Who's going in 2016?

[ed dzierzak]

Thought I’d start this since Jamie started one for 2017.

Council Contingent 613-R1&2
Charleston, WV

[Jon McCoid]

We’re two weeks behind ya Ed.  Troop 413 from Arroyo Grande, CA will be 630-K1&2.

[Aubrey W. Bogard]

Troop 326, Trinity Trails District, Longhorn Council, is taking 1 Crew on a lottery Trek, 708-B.

I went to the Philmont Advisors Skills School on Sunday.  I highly recommend this if you are a newby like me.

[ed dzierzak]

For newbies, I recommend the “Philmont Advisors Guide” edited by Mimi Hatch.

http://www.bacphilmont.org/pag.html

Cheap at the price. More information then you would have thought possible. Put together and published for number of years by who have been there and done that. Updates yearly.

I’ll be on my 8th trek and will be going to the PAW in Cincinnati next month. I’m curious what will be discussed.

@ Aubrey – Did you do the Field-PASS (10 hour)?

[Jon McCoid]

+1 on Mimi’s book.  We have some Philmont experienced Scouts and adults, but this guide still brings up things you might not think of.

[ed dzierzak]

I looked at our roster last night.
Crew 1 –
3 adults (kind of)
6 youth
Experience – 9 previous treks (adult1 has 7, adult2 has 2, Scouts – none)
BTW, I’m the crazy one with 7 treks, my sister (adult female) is only
slightly crazy. She came along for a coed crew and has stayed.

Crew 2 –
3 adults
6 youth
Experience – 1 previous trek (adult1, Scouts – none)

It should be an interesting trek for each crew.
Our first overnight/shakedown is next month. Hike 5 miles out, set up at a primitive site, hike 5 miles back the next day. We don’t want them to burn out too early…

It’s nice to see Philmont is taking a more active approach to Advisor training. I do like the Shakedown Guides they’ve put on the site.

[Bruce Tolley]

How do you folks get to go to Philmont so many times?  Our Troop keeps applying every year but seems to be accepted only about once every 3 years.

[ed dzierzak]

I’m a Council Contingent Coordinator. Units have to go through the Lottery. Councils place their reservations prior to the Lottery. Many larger Councils send Contingents (some quite large) annually.

That said, the past few years have had Philmont burn through the wait list and offer open treks. Unfortunately, it’s usually too late for units to plan.

http://philmontscoutranch.org/~/link.aspx?_id=DA2125B7939848499B01770577D50C69&_z=z

[Jay L]

Contingent 705-L from Hawkeye Area Council.  Have a full crew with 9 youth and 3 adults.  Two adults and 1 youth have been before, the rest are all first-timers.

 

 

 

[eli Kelehan]

715-U-1

Baltimore, MD

10 and 2

3 youth and 1 adult (Not me) have been in the past.

Sitting at 13lbs or so before food and water (but with the 1.7lb crew FA kit)

[Aubrey W. Bogard]

@ Aubrey – Did you do the Field-PASS (10 hour)?

ed d.:  Affirmative.  I’ve read all that I could find, including the valuable Advisors’ Guide mentioned above, but having an opportunity to see Philmont’s Crew Gear and to ask specific questions of the Chief Ranger was very beneficial for me.

[Dan T]

627-B 1&2  Troop 450 Ellendale, TN

[ed dzierzak]

613-R1 – The kids picked their top 5 last Saturday.
11
12
21
3
5
Looks like they like guns…
We’ll see what they end up with in 2 weeks…

[Mel Tolentino]

Taking two sister crews win my youngest son, C727-S. This will be my third trek.

First trek was in 2009 with my oldest son, and  then took two sister crews with oldest and middle son in 2011.

 

[Jon Lannom]

Troop 339 from Texas Skies District in Circle 10 is trek 611-O-05.  We have 14 in our crew – 5 adults and 9 scouts; and now we’re waiting to see which itinerary that we will get this week.  The boys selected their top six and prioritized them for me to input.  If there are any other 611 Crews out there please let me know.

Also, if any of you have your gear list finalized please feel free to share it over on “Gear List” on the “Gear Forum”.  I’m starting a new thread there titled “Philmont 2016 Gear List” so please add yours.  Thanks!

[Dave Ebert]

714-F-01/02/03/04/05

5 crews all from Venture Crew 58, Davidson, NC

Prior to that I went in 2012 and 2014 leading the Council Contingent from Crossroads of America Council (Central Indiana).

 

[Edgar M]

621-Echo.  Troop 29 Mobile, AL

1 Adult and 2 scouts have been before.  My son and I went in 2013.  Another scout went in 2014.

[Jay L]

Our itinerary selection window was this morning – we got our first choice of itinerary 28.  Nearly identical to my last trek but that’s okay – it is all new to the Scouts.    Only 77 days till we’re HOmE.

 

 

[Jon Lannom]

Our selection was this morning also and we got our first choice – #29.  It’s in the north part of the ranch – 84 miles and includes Baldy.  The Scouts are happy but some of the adults that have been there before are dreading day seven which includes a 10 mile hike with over 3,500′ in elevation gain.  I’m getting ready to go back over my gear list to see what I can eliminate to get my base weight down even more :-)

There are no dry camps so we shouldn’t have to worry about carrying excess water.  The good news is that up until day 7 it’s a pretty level trek with not much elevation changes – should give everyone a chance to acclimate before the big push.  Here’s a link to it: Itinerary 29

I hope everyone gets an Itinerary they like!

[Steve G]

BSA Troop 701 — Bangkok Thailand — 02-14 July

7 Scouts / 4 Adults — One Scout went two years ago — the rest of us are Philmont newbies

We have Trek 20 — Google Earth overview is attached.  Blue path is the side hike to Baldy summit.

I’d love to hear from anyone going on same trek or who has good advice for Valle Vidal Trek.  I am reading everything I can and talking to as many people as possible.  We are climbing a lot of stairs with packs to prepare for Baldy.  We’ll spend a few days in Colorado prior to Philmont to acclimate and get over jet lag.  Good luck to everyone and look forward to meeting new Scouts.  — Steve

[Brian T]

Troop 81 Topsfield, MA
Trek #33 on 8/7
7 Scouts, 4 Adults
Doing the Blue Sky High Adventure package for the 2 days before the trek.

[William Harmon]

@groversan

Sounds like a wonderful trek! For the Valle Vidal you will be practicing LNT camping, even when you stay at a staff camp. The Valle Vidal is relatively flat with several massive meadows (10-20 minutes to walk across). I strongly encourage that you don’t follow the roads in the Valle Vidal. They may be easier to follow than bushwhacking but they’re hard on the feet and they don’t give the Scouts a chance to practice orienteering. The bushwhack really isn’t that bad, as the Valle Vidal is mostly either open meadow or pine forests with little to no brush to whack through.

When you go from Whiteman Vega to Dan Beard I suggest you don’t actually go to the McCrystal Creek LNT Campsite. It’s out of the way and there shouldn’t be anything to actually mark it besides a sign. That’s a long day as is so it wouldn’t make much sense to add distance, unless your crew wants to go up there. I suggest you just go back to Ring Place and then head South to Beatty Lakes and then South-South-East to Dan Beard. Last year Beatty Lakes actually had a lake so I highly suggest you go through there. Also ask the Whiteman Vega and Ring Place staff about the best route to take, especially between the two camps, because they will know the area well.

One final piece of advice is to cross fences when you come to them. It’s the West so you might assume a fence marks a private property boundary but you would have to be extremely off-track to come to a private property fence in the Valle Vidal. It’s all National Forest land so you’re free to roam it however you see fit. I one followed a fence nearly 1.5 miles out of my way because I was looking for an opening. Just pass your packs over the top and either go under or over but use your judgement when you do so. No point in getting hurt climbing a small fence. Have fun on your trek and I might see you down there!

[Tony Ronco]

Troop 15, San Diego – Imperial Council
Itinerary 16
Driving to Philmont

[Steve G]

@witlain

Thanks William — really appreciate the advice about the Vale (!)  Good luck to you and your crew.  Steve

[Tony Ronco]

Just a FYI …

According to a Philmont e-blast I got,  the most popular Itineraries for 2016 were:

Itinerary 23

Itinerary 22

Itinerary 19

Itinerary 24

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