From: Dr. Bob Klein (drbob@troop111.org)
Date: Thu Aug 29 2002 - 16:39:29 CDT
Opinions below.
smith.13@nd.edu wrote:
> 1. What is the recommended temperature range for sleeping bags to be
> used at Philmont?
Depends on what trek you're doing and what you normally do at your home
base. Don't buy a specific temperature rated sleeping bag "just" for
Philmont - you can make do with just about anything that most Scouts
normally have. I would say most people can get away with about a 30
degree bag, unless you're cold-blooded (and know it), in which case go
to a 15 degree bag. That's the generic statement that will cover pretty
much all of Philmont. If you know your trek, check the altitude of the
campsites where you'll be staying. If you have multiple sites above
9,000 feet elevation, or especially if you have 1 or more sites above
10,000 feet elevation (Copper Park, Mt. Phillips, etc.), you can
reasonably expect some chilly nights. Temps in the 20's are routine,
and teens are not unheard of. Next (believe it or not), your tent style
is also important - if you have a very tight and low ceiling tent, it
will be *much* warmer inside versus a dome tent or an A-frame with a
high peak. A tight tent is equal to at least a 10 degree better bag,
and maybe 15 degrees. The time of the trek is also important - early to
mid-June treks tend to be cooler, and August treks tend to be wetter
(though not lately). The addition of a set of lightweight thermal
underwear can be brought to augment a regular sleeping bag in all such
cases. Or you can go with heavier bags if you have them. The flip side
of heavy bags is that you can sweat pretty good at the lower elevation
campsites (e.g., Clark's Fork and also BaseCamp) where it can
occasionally still be in the 80's at sunset. I have often started a
night out on top of my sleeping bag at low elevation sites, and not
gotten inside til 2 or 3 am, when it finally got a little chilly.
> 2. What is the *lower* limit of room in a backpack (cubic inches) needed.
Here is the generic statement from my Philmont Equipment List: Smaller
trekkers should use about 4000 c.i. external frame packs/4500 c.i.
internal frame packs. Add 500 c.i. to these values for medium sized
trekkers, and 1000 c.i. for large sized trekkers.
> A non-Philmont backpacking question...
> We have a second group of younger scouts going on short backpacking trip
> while the Philmont crew is in New Mexico. We are looking to buy
> inexpensive tents ($30-$50 range) for each scout, adding it into the fee
> for this trip and letting them keep the tents. Has any troop done this
> in the past?
I have not but a number of Troops that have reported to this and the
bowline.org list in the past have done so, or have purchased inexpensive
tents for all the shakedowns and Philmont, and sold them to their Scouts
at half price after the trek (since only half the Scouts can buy the
tents, this may be the better way to go). Of course, if your Troop
plans to do a backpacking adventure each summer, you may wish to keep
the tents exclusively for those events. Most lightweight tents lack
durability, so they get destroyed pretty quick if they're used for
regular Tommy Tenderfoot car-camping by younger boys who don't
understand proper tent care. Troop 111 has Eureka Timberlites for
exclusive use on our backpacking and wilderness canoeing adventure
treks. You may wish to consider this option rather than selling your
backpacking tents, at least if you have a Scout closet that has the
required space to properly store them.
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