Tuesday, July 28, 2009

The High Adventure Begins





We are beginning our journey to Philmont with a 3-day backpacking trip to Shining Rock August 6-9. Mr. Brown will act as our Guide and Ranger as we start working on our Philmont skills. The first order of business is getting up and out of camp quickly. The only thing we are worried about first thing in the morning is breaking down our camp and leaving it clean, our breakfast will be eaten at our first long break. Doing this accomplishes a number of things for the crew. First, we’ll get out on the trail as quickly as possible. A quick and early start to the day means that we will be walking in the cooler part of the day and we are motivated to get to our first real stop so we can eat breakfast. In addition, eating breakfast at the first long break is a great time saver.



Why is saving time important? At Philmont the sooner you get to your destination, the sooner you can put your name on the list to do the cool programs at your next camp site (first come first served).

Another thing that will be worked on is trail discipline. The Rangers at Philmont will require us to stay together as a crew on the trail, so we will stay together on this excursion. We will have someone in the lead and no one may pass our hiking leader (any offenders will be sent to the back of the line). At any forks in the trail the group will gather until everyone is present and the group will come to a consensus about which road to follow. These methods ensure that nobody gets separated from the group and if we all take the wrong trail we will be together and have the things we need (water filter, stoves, fuel and tents).


The crew members will also start working on their duty roster skills: hanging a bear bag, setting up a dining fly, cooking, cleaning, and massaging the crew advisors’ feet.


On Saturday we will camp near a nice trout stream so bring a fishing pole if you can.


Important: you need 7 meals plus trail food. We will only use the stoves for supper Friday and Saturday night. Bring a bag supper for Thursday’s (meet at 5 at the church) ride to the Daniel Boone Scout Camp and money for our vegetarian lunch stop on Sunday.