Re: [Philmont]: Filling spots

 The age of the adult advisor is just one of many factors that should be considered before entrusting scouts to his or her care. Case in point:
 
As we planned our crew's trip to Philmont in 2004, we tried to group our scouts by physical ability. One group (our "speed demons") clearly hiked faster than the other (the "stop and smell the roses" crew). For a variety of reasons, the older adults (40s to early 50s) were more on a par with the roses crew members and our younger adults were, not surprisingly, better equipped to keep up with the speed demons.
 
Initially, some of the parents were reluctant to entrust their children to the younger advisors (who were 22, 21, and 21). As time progressed, the parents' reluctance evaporated. Two of the three younger advisors had been camp staff for several years at our council's own high adventure program. The third had been a resident assistant in her college's dorm (and, I might add, the top scout I've ever encountered in over 25 years of advising and leading scouts). I think the parents' concerns were also mollified by the fact that we would be traveling to and from Philmont as one group, splitting up only upon arrival and assignment of our Rangers for our separate treks.
 
I had absolutely no concerns about the three of them and their crew at Philmont. They understood the rules, understood why they existed and why they had to enforce them if the crew chief did not.
 
During the course of the trek, one scout had to be taken off trail from the "demons" crew for medical reasons. I learned of this when we passed through Head of Dean for the second time. (I might add that I was most impressed with the staff at that camp). The staff reassured us that all was well and that our speed demon crew would be back through that day, so we waited for them and had a great trail reunion. The Head of Dean staff also commented to me that they were very impressed with the way the young advisors had handled the situation.
 
Would I take young advisors again? Depends on the advisors--I'd take any of these three over many "older adult" advisors I've seen.
 
Denise Vowell
Crew 574
Philmont 2004 (and again, I hope)
 
 
 

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Received on Thu Aug 18 08:24:16 2005