As many have said, shakedowns are not, and cannot (imho), be for physical
conditioning, rather they are about teaming (crew dynamics, bonding, etc),
equipment familiarization, physical readiness checks and instruction. Each
crew member, youth and adult alike, must be responsible for their own
physical conditioning .. the crew must validate this through the shakedown
process but they cannot make it happen.
Most councils, ours included, operate on a annual cycle that doesn't really
facilitate crew treks (others than those associated with natural units) to
do any crew shakedowns prior to the spring ... because crew assignments
aren't finalized until November or December.
Our schedule in '04 when we went as a Troop looked something like this:
*** November, 2002: We hit the lotto!
*** November, 2002 - October, 2003: The adult advisors can't get enough of
Philstuff .. we search the internet, we join mailing lists, we subscribe to
magazines, we basically drive our families nuts... Meanwhile the youth are
otherwise distracted ... "Mr. Thompson, that's *NEXT* summer not *THIS*
summer" ...
*** October, 2003: We conduct a single day "shakedown" to start the
education process and clue guys into what to ask for "The Holidays"
*** January, 2004: With the help of our council HA committee we schedule a
single night meeting for trek selection. A seasoned Philmonter (Bill Cass)
provides an overview of what Philmont is about, the things to consider in
selecting a trek (Activities, Peaks, Staffed/Trail/Dry camps, Difficulty
(Kid's that live at 300 feet above sea level, and especially their advisors,
"don't do Super-Strenuous" ... waiting for the thread on this one :-) )
*** March '04 - Shakedown Hike #1 aka "Do these guys own a pack, raingear
and boots?" - At a local State Park with lots of trails ...
*** April '04 - Shakedown Hike #2 aka "Can these remember to bring their
raingear, backpack and boots?" - At a local National Park with an adjoining
trail system ...
*** May '04 - Council Shakedown W/E ... Group instruction of Philmont
specific Land Navigation, Bear Bags, Cooking, Tenting, Packing your pack
along with a hike of about 7 miles approximating a "typical Philmont day"
using prototypical and methods.
*** June '04 - Shakedown Hike #4 aka "Can these guys function as a Crew?":
At another State Park with a little more terrain and some unique
difficulties - By now we knew we would be hiking down Tooth Ridge and so the
boulder field at Hickory Run SP would do nicely in simulating the ridge
walk.
We considered some of the ideas others have contributed, including a long
duration trip of more than a couple of days ... I think the physical tests
need to be in line with the trek difficulty. Higher number treks mean
longer days, more dry camps and perhaps more difficult walks although I
maintain that any trek that traverses Phillips -> Cyphers be it 4 or 34 has
walked the hardest stretch of trail on the ranch, I maintain that this
direction is worse than the reverse (more thread fodder :-) ).
Ultimately your shakedowns, like so many other things Philmont, must be your
own ... You must check the adults enthusiasm, especially those returning
after a 25 or 30 year hiatus.
YIS
Jim
ASM T6
PSR '74, '04, '06
www.troop6bsa.org?cmd=philmont
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-philmont@troop47.com [mailto:owner-philmont@troop47.com]On
Behalf Of Ched Hudson
Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2006 4:26 PM
To: Multiple recipients of list philmont
Subject: Re: [Philmont]: 6 Months To Go
I agree with Tom Fitzpatrick, it's not too late to get a good training
program started for this summer. In 2004 we trained our crew like this:
January Quick 5-mile hikes every weekend to limber up
February Short sessions on equipment, crew roles, first aid, LNT,
plus a half-day session on setting up and breaking down camp
and cooking, cleanup, and stove operation
March Day hike in hilly country
Weekend trek on side trails near the AT (side-hike Old Rag Mountain)
April 5-day fifty-mile hike on AT in Maryland over spring break
May Weekend trek on AT in Virginia
June Teambuilding
July Day hike in mountains (Little Devil Stairs, circuit hike with
2500' gain) a week before Philmont
With this training the boys selected and conquered Trek 32 with relative
ease. (The two advisors did ok also, but we both started our conditioning
the summer before.)
One thing to consider, also, is that if a crew over-trains, it can detract
from the overall experience of Philmont.
Our only real training-like issue was our boys' lack of motivation to get
out of camp in a timely fashion. One evening we advisors finally wagered
them they couldn't leave Upper Bench by 6 am the following morning, and if
they did we'd set up the crew tarp and hang the bear bag, and cook and clean
up dinner at the next camp. That day was arguably one of the best of our
trek - the hike to Harlan was cool and clear, and we arrived in time to do
program *and* chill out in the afternoon. The next day the boys reverted to
their normal break-camp pace (not to be confused with a breakneck pace...)
We'll be doing a similar training regimen this season, substituting another
weekend trek for the five-day trek. (Too many boys in school sports with
required practices during spring break.)
>Ched Hudson
ASM, Troop 994
Fairfax Station, VA
Philmont 67, 04, 06
=====================
From: Cletus Robinson <cletusr@ssibtr.com>
Date: Wed Jan 11 06:43:17 CST 2006
To: Multiple recipients of list philmont <philmont@troop47.com>
Subject: [Philmont]: 6 Months To Go
I am going with 2 crews to Philmont in June, and little work has done to
prepare them for it.
Having been twice, I am aware of the preparation required.
My idea is to compress what would have been 10 months of preparation into 6.
Anyone out there faced this?
Uncle Cletus
Philmont 1997, 1998
Istrouma Area Council
Baton Rouge
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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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Received on Wed Jan 11 20:03:37 2006
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