RE: [Philmont]: Gear

> I'd strongly suggest that you treat at least one
> of your shaedown hikes as a dry camp.

In good chuncks of the Southwest, especially Texas and Oklahoma, this
isn't a problem. The whole country-side is a "Dry Camp". 8>( The
Sangre de Christos in and around Philmont are *way behind* on their
normal snowpack and rainfall levels this winter as well. Many of the
ski resorts in the area are only operating a portion of their lifts and
are relying almost totally on man-made snow.

In the area where I live, even when there is normal rainfall, most of
the backcountry camping areas do not have water supplies, potable or
treatable. This gives plenty of opportunities for practicing protocols.

Right now, our two crews are planning on taking the capacity to carry an
extra 2 liters per person (including advisors) into dry camps. This is
in addition to whatever other capacity - typically 3 liters each - they
might have. We will be testing this plan on our upcoming two-night
practice hike. With just 2 liters per person, we will be carrying over
six gallons of water (our crews are both 12 person) into our dry camps,
but it will be distributed evenly among the crew. With judicious use
and a reasonable hike to water the next morning, this would be enough to
not have to bother with swapping lunch for dinner. But we probably will
swap them anyway, just to be on the cautious side. You never know when
a pump might be down for repairs.

Happy Trails,

Roy Fisher

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Received on Sat Jan 7 14:23:08 2006