4/15/2000 2:25 PM
All of these different things to do are located in the northeast corner of New Mexico. If you pulled out a map of the US, you would be hard pressed to find the town of Cimarron NM, but ask just about any Troop where Cimarron is and someone will tell you that’s where Philmont is.
The physical makeup of this land is special. It contains the western climate of a good dry weather pattern for the most part. During the summer you have some hot days, but stay in the shade, and life is grand. At night during the summers you are almost guaranteed a nice cool evening for perfect sleeping conditions. Rarely will it rain over night.
Don’t under estimate those mountains to amaze you! I have hiked up one canyon hearing a thunderstorm coming, yet not get touched by a drop… but come down the next canyon and it was covered in hail. Afternoon thunderstorms after mid July are usually something to set your watch by. It becomes a great motivation for getting you traveling done before noon. If you arrive before mid July, you want to get your traveling done before noon just to stay out of the heat.
Base camp of Philmont sits at about 6,700 ft above sea level. The top of Baldy sits at about 12,441 ft. In between there are many peaks above 10,000 ft. Very rarely will you find a day where you will not have to climb or descend a couple thousand feet spread over at least 6 miles in a day. This is all before you even get to a camp to take in what they have to offer there as program. (Or work depending on the camp)
What these things mean to me is to follow the Scout motto, Be Prepared. Do not go to Philmont out of shape. Do not take a new pair of boots with you thinking you will be ok. As gear goes, don’t take anything you haven’t used at least twice. (Short of the first aid kit) Make sure all the people in your crew are mentally ready for some long days. Be sure they are willing to appreciate what they are about to undertake and have the understanding to take what they have learned back home with them.
Once you get done with the trek, don’t leave everything you learned at Philmont. I was on an Eagle board of review and I asked, “What was the highlight of your Scouting career?” (Knowing he had been to Philmont, I was kind of hoping he would say that. It’s a pride thing) His response was indeed Philmont. I thought about that for a moment as he named the other guys in his crew and it dawned on me. So I asked the following question, which actually shocked him, “So, I suppose you are the last member of your Philmont crew to get Eagle then?”
I took the traditional 11 day trip, 14 day vacation in July. It was hard, not physically but mentally. After some consideration, I don't think I am going to write up my journal entries. You can check out a journal and other pictures from my trek on my troop's webpage.
[Below are thoughts and ideas I came up with as I was getting ready to go back to Philmont as a camper.]
My initial response to going back:
During the summer of 2000, I went back to Philmont with my Troop to be an advisor with the crew. I did have have the time of my life. This was a much different prospective than my first visit in 1991 as a camper. This was also a very different view than being staff for 4 summers. I tried to see what it is like to revisit just a couple years after working there. As I have said before, "it is like working with the magician. You know how the rabbit is shoved in the sleeve before the show. When you come back to see the show, you don't look for the rabbit, you see how the trick is done."
- Initial response to going back
- What I expect so far
- My history with Philmont- Why going back means something special for me. (Also see: A Brief history of what I have done at Philmont)
- What can you do at Philmont?
- What intrigues me about Philmont?