From: Calvin H. Gray (405geezer@igg-tx.net)
Date: Sat Jan 19 2002 - 11:23:48 CST
Rayado, Philmont's premier backpacking program, is also
a leadership development experience. A typical Rayado
crew will cover about 150 miles during the three week
program.
This essay, by Eagle Scout Creighton Welch, was written
to accompany college applications.
Creighton, who plans to major in journalism, has earned
6 Palms, logged 248 days/nights of camping and provided
1,425 service hours. Currently, he serves as a Junior
Assistant Scoutmaster with our troop. Creighton's
Philmont adventures included a Cavalcade in 1998, a
backpacking expedition in 1999, a Kanik adventure in
2000, attending NJLIC in 2000 and the Rayado adventure
in 2001.
Enjoy!
--
Calvin H. Gray
Scoutmaster, Troop 405
Georgetown, Texas
********************************
"Wilderness Experience"
by Creighton A. Welch
"Don't die. But if you're going to die, there's no
better place than here at Philmont."
Oh boy, I thought, this is going to be the best
three weeks of my life. There I was, at Philmont Scout
Ranch, a 137,00-acre ranch in the heart of the Sangre de
Cristo Mountains in Northern New Mexico. Along with 45
other people, I arrived at the "scouting paradise," as
it is known by Scouts across the world, and was quickly
introduced to my crew, eight other guys from eight
different states, all of us still unsure about what
exactly we were going to be doing. None of us knew
anyone else, but we would be spending the next 21 days
of our summer hiking what ended up being around 150
miles, rock-climbing, surviving, and just hanging out
and enjoying what would be the most physically,
mentally, and spiritually challenging program I had ever
done.
Being a Boy Scout for all of seven years, I have
done some pretty amazing things, like whitewater
rafting, horseback riding, and SCUBA diving, but none of
these outings could compare to the definitely life
changing event in which I partook at Philmont. I had
been to Philmont before, but only for ten days, which I
might add was no piece of cake, but I came back,
wanting to grow, wanting to be a part of something that
I love so much for as long as I possibly could be there.
Not very many people really enjoy nature a whole
lot like I do, and would rather spend their time at the
mall, or watching television, but for me, especially
since I am a quiet, shy person, I feel at peace in
nature and enjoy being in what I learned was actually
the real world, a world without all the hustle and worry
of city life. At Philmont, probably the biggest worry
is getting attacked by a bear, which is exciting itself,
just thinking about other things in this world besides
humans.
During our trek, we encountered many amazing
obstacles such as the "mountain challenge" experience.
We hiked 35 miles in two days, it was a challenge in
which we overcame many tough obstacles as a crew. The
most inspirational part to me, however, was the "blind"
rock-climbing on the 4th of July.
That day, we hiked probably about eight miles, a
fairly light day compared to some. We arrived at our
camp, got settled, and then were told to grab a
bandana and head to the rock-climbing area. Being from
a flat part of Texas, I wasn't as experienced as my
companions from more mountainous regions, so my rock
climbing skills probably weren't as advanced as they
should be. We arrived at the base of some impressive
cliffs, and were suddenly told, "Everyone is now silent,
and must keep your bandanas over your eyes except you."
And he was pointing directly at me.
"Uh, are you sure you don't want me to?" I
stammered. I wasn't so sure that I wanted five other
guys' lives in my hands as I directed them up and
through boulders to the top of a remarkably tall rock
formation.
"Yep, you're it," he stated, not missing a beat,
and pointing his finger right at me. Well, I thought,
they aren't going to let me back out of this, so why
not?
All the guys were blindfolded except me, and they
lined up and placed their hands on the person in front
of them. We began, slithering in and out of crevasses,
ducking to avoid jagged rocks, and crawling on all fours
to just barely squeak through the holes, all based on
the instructions that I yelled to them. We finally
arrived at the top of the rocks, and only I could see
just how much we had accomplished on the way up.
The view was amazing, mountains were jutting up
everywhere, seeming to climb upward forever into the
majestic sky, which was painted with colors of all
shades that spread out over the horizon thanks to the
setting sun. God could not have given me a better July
4th. I had just led some of the coolest people I had
ever met up, over, around, and through a rock maze,
surprising even myself at how well we worked together,
and how much we grew as a crew in that short period of
time.
I sat the guys down, took off their blindfolds, and
watched as the amazement of what we had just
accomplished shone on their faces. They looked around in
awe, and then we gave each other high fives, then
belted out a loud cheer for everyone else around us to
hear.
By this time, it was almost dark, so we ended our
voyage by rappelling down a sheer rock face, stopping
not too far from our starting point, symbolizing
a completion of this exciting and somewhat nerve-racking
experience.
As we headed back to camp, I could not keep from
smiling, realizing what a cool thing just happened. The
guys, who had known me only about two weeks, trusted me
to lead them; I accomplished the task successfully
despite my nervousness, and we grew together on that day
more than at any other time of our trip. For me, this
was one of the most inspirational experiences of my
life. I learned that even if I am unsure about
something, as long as I have confidence in myself, I can
accomplish just about any task possible. Whether it is
keeping my friends alive on a mountain, or simply
walking up and talking to someone I don't know, all it
takes is a little determination and reliance on myself
to get it done.
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204.1.23.182
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As you gather around this virtual campfire with fellow
Scouts and Scouters, do your best to be trustworthy,
loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient,
cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
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