RE: [Philmont]: An Advisor's Quandary

I might be tempted to reconvene, crew only, for a heart-to-heart with the
crew. Last time moms were in a crew meeting here was when we went over
acceptable vs. unacceptable gear, so they would hear it firsthand.
 
I have to ask you, did the 5 itineraries they picked include the program
they wanted and maybe at least one of the highly desirable components
(Baldy, Phillips, Fish Camp, Tooth, etc.)? Are the crews submitting the
SAME itineraries? Did you have maps and visuals to help with the decision?
 
Maybe you can solve the problem by having rugged and a strenuous trek. In
2004 we had a Trek 6 and a Trek 24. Both had their moments and nobody came
out bored. Trek 6 had Phillips and Tooth plus the desired program. 24 had
Baldy and the Tooth, among other things.
 
While I admit a personal bias toward the more strenuous treks, the lower
numbered treks do tend to have highly interesting programs. Plus, the crew
can always take a side hike to increase the difficulty if it is boring.
 
Joe

   _____

From: owner-philmont@troop47.com [mailto:owner-philmont@troop47.com] On
Behalf Of R Fisher
Sent: Monday, February 27, 2006 9:59 PM
To: Multiple recipients of list philmont
Subject: [Philmont]: An Advisor's Quandary

Greetings All,
 
I find myself with a bit of a problem this evening. Recently I presented
our crews with information so that they could start looking at the program
features that they wanted and narrowing their choices for the upcoming trek
selection process. Tonight I found out that one of the crews had a meeting
where they selected the "top five" based on last year's Treks book. (Yes, I
know that there may be changes and its not official). This is a good thing,
and crew meetings to work on this kind of thing were encouraged. In the
course of the discussion however, I became aware that there were several
Moms at the meeting. I am also aware that these Moms can be very
"influencial" at times. I almost think I see Mom fingerprints on the
selections (not necessarily a good thing).
 
My quandary is that I think their primary selections are below their
capabilities, i.e. that they are "under treking". I know it is supposed to
be a crew decision (and I really hope it is). I also know that there Are No
Bad Itineraries at Philmont. But, I also think that the crew could be bored
and/or disappointed with their choice versus other slightly more challenging
itineraries with the same program features that offer more "Philmont". So I
am turning to the wisdom of the list for counsel and advise. What would you
do?
 
And if any of the Moms are lurking, I'm sorry if I've offended you.
 
Happy Trails,
 
Roy Fisher
 
PS : At the meeting where we did our first rough cut crew assignment
process, this was the group that wanted to hike till they dropped and choose
"high degree of difficulty" treks.

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