RE: [Philmont]: The Burro Issue

Regarding the use of Burros, we just returned home on Aug 10. We were on
trek # 9 our second choice. I didn't notice a shortage of burros. We
used one and it was the highlight of the trek. We didn't experience any
difficulties other then he wanted to stop and eat everything on the side
of the trail. Our scouts controlled this very well by turning him in a
circle, back on to the trail every time he tried to veer over to eat
grass. This was a very positive experience for our scouts. My suggestion
is if you do not want to take a burro, then don't sign up for the trek
that has them listed. That's a pretty simple thing.

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-philmont@troop47.com [mailto:owner-philmont@troop47.com] On
Behalf Of Phil Brown
Sent: Tuesday, August 09, 2005 5:01 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list philmont
Subject: RE: [Philmont]: The Burro Issue

I see no problem with the required taking of the burro if it is part of
the itinerary. The only issue I see is that the policy was not clear
when crews selected treks for this year. Although it was stated in some
of the Philmont literature this year, we did not take time to read the
fine print in our haste to get the trek selection cards in the mail. A
change of this nature could have been highlighted a little better and
maybe we could have read the fine print a little more closely.

Now we all know and if you do not want to have a burro, select a trek
that does not include a burro. This should not be an issue for next
year.

As for not enough burros, I heard nothing about this from the
wranglers/staff that we talked to. If there is a problem with the
number of burros, I am sure Philmont will either get more or reduce the
number of treks that have burros.

For our crew this year, I am glad they did not know of the rule about
having to take the burros. If they had, they might have not selected
the trek that they did. They selected 21 and were border line on taking
the burro. They had decided not to and then changed their mind by a 5-4
vote in favor of taking the burro (the two adults did not vote) just
after we arrived at Philmont but before we found out in Logistics that
we did not have that choice. It turned out that the burro was a
highlight of the trek. Everyone enjoyed the experience and a group of
city raised kids learned a few things about handling animals (especially
the second morning when the burro only wanted to walk in the direction
of Ponil and not towards Pueblano). When we returned to base camp, many
of our crew purchased the stuffed burros from the Tooth of Time Traders
which I think sums up their feeling on the burro issue.

Phil Brown

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-philmont@troop47.com [mailto:owner-philmont@troop47.com] On
Behalf Of Joe Tavares
Sent: Monday, August 08, 2005 3:06 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list philmont
Subject: [Philmont]: The Burro Issue

I spoke to one of my Adult Leaders tonight regarding the burro issue.
He
just returned from the PhilStaff Reunion and had some insight to offer.
All
of this, in a court of law, would be considered hearsay so take it for
what
it's worth.

Apparently Mark Anderson truly wants the burros to be part of the
Philmont
experience. He believes the burros are underutilized when the option to
waive their use is in effect and he wants to 1) make better use of the
creatures and 2) give that experience to the scouts.

According to what I understand, third-hand, the burro wranglers do not
believe the burros are underutilized. The principle reason is that they
are
not optimally handled when they are in service and come back to the
corral
worse for the wear. In a nutshell, there are some issues with how the
scouts blanket and cinch the saddlebags (is that right?) when they are
in
service. The cinch is generally too loose and their hair gets rubbed
the
wrong way, causing ingrown hairs. From there, the ingrown hairs become
saddle sores and at that point, all they can do with the burro is put
him to
pasture until he recovers. Essentially, they claim to be very short on
burros by season's end *with* the right to waive burros in effect. So
with
a full season of full usage, the burros will most likely be very scarce
by
the end of the season (anyone recently encounter a shortage of burros?).

This disconnect between what Mark Anderson believes and what the
wranglers
state is interesting. But regardless of that, the Philstaff folks
discussed
and concluded that the only way Mark Anderson is going to back up on the
requirement to take a burro, if it is part of your itinerary, is if an
overwhelming amount of negative feedback comes from the crews regarding
the
burro requirement. If everyone is ambiguous or no one puts their
opinions
on surveys or in letters to Mark Anderson, next year and the following
years
will probably have the burro requirement as the status quo.

Bottom line is communicating your experience with the burros to Mark
Anderson. No communication will probably be construed as an endorsement
to
the requirement.

YIS

Joe Tavares
Richardson, TX
'00 (Wood Badge), '04 and looking forward to '06
 
 
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