Philmont 2021 Trip

[spencer rifle]

Spent 12 days backpacking at Philmont, NM with the youngest's scout troop. He was the crew leader. Longest hike was about 8 miles, greatest elevation gain in one day was about 2,400 feet. We did the northern part, including day hiking up Baldy Mountain (12,441'). There just isn't enough air for an old man up there! Two dry camps, two up on a ridgeline, some very nice places. Logistics and communication from staff was occasionally sorely lacking. Food was mostly meh. COVID was the handy excuse for many unavailable activities. We did get to reload shells and shoot shotguns a little.
Wildlife seen included:
Black bear
horned lizard
fence lizard
bombardier beetles
Small cicadas
raven
magpie
golden eagle
turkey
turkey vulture
mule deer
pronghorn antelope
mini bears (chipmunks)
nighthawk
Steller's jay
gray jay

 

[Alamo]

Good deal! I went to Philmont as a 14yo Scout from Brown County Indiana in 1974. So 47 years ago? Holy smokes.

Was a great experience. I worked at Maumee Reservation on the staff during summers, but the trip to Philmont was the first time I did any kind of serious journey without my parents. So it was memorable experience in a couple ways. Bus ride all the way. Dodged a mugging or worse in the OKC bus station.

I slept through our only encounter with a bear, but plenty of other wildlife. Came nearly face-to-face with a deer when I walked around a BIG bush on the way to get water from a stream during one of our dry camps. Deer look a lot less bambi-like when you're head-on to a rack full of points! Happily we both decided to travel other paths. Don't remember what elevation we got to, but it was hard to breath and carry five gallons of water even for fit 14yo.

The hiking and scenery was great, was really lucky to have been able to do it.

It's especially good that you got to do with with your son, and he got to do it with you. That's awesome.

 

[rosejm]

Sounds like an excellent adventure!
You even survived the terrible Ponil water table.

 

[Southbendfamily]

now you have the proper bona fides to put the bull's tail over your shoulder. Beautiful country out there. I've served as staff at the Training Center a couple of times for Key 3 Leaders, and with the LNT courses. Need to find my way back out there before I can't.
- used to be a beaver, a good ole' beaver too.

 

[spencer rifle]

Not included above is the "religious" experience that follows.
Our last night before hiking out we were playing "cow ball" - a variant of volleyball - at Chase Cow Camp. I can never resist a game of volleyball in whatever form. While going for a short ball, I happened to step hard on the back of the camper's boot in front of me. Result - sprained ankle. See pics below of it two days later. Staff iced and wrapped it and gave me 400 mg ibuprofen. I rewrapped it and slept well that night. The troop put me in front so we would only go as fast as I could and took some of my pack contents, which just so happened to be lighter than usual since we were hiking out that day. Hiked out 5.6 miles in 2.5 hours, fortunately all on "roads," such as they were. I couldn't have done any climbs or rocky trails. About halfway through I mostly stopped hurting, but I still had to watch my steps carefully.

On to the religious part. I had been praying not to injure my ankles or knees the whole trip, since if I went down the trip was over for everyone. I had no injuries or twists for 11 days, just some hip pain from old age. Immediately after I got hurt, the Texas troop we were camping with got together to pray for me. At different times scouts from the Texas troop and our sister troop (57 from Aurora IL) offered to take my pack or any items I wanted to unload. They didn't just offer, but came to our camp with scouts who were willing and able to help. We managed to get everything distributed among our troop.

So scouts had the opportunity to put actions to their high-sounding words, we all had a chance to see prayer and charity in action, I got to push some limitations, and God did something well-nigh miraculous. Sure, He could hide behind the wrapping or the ibuprofen or the lighter pack or the smoother roads, but I know what I saw and felt. If I had to get injured, the timing couldn't have been better.

 

[pitbulld45]

Thanks for the writeup, I always wanted to go as a scout but never got the opportunity, my cousin and Uncle both did it.

 

[pitbulld45]

and I know God answers prayer!