From: CoopWright@aol.com
Date: Mon Feb 04 2002 - 07:52:43 CST
Great responses from Fran and Joe. I have included the section of the Philmont Advisor's Guide on Crew Training.
"Crew Training
The single most important goal for the Philmont advisor is helping the crew pull together as a team. This is especially true for crews made up of Scouts from different troops that have never hiked and camped together before. Advisors need to know the phy
sical and emotional capabilities of each crewmember BEFORE they head for Philmont. The way we have found that works best is to have a super active program leading up to your departure to encourage cooperative interaction. An initial meeting with the cre
w
Tell the crew about the importance of being physically able to hike at Philmont. A real concern is hypothermia. When it rains at Philmont, the temperature can suddenly drop to 50 degrees or less. If a wind kicks up at the same time, all the ingredients
are present for a crewmember to become hypothermic. If the crew can maintain a reasonable pace, it will keep their body heat up. A slower hiker can pose a real medical threat to the rest of the crew. In addition, by day four on the trail, the slower hi
k
Finally, remind the crew that training is mandatory. We recognize that there are many demands on a teenager's life, but it is absolutely essential that the crew spends time together, learning the skills they will need while on the trail at Philmont. Remi
nd the crew that the purpose of these training sessions is not just to get in shape or learn how to hike, anymore than ball practice is to learn to throw and catch. The purpose of the training is to learn how to work together as a team rather than a grou
p
March - Classroom training on the basics of personal and crew gear with an inspection of each crewmember's fully packed backpack.
April - A one day training session with all personal and crew gear. Pick of location where the crew can hike in one to four miles and completely set up a Philmont style camp. Before hitting the trail, do a complete shakedown of all personal gear. Wh
ile on the trail, practice terrain awareness and the "caterpillar" technique of climbing (see On The Trail section). After setting up camp, cook a complete meal, wash dishes, put up bear bags, and purify water. Once the meal is finished, the crew breaks
This type of session maximizes training without requiring the commitment of a complete weekend. It also provides an opportunity to evaluate map and compass skills as well as determining which crewmembers are not in shape. Finally, it stresses all the ski
lls that will be needed for the May overnight.
Mid May - 15 mile, 2-night shakedown hike with all personal and crew gear. The advisor should make a final determination of those crewmembers (including adults) that are not physically ready for the trail. Holding the shakedown in May provides two mo
nths of additional physical conditioning before leaving for Philmont.
Four weeks prior to departure - A second 15 mile, 2 night shakedown hike with all personal and crew gear. This will be your final opportunity to refine crew operations and practice low impact camping skills, as well as checking out personal and crew e
quipment. It should also give you a chance to find out which crewmembers haven't been hiking enough in their boots. Those who have spent time in their boots won't get blisters. If a crewmember does get blisters, he will have several weeks to heal befor
e
One week before departure - Final backpack and uniform inspection. Every time that this final shakedown is held, it is amazing the amount of personnel gear that is still missing. Remind crewmembers to pack their boots. This may sound crazy, but on s
everal occasions, boots have been left behind and had to be shipped overnight to Philmont. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, crewmembers typically don't pack boots in their backpacks before going out for a hike. They wear them! Second, tr
i
For crews that have never backpacked together, this training schedule represents the suggested minimum required preparation. Based on your crew's ability, you may elect to modify the number of hikes and meetings shown. Even with an experienced crew, it i
s still necessary to hold at least one day and one overnight shakedown.
There are four other measures that you can use to help bring your crew together. The first is the 50 Miler Award. All treks at Philmont have sufficient mileage to qualify your crew for the 50 Miler Award. However, the three hours of conservation work pe
rformed by each crew at Philmont is seven hours short of the ten hours needed for the award. This means that your crew will have to complete these hours of service work at home. There are numerous acceptable projects available at the local national, sta
t
The second measure is merit badge advancement. Unlike other summer camps, Philmont does not offer merit badges. However, by planning ahead, every crewmember should be able to earn Backpacking Merit Badge, especially if the crew is doing a higher numbered
itinerary and it takes two or more shakedown hikes prior to leaving for Philmont. There will be many opportunities both during travel and on the trail at Philmont to teach and test crewmembers on their knowledge gained. The crew may also want to consid
e
The third measure is to have the crewmembers complete the Leave No Trace (LNT) Awareness Award as part of their pre-trek training. Boy Scouts of America and Philmont have adopted the LNT principles as the means to instill an awareness of minimum impact ba
ckcountry camping and hiking skills. Excellent training material for crews is available at www.lnt.org. Be sure to practice LNT during your shakedown hikes and while on the trail at Philmont. Better yet, take LNT back to your troop and make it a part o
f
The final measure is to develop your own crew t-shirt. A crew t-shirt helps to build crew unity and does wonders for crew dynamics. It lets other people at Philmont know where you are from. We have seen some really great crew t-shirts; some pretty funny
. Gather your crew up and let their creative juices flow. Our crew t-shirt became the uniform of the day as soon as our Class A uniform shirts came off. The crew wore their t-shirts everywhere while in Base Camp. It also became our in-camp t-shirt whi
l
If your crew leader has not been predetermined, then sometime during the early stages of your crew training program, you should elect (or in some cases select) the crew leader and his assistant. One method we both have used is to hold the election of the
crew chief AFTER the first or second shakedown. For crew’s that haven’t camped together before, doing this allows the crew to “test drive” its leader before finally selecting one. We also encourage designating a crew quartermaste
r
Remember, "the crew comes first" and "everything is everybody's job". If you have someone in the crew, adult or youth that can't sign up to this, then they need to stay home.
Cooper Wright
Advisor, Crew 1519
Alexandria, VA
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