay, which is about as far north as you can go in the United States.

Why? you ask.

Why not? Salamon would reply. How else would these young men get to swim in the Arctic Ocean?

"This is all the stuff I wish I'd done when I was a kid," says Salamon, 57. "Simple as that."

As summer approaches, Salamon is preparing his Scouts for yet another season of on-the-road adventure the lengths of which would make the folks at AAA proud. The big trip this summer will be to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, where Scouts will spend 10 days hiking and backpacking. Closer to home, they'll camp near Mount Airy, and they might go to New York City -- an unlikely camping destination, but one his Scouts took an interest in a couple of years ago while touring the East Coast with some Scouts from England.

A native of Ohio, Salamon spent 25 years as a Navy bombardier and navigator and retired in 1992. He would have been a pilot, he says in jest, if he didn't have so much trouble landing on an aircraft carrier. He eventually moved to North Carolina and in December 1994 took over as Troop 451's Scoutmaster. A lifelong bachelor, Salamon lives on a country road in Mebane and makes a few bucks driving a bus for the Orange County school system. Mostly, he immerses himself in the daily goings-on of Troop 451.

The bus is his. He spent more than $40,000 on it and is currently fighting with the state, which does not consider it tax deductible. It is dotted with bumper stickers that say such things as "I traveled the Alaska Highway and survived."

Last year, he spent 76 nights away from home on Scouting trips. He donates his own canoes and kayaks. When the Scouts travel, they camp wherever they can -- a town square, the basement of a Salamon family member's home, even a military base, which Salamon can get into because he is a retired Navy officer.

Deep commitment

When the English troop visited last year, Salamon picked them up in his vehicle at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. Then he showed them around the country. He drove them to North Carolina, to an Ohio amusement park and to Niagara Falls.

Scouts, their parents and others who work with the troop marvel at Salamon's commitment.

"He lives, eats and breathes Scouting," said Brendan Turner, the troop's committee chairman. "I just don't think there's anyone like him around."

For his 10th anniversary as Scoutmaster, the troop gave him a scrapbook full of letters from former Scouts and their parents. They depict a close, friendly, respectful relationship.

One Scout wrote: "You have given me the rare gift of being able to take risks and welcome responsibility. My best memory to date is of my 16th birthday that was absolutely made by you showing up at my door with my Eagle Scout award."

Though he admits there's a broad generation gap, Salamon tries to relate to the kids. On road trips, Scouts pass the time watching movies, and Salamon has slowly become a fan of the Harry Potter series.

David Johnson was about 12 when he first met Salamon in the late 1970s in Florida. Johnson grew up in a single-parent household, and Salamon -- then Scoutmaster of a troop in Pensacola -- became his default father figure.

"He basically built my character," said Johnson, 41, an Air Force lieutenant colonel in Oklahoma City. "He's a very moral, responsible man. He just lives all the Scouting principles he teaches. I know it sounds corny, but in Jim's case, it's true."

Salamon is now godfather to Johnson's two young children.

Friendship, authority

Parents say Salamon walks that tightrope between friend and authority figure. He'll joke with Scouts one minute, put them in their place the next if they need it

"We live in a society of positive reinforcement," said Steve Musick, the troop treasurer and the father of a 13-year-old Scout, Isaac. "Jim's not afraid to let them know what he thinks. He'll kick them in the pants a little, figuratively speaking."

Scouting is rife with rules, and Salamon follows them closely -- for the most part. But he also has an independent streak forged in the Navy, where, he said, he was always taught to seek the possible.

That's why he carried a rifle with him when he took a group of Scouts camping in rural Alaska.

"The Boy Scouts of America would freak if they knew I was carrying a weapon," he said. "But what if you ran into a bear or a moose or something? I'm not going to use a rule to not do something that would keep them safe."

This attitude has created a certain image for Salamon. A former Boy Scouts administrator once branded his troop "maverick." But his Scouts say Salamon is very safety-conscious and makes a point of involving parents and other adult volunteers on trips.

Andrew Chase, now 21, became an Eagle Scout several years ago under Salamon's tutelage. He went to New Mexico three times and Alaska once while a part of Troop 451, and now helps out as an adult volunteer.

"It's incredible what he's put into this troop," said Chase, a student at Western Carolina University. "You're not going to find another Scoutmaster in the country like Jim."

The troop's adventures are documented on its Web site, www.Troop451Durham.org.