From: Dr. Bob Klein (drbob@troop111.org)
Date: Wed Apr 17 2002 - 18:16:34 CDT
Naturally, I have some comments, hopefully not too duplicative. The key
to any great Philmont trek is not the trek that was selected, the sizes
or ages of the Scouts, or the physical limitations of the Advisors -
it's *preparation*. By picking a high number/high difficulty trek, your
Scouts have mandated the requirement for a very high degree of Crew and
personal preparation.
At our recent Council sponsored Philmont training, I was asked what I
thought were the 3 most important keys to a successful Philmont trek
(lucky thing they didn't ask for the 10 most important things, or we'd
still be there); my immediate answers were:
A) Build Your Team! - As I have oft stated in this and the bowline
forum, the best Philmont Crews are built at home, *not* at Philmont. It
is amazing how many people believe shakedown events are for physical
preparation; that is an absolutely trivial aspect of your shakedown
training. You do your training every day, not on 2 or 3 shakedown
weekends. By far the more important purpose of shakedowns is getting
everyone functioning as a TEAM - learning your equipment, learning the
Philmont-style camping protocols, and learning each others strenths and
weaknesses. This is why allowing Scouts and Adults to skip shakedowns
is so destructive. Your Crew should be ticking like a Rolex by the time
you step on the plane.
B) Get In BACKPACKING Shape! (especially the Adults) - Again, you have
seen this topic beat to death in this forum - and there's a reason why:
it makes a huge difference in your ability to hike comfortably, to make
programs on time, and (maybe most importantly) to have something left in
the tank at the end of the day, when you pull into camp. The statistics
on Advisors is grim; 50% have done virtually nothing, 30% haven't done
enough, 10% have done just enough, and 10% have done more than
necessary. An out-of-shape Advisor is letting down his TEAM, not only
in his/her inability to keep up, but also in missed programs, lost
opportunities to do extra activities, and in (usually) being in a foul
mood most of the trek because he/she is hurting so bad. And ditto for
the Scouts. Sports training (the usual excuse) is *not* Philmont
training - it does nothing to toughen up hips or shoulders, or condition
knees, ankles, and feet to a significantly heavier weight load or a
considerably different hiking posture. The only way to get in
backpacking shape is to backpack, a lot.
I have already hiked 350 miles this year, about half of that with 40
pounds on my back. Yes, you're reading that right. OK, so I'm nuts.
But I completed an Alonzo Stagg 50/20 Hike (50 miles in 20 hours) five
weeks ago, and I just finished the 25 mile Bataan Death March 60th
Anniversary Memorial Hike at the White Sands Missile Range this past
Sunday, in vicious sun and heat, high altitude, dry like I've never
seen, including 1,500 feet of elevation, and including 15 miles of
sand-pit trails. Oh joy. But I beat about 2,000 soldiers to the finish
line, most of whom were a lot younger and tougher than I ever was in my
whole life. But I had prepped and they hadn't. PLEASE take the lesson
from that!
C) Get Your Pack Weights DOWN! - Cooper mentioned that we will walk out
of Basecamp averaging under 40 pounds per man. Actually, I will be
disappointed if we aren't averaging under 35 pounds per man (because I
will have a Crew of 12 this summer, which helps spread the load). Yet
we will be as well equipped as anyone out there, and better than most.
And no, we're not Ray Jardine insane. But we rigorously weigh
everything, scrupulously eliminate duplicative gear, and use every trick
we know to minimize weight and maximize versatility in both personal and
Crew gear. Use all the hints you get here and elsewhere to get your
pack weights down to the absolute minimum.
My Crew this year consists of two 8th graders, seven 9th graders, and
one 10th grader. Four members will need weight relief, but six of us
are backpacking gorillas, and the last two can hold their own. So, the
four who need help will be between 25 and 30 pounds, the two that can
hold their own will be around 35 pounds, and the the rest of us will be
around 40 pounds. Every member of the Crew is taller than I am, so I
expect to (once again) be half-jogging up the trail after these
racehorses. We'll know better after our shakedowns. [And that, BTW, is
why I'm half killing myself getting ready.]
To answer your one specific question directly, vary the "base" weights
based on permanent Crew gear, and share around the food. That way,
everyone gets some benefit as the overall Crew food weight decreases.
Give the string-beans the light, bulky items, and less food - and the
gorillas the dense, heavy items, and more food (again, figure out who's
carrying what "base" gear on your shakedowns). This works fine, and has
the added advantage that everyone knows who's carrying what, during the
entire trek (a helpful organizational protocol).
Finally, what happens if you determine on your shakedowns that your Crew
really is simply overmatched, and that nothing short of 2 months of
Marine Boot Camp is gonna get your Crew up to tackling the trek you
selected? Is all lost?
Of course not. CALL PHILMONT and talk to Doug Palmer, and see if you
can trade your trek in for something more reasonable. There may not be
much left to select from, but they're all great treks, and better you
take something you can handle rather than "overtrek" and end up on a
Death March. Remember, Philmont has your best interests at heart, and
they will do everything they can to accommodate you - obviously, they
don't want to have to yank half your Crew off the trail.
Good Luck to You and Your Crew. Make your own luck - prepare hard!
- Dr. Bob Klein, SM-111, Arlington, VA
Gary Dodge wrote:
>
> Our crew is entirely new to Philmont trekking and we need a couple of
> questions answered (so far!).
>
> First, our scouts have just made their selections of treks and we're
> about to send the choices in, hoping for availability. The concern,
> however, is that their selections are all at the very high end of the
> difficulty scale. We (the advisors) are worried that they may have been
> overly optimistic about their own capabilities (not to mention ours!).
> None of these boys have done any extensive, multi-day backpacking trips
> in the past. In their quest to fully exploit the Philmont experience,
> are they going to make themselves too miserable to enjoy anything? How
> should we counsel them?
>
> Second, we have a couple of scouts participating who are pretty small
> (~120 lbs). They, of course, haven't expressed any concern about the
> necessary pack weights, but their parents have. We've heard conflicting
> answers about how the assignment of crew equipment is done. We've been
> told (by those parents) that they've heard that the equipment/food will
> be divided so that nobody has a pack weight > 30% of their body weight.
> We've also heard that the equipment/food will be distributed evenly and
> each will carry approximately the same load. Obviously both answers
> can't be correct. Can someone help us out based on actual recent
> experience with crews of various size/age boys?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Gary Dodge
> Old and feeble, but still a fox!
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