[philmont] (No Subject)

Subject: itinerary modifications - revisited
 
Kevin Mineart wrote…
 
WOW!! Thanks for the great advice guys!! Those are all much better suggestions! I had completely forgotten that Shaefer's is famous for being 'semi-dry' and water will definitely be an issue on the last day going from NFU to Base over the Tooth (and yes, we will be planning to climb the Tooth and with Shaefer's peak only about 300 to 400 feet higher than the trail, there's no reason not to at least 'run' up it.) One of the 'program features' that my mostly 14 & 15 year old crew selected was 'climbing the most peaks' so I'm trying to accommodate that in my initial planning so that all the options can be readily available for suggestion if needed on the trail. From what you have all said, we will definitely be staying at North Fork Urraca in order to #1 'camel up' before heading up the trail and #2 make sure our water reserves are appropriate for the 10 or 11 mile hike in the last day.
 
Looking at my poster/map, another option would be to side hike Black Mountain on the layover day and then take the Trail Peak-Fowler Pass-Crater-Miner's-NFU route on day 11 <snip>
 
 
Joe Jansen added…
 
One point to reflect on is the possibility that Philmont may reroute an itinerary in case of necessity caused by some natural cause such as weather. <Snip>
 
I highly recommend that in trek planning you have a Plan B (and a Plan C) in mind. If Philmont needs to reroute your trek for some reason you will have a basis for discussion to get the trek that suits your needs.
 
 
And Bacon, Bruce commented…
 
Regarding the comment "From what you have all said, we will definitely be staying at North Fork Urraca <snip>
 
I notice your excitement upon discovering a logical route on your trek. Imagine how confident your crew will be when they "discover" the same thing through your guidance by asking them thinking questions.
 
Not trying to be picky (I apologize if it appear so), however, I picked up a vibe common to the not-too-elusive-Adult-Advisor-that-decides-the-route syndrome. A word to the wise - Be careful not to make the decision for them.
 
Comments…
 
One of my roles at Patriots’ Path Council’s Watchu weekend is to coordinate the Trail Planning Sessions, where each crew sits down with an experience trekker to discuss their trek. One thing we stress is to know not only your trek but the camps and routes NEAR your trek in case Philmont has to modify the normal route (if your trek moves from one section of the ranch to another like in the Fire situation of 2002, that may not be of much help…)
 
A second is to explore all the options, like Kevin is doing. And while the CREW probably will decide before arriving what their preferred route is, the actual decision is made the night before (or while one the trail) depending on other factors like physical conditions and weather – have Plan B (and C, D, and however many are logical) in your pockets.
 
A third is that you can’t forget water. Your plan MUST include knowing the sources available.
 
Just like the Advisor with the crew, the Trail Planners do not make the decisions. They answer questions, make suggestions, and point out the pros and cons of various options – if you go here you can do this program but you’ll ____ (fill in whatever it is).
 
Lastly, regarding Black Mountain and Trail Peak, until last year I never heard of someone sidehiking Black instead of Trail, but I know it has been down. Climbing Black is the one goal of our Autumn Adventure next year (one of the group like bagging peaks, and it is calling to him after we circled it last year) and I am now thinking of all the options of how to do it. A sidehike from Beaubien will be one of them.
 
And a story. My 2003 trip was with a provisional Scoutreach crew, one of two doing the same short itinerary in July (the Crew Leader showing up at Staff Camps with an eight day route had to explain it every time). Day 4 was Crater Lake to Beuabien, with a food pickup at Phillips Junction. The other crew decided to head to Fish Camp for program there, up to PJ for food, then to Beaubien. My crew wanted to do Trail Peak. We did not have a layover at Beaubien and also needed to do our conservation project that day. THEY decided to do Trail Peak with packs, going up the old trail from Fowler Pass. I described that trail for them, but that’s what they wanted to do. My “bud” that night was “Tomorrow is going to be an interesting day,” and it was with that hike and still needing a food pickup and a cons project.

--
Al Thomson, Troop 236, 
Schooley's Mountain, NJ 
Treks 1999, 2001, 2003 
Autumn Adventures 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006
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