Re: [Philmont]: Philmont travel plans

 
In a message dated 1/13/2005 2:40:49 PM Eastern Standard Time,
DRTII123@aol.com writes:

Is there any advise out there concerning travel to Philmont from the eastern
part of the country?

In 2003, we traveled from Atlanta with a crew of 11 from our troop. We
shopped hard via a travel agent for best air fare and got r/t to Denver. We
shipped all our packs to Philmont via UPS in plenty of time for them to be there
the week before we arrived. We flew with carry on luggage only on the trip
west, and each of us wore our hiking boots on the plane.
 
We shopped around and discovered Durham School Services, a national school
bus contractor. They had a location in Woodland Park near Colorado Springs in
2003. We contacted them and made arrangements for a school bus to pick us
up at the airport in Denver, and transport us to a motel in Colorado Springs
where we rented a couple of vehicles for a day of local sightseeing (Pikes
Peak, Flying W Ranch, Air Force Academy, Garden of the Gods). Durham picked us
up at our motel in Colorado Springs early the morning we were to check in at
Philmont and had us at the Ranch in plenty of time.
 
On the return trip, Durham's bus arrived at Philmont about 5:30 AM (a full
hour ahead of our expected schedule on departure day), so were were on the road
 and back in Denver in time for lunch at a road side restaurant before the
bus dropped us at the airport. We checked all internal frame packs on the
return trip to Atlanta. We shipped from Philmont our external frame packs,
stoves, fuel bottles, trekking poles.
 
Durham in 2003 charged $35/hour for the bus and driver. We tipped our
drivers each way. You pay from the time the bus leaves Woodland Park until it
gets back to Woodland Park. The buses were not air conditioned, but we opened
the windows and enjoyed the breeze. You should allow for contingencies during
your travel: bad weather, bad traffic, illness, and construction, to name
just 4 that we experienced. It was not a 65 mph trip all the way from Denver
to Cimarron in 2003! Raton Pass can be slow as can the drive from Raton to
Cimarron, depending on construction and weather/wind. We experienced a severe
thunderstorm on arrival in Denver that had us driving about 10 mph on the
Interstate toward Colorado Springs.
 
There was lots of space for the 11 of us on a full size school bus. Cost of
this worked out less than any van rental plus we had plenty of space for
gear on the return trip when we did not ship all the packs. The crew advisor
and I were very glad not to have to drive.
 
Durham School Services may also serve a school district convenient to
Albuquerque. Contact them to find out. Their contracts come and go, so I do not
know if they still serve Woodland Park,Colorado like they did in 2003. Their
web site is
_Durham School Services - The nation's third largest student school bus
transportation contractor_ (http://www.durhamschoolservices.com/)
 
Charlie Pineo
Assoc. Crew Advisor, 2003
Troop 994 Crew, 721B2
Woodstock, GA
_www.troop994.org_ (http://www.troop994.org)
 

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Received on Fri Jan 14 09:23:49 2005