RE: [Philmont]: Philmont crews

Another couple of comments on trek selection for 2 crews:

There are a few limited treks which have rendezvous points at staffed camps,
where crews from the same troop have an opportunity to camp together along
their treks. These rendezvous points are found in the back of the trek
selection guide book.

Second, it's possible that younger crews can do a pretty good job of the
more strenuous treks. Lots of pre-trek training, conditioning and
preparation are the keys. We had 3 14-year olds on one of our 2 crews in
2004, and they completed Trek 32, which is considered super strenuous.

Finally, and most important, as a veteran of 3 treks at Phimont, I think it
is the conditioning of the adult leaders, more so than the scouts, that
should be the determining factor in trek selection. Scouts, because they
have "youth" on their side, seem to recover quickly each day from the
unrelenting physical demands of a 12-day trek. The same is not true for
adults, unless they have committed to a minimum of a 6-month physical
fitness program involving some time of regular aerobic conditioning. Many
adults who are physically fit enough for a 3-day weekend backpack assume
that they are fit enough for a 12-day trek. This is a faulty assumption.
In truth, many adults need a week to recover from a 3-day weekend backpack
trip, and unfortunately, there is no down-time for recovery on a 12-day
Philmont trek. By Day 5 or Day 6, these adults are dragging, and they are
only half-way through the trek.

Jon Mather
Asst Scoutmaster, Troop 387
Kingsport, TN
Philmont 1998, 2001, 2004

-------------------------------------------------------
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.
-------------------------------------------------------

 
Received on Sun Jan 30 09:42:29 2005