From: Alan Thomson (abthomson@goes.com)
Date: Fri Jan 17 2003 - 07:51:00 CST
Ken Flanagan writes...
I was able to enjoy my first Autumn Adventure last September with seven good
friends. That week we spent 2 nights at Cito, 2 nights at Cypher's and one
night at Clark's. There was no staff, no program, just the incredible beauty
of the Ranch. I do not want to discount any staff members or the great job
they do, but to the crews going out for their first time, I say, don't
always be in a rush to the next camp, slow down and look around. Waite gave
us an incredible piece of property. Don't hike past it without seeing it.
Comment -
That's the beauty of Autumn Adventure - no program to distract you from
the magnificent country. And hardly any people, either - in 2000 we only
say Calvin Gray's group one day at Beaubien and a troop from Dallas one
day at Fish Camp. In 2002, only one crew from Oklahoma one day, also at
Beaubien.
Program and other people are part of Summer treks. But the biggest part
is your crew and how it meets the challenges they face. Successful crews
are ones that work together and really enjoy each other's company -
establishing a good group dynamic is key, and your preparations
(shakedowns, etc.) should concentrate on that. Then the technical part of
camping and backpacking.
Evaluating and selecting a trek can be part of that crew building
experience - there are a lot of options that can be considered. In the
end, other than the level of difficulty, it largely doesn't matter because
"there are no bad treks" and what the crew perceives to be priorities at
this time will probably not be the memorable experiences afterwards. So
while you could just throw darts, take the random results as your five
choices, and have a great trek, I suggest using trek selection as a tool
to build and bond your crew.
- Al Thomson, Troop 236, Schooley's Mountain NJ
Summer Treks '99, '01, and '03
Autumn Adventure '00, '02, and '04(?)
-------------------------------------------------------
Scouting E-mail Discussion Lists @ usscouts.org
Subscribe/Unsubscribe at http://usscouts.org/lists/
Listserv Commands at http://usscouts.org/lists/lc.asp
-------------------------------------------------------
Send listserv commands to: listserv@troop47.com
Send postings to: philmont@troop47.com
List FAQ found at: http://usscouts.org/lists/faq.asp
List Administrator: philmont_owner@troop47.com
-------------------------------------------------------
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.
-------------------------------------------------------
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.7 : Thu Mar 13 2003 - 10:37:59 CST