From: Dr. Bob Klein (drbob@troop111.org)
Date: Wed Jul 31 2002 - 20:28:23 CDT
A little late in the season, but what the Hell.... I have tried to hit
some of the general threads I saw while doing a quick review of the
hundreds of Philmont messages I had when I returned. Some of this is
probably repetitive. Hopefully it will help the last few Crews of the
season, and maybe next year's Crews.
Alphabetical, but otherwise unorganized:
Backpack Fitting - The value of a properly fitted backpack was discussed
in one thread. An improperly fitted backpack significantly increases
its apparent weight and carrying difficulty. Fitting is something we do
on our first shakedown, but you can do it even at Basecamp if you
haven't done so yet. If you don't know how, ask your Ranger - he/she
should know, and if they don't, they can find someone who does; it will
make an amazing difference in both your level of comfort and effort. I
saw several Crews that were absolutely atrociously fitted - in the most
egregious case, a coed Crew just starting up The Wall at French Henry
(whom I will not identify further, though I know where they were from)
were literally staggering from side to side as they walked, and had two
members fall down as they passed us (we were pulled over to let them
by). My quick offer to help adjust their packs was brusquely refused by
an overweight, out-of-shape advisor who looked to be (already) on the
verge of a heart attack. Oh well....
Bear Bags I - The significant increase in food, and the more stringent
bear safety requirements, mean a lot more stuff going up every night.
We used 5 bear bags after each of of Commissary pickups (we use large
nylon laundry bags). Most Crews using Philmont sacks were using 6 on
their first nights after commissary pickups.
Bear Bags II - The "oops" bag is now mandatory. Therefore, a useful
item to bring is a small carabiner and about 60 feet of quality
parachute cord. FWIW, we used our bear bag and bear rope stuff sack as
our "oops" bag. It was only rarely used, but that's still better than
having to re-haul up the heavier than usual bear bag assembly.
Bears - We didn't see a one, but most Crews saw 1 - 3 during their
treks. No one I talked to reported any problems with aggressively
behaving bears. However, the Ute Gulch Commissary was broken into, and
the Clark's Fork horsefeed storage area was partially broken into, by
bears. Some of the backcountry buildings are now clad in very heavy
duty steel mesh, and some also have electrified ribbons to augment the
mesh. My Ranger indicated that the bear researchers felt that the loss
of food due to the hard frost in the late spring of 2001, combined with
the continuing severe drought (and the fires), had resulted in a
significant die-off of the bear population over the past winter, and
that most of the remaining bears were large males. Several people I
talked to said the bears they saw were clearly thinner than usual.
Bear Safety I - The Ranch has really gone after this in a big way. Most
of this you have already heard: A) Tents should be grouped all
together, but not in a circular arrangement, and well outside the
Bearmuda Triangle; B) Backpacks should be stored each night within the
Bearmuda Triangle, and covered with pack covers regardless of weather
(even if stored under your tarp); C) All water bottles that have EVER
contained a flavored drink go up in the bear bags each night; D) All
water bottles that have only contained water for their entire lifetimes
do not have to go into the bear bags; however, they have to be placed in
the firepits and covered with a tarp, or stored in your backpacks under
the pack covers (i.e., they want them out of sight); E) All eating and
cooking gear has to be stored at the sump; F) If you use flushable wipes
and/or Desitin with your toilet kit, the wipes and Desitin-smeared
toilet paper cannot be placed in the latrine, but now has to be packed
out (use a zip-lock bag); G) Only Philmont supplied toilet paper can be
used (apparently, it is a scent-free and more biodegradable variety than
anything commercially available); H) Any food- or (especially)
vomit-stained/contaminated clothing, including boots, has to go up in
the bear bags, every night, until cleaned; I) Trekkers need to make a
real effort not to contaminate themselves with food dust when opening
packages; J) As noted above, all bear-bag assemblies must have an "oops"
bag; K) All trekkers now MUST have and use "night clothes" that are
dedicated to inside-the-tent use only; L) Trekkers must strip off their
day clothes OUTSIDE their tents; M) All food and personal smellables
MUST be put up in the bear bags as soon as you arrive at your campsite,
or whenever you drop your packs for a side-hike (the only exception was
when you are forming a pack-line outside a Staff cabin). I think
that's it....
Bear Safety II - Conversely, I personally witnessed a lot of bone-headed
behavior by both Scouts and Advisors. By far, the most egregious
offense involves self-dusting with food powders - especially drink mixes
being poured into canteens, or while opening dinner main courses. A lot
of Scouts and some Advisors think nothing of stuffing food packaging
into their pockets. Canteens containing drink mixes were routinely left
out at many camps. I found a hardened wad of gum stuck to a tree next
to my tent at Harlan, and my Crew found at least half a dozen food
wrappers stashed under rocks at various campsites and overlooks. None
of the Crews I witnessed made any efforts to make noise when approaching
their bear-bags, regardless of whether it was 5:00 pm - or 5:00 am. All
in all, it's amazing that we don't have more problems than we do.
Clothes Lines (Clothes Drying) - Philmont is now forbidding use of
clothes lines on trees, and is similarly forbidding hanging clothes on
live tree limbs or shrubs. [BTW, this was without question the single
most violated rule during my stay at the Ranch.] We dried clothes on
rocks and on multiple lines stretched between our tarp poles. Note that
the standard trick of using diaper pins to hang clothes off the backs of
packs while hiking was not effective this year - the clothes got dirty
from trail dust as fast as they dried.
Fire Zones I - The damage varied all over the map. In some areas, the
fire was limited to a ground "creeper". In other areas, it was a raging
crowning fire that consumed everything, leaving only blackened spires.
In the latter areas, the trails are an inch deep with black powdery
soot, and we used our bandannas over our mouths as we walked through
them (and I recommend you do the same). If it's really bad, you may
wish to soak your bandannas in water first. Also in the latter areas,
it was clear that the lack of ground cover is resulting in
flash-flooding in the lower parts of the watersheds, so be cognizant of
this possibility if you're hiking in heavy rain anywhere near the burned
off sections north of Rt 64.
Fire Zones II - Although the North Country is "open", there are
restrictions in place, at least as of mid-July. Everything north of
Ponil (Bent, Sioux, Dan Beard, Wilson Mesa) and east of that line
(McBride Canyon, Anasazi, Hart Peak, Indian Writings, Cottonwood Canyon,
Old Camp, Cook Canyon) is closed. In nearby areas, you can only walk on
designated trails and/or jeep roads. Everything closed is so marked, so
you can't really screw up, but there are no real options on what trails
to use until you get west of the Middle Ponil Canyon.
Food I - As a number of folks have pointed out, Philmont is now giving
out a nearly ridiculous amount of food. Based on the overwhelmed
swap/swipe boxes, I suspect they will be rethinking this somewhat for
next year. My understanding is that they went from about 2,000 to 3,000
calories per day per trekker. Unfortunately, a lot of the calories are
just sugary crap (for example, the drink mixes were flat out excessive).
However, the Richmoor based meal items were pretty good, and well
proportioned. Most dinner items required minimal cooking - just add
boiling water, stir thoroughly, and wait. However, we found that
waiting 10 - 15 more minutes than the packaging recommended resulted in
superior food quality.
Food II - We did our usual meal stripping, and saved a metric buttload
of weight. We also found it necessary to re-distribute items between
meals. Some Breakfasts and Lunches were really flush, while others were
pretty thin. Oddly, some Dinners had no drink mixes at all, or had
weird items like hot chocolate to drink, while others had far more drink
mix than needed. It was fairly easy to consolidate some stripped meals
into a smaller number of packages. And BTW, although duct tape was
mentioned as a good aid for meal stripping, we find a roll of electrical
tape to be easier to use, lighter, and just as effective.
Homebound Tent Platforms - The homebound tents are now set up on
concrete pads - cleaner and more level. However, this also means the
Basecamp critters now come *inside* your tent looking for goodies
instead of being content to rummage around under the wooden platforms on
the trailbound side. Worth a warning to your Scouts - don't keep any
junk food in your tents. I had a skunk in my tent on homebound night;
not sure what he was looking for.... BTW, you are now also not allowed
to load your initial commissary pickup into your packs the night before
you leave for the trail - all food and smellables are to be stored in
your lockers overnight, and packed the morning you leave. BTW-2, most
Crews are being given two lockers.
Philmont Challenge Index - A few Advisors and Rangers commented to me
that although they really like the Index, it is difficult to use in
advance (when you need to) because you can't know *a priori* what your
pack weight will be at Philmont. FWIW, our personal pack weights, no
water, 3 sets of hiking clothes, averaged 21 pounds per man. Our
departure pack weight (Trail Day I, 3 1/2 days worth of food, two liters
of water, 2 sets of hiking clothes (we were wearing the third), and all
necessary gear, averaged 39 pounds per man. Our average was a little
heavier than usual this time around because of all the extra food in
this year's meals. Since we bring all our own gear, I'm not sure what
the equivalent would be for a Crew using all Philmont gear. If anyone
using all Philmont gear made any equivalent measurements, I'd like to
hear from you. I will think some more on this issue.
Polar Pure - You have to take Polar Pure (1 bottle for each pair of
trekkers) whether you want or need it or not. No ifs, ands, or buts....
Rangers - I read a few posts commenting on unmotivated Rangers. Be
aware, the Ranger Staff is short about 20 - 25 Rangers this summer, and
most of the trek Rangers are getting very few days off (average is 6
days off for the entire summer, and some aren't even getting that many).
Many Rangers are being given Crews when they hike in after departing
their last Crew (they have a term for this which I had never heard
before: "cracked" or "crackered"). Anyway, *some* of them are pretty
worn out and a little dispirited right now, so please make some
allowances if your's isn't (or wasn't) exactly perky. In general, I
found most of the Rangers and virtually all of the staff (basecamp and
backcountry both) to be enthusiastic and motivated, and bending over
backwards to accommodate every Crew. The least we can do in return is
lend a sympathetic ear to the few who are running on empty.
Trek Modifications - Treks are being continuously modified, though I
suspect things are settling down now. We had Trek 32-NFM-2, meaning New
Fire Modification # 2. There was a 32-M, 32-NFM-1, and (by the time I
left) a 32-NFM-3. Some of the starter camps are pretty crowded, and the
closure of many camps and the crowding at others mandates a need to
spread Crews out more quickly than usual. Thus, the usual second day
diaper hikes are out for a number of treks. That's fine with me, but it
took a number of Crews by surprise. In addition, some rarely used camps
(like Upper and Lower Sawmill Canyon camps) are open for business; some
of these are in pretty rough shape. Finally, there are some pretty long
hikes on some of the treks; for example, 32-NFM-2 had us go from Baldy
Skyline to Upper Bench (a dry camp) in one day, with program at Head of
Dean on the way; the "normal" Trek 32 is Santa Claus to Upper Bench, so
the modification made for a really long day. But all in all, I was very
happy with our trek, and really I heard minimal bitching from other
Advisors on their modifications. The Logistics staff really earned
their pay this year.
Trading Posts - We hit only Baldytown and Ute Gulch on our trek.
Neither had any 35 mm film left (only Advantix), and it also appears
that there is an unstated ban on candy bars and similar junk food items
(which is just fine with me, though some of my Scouts were
disappointed). All commissaries and a few staff camps were offering
apples and/or oranges to all Crews.
Water I - With few exceptions (see Water III and IV), water at all camps
was for drinking and cooking only - no clothes cleaning and no personal
washing, not even bandanna baths. We were able to compensate somewhat
by collecting rainwater off our tarp, and you may wish to consider doing
likewise. I was able to shave myself twice with collected rainwater. I
also got several free (but very cold) water-only showers by
intentionally standing outside in heavy downpours. Not something for
the faint of heart, that's for sure....
Water II (Shaefers Pass) - Is dry, dry, dry, as the proverbial bone.
The staffs at Clark's Fork, Miners Park, and Black Mountain are really
pushing every Crew to leave for Basecamp or Tooth Ridge with as much
water as they can carry, yet many Crews aren't listening, and as a
result are coming into Basecamp dry and hurting. My personal
recommendation is 5 - 6 liters per man if you're hiking directly to
Basecamp (with a ToT sidehike) from any of the above named camps, and
add 2 more liters per man if you're staying at Shaefers Pass or Tooth
Ridge for the night. [And of course, cook dinner for lunch before
leaving your last water source.]
Water III (Showers) - I believe I read a post indicating that only
Baldytown, 'Cito, and Clark's Fork are offering showers. For this
reason, the Rangers are recommending that trekkers not bother bringing
pack towels, and just use bandannas (and air) to dry off if they're
lucky enough to get a shower. Of note, at least twice during the past 2
weeks, showers were cut off in the early afternoon at Baldytown for lack
of water because certain assholes decided to take 45 minute long showers
and to Hell with everyone else. If you are fortunate enough to get to a
camp that is offering showers, please educate your Scouts as to what a
"Navy Shower" is, and ask them to not abuse the privilege - they are not
the only ones who have a "dirt tan" and stink like a NFL Locker Room.
Water IV (Streams) - Only major streams have anything running in them.
BTW, three times we saw Crews washing clothes and themselves in streams.
Once we had a Crew at one of our camps (allegedly) open the top of a
water buffalo and clean their clothes in the tank (fortunately, I did
not witness this, or I'd be looking at 20-to-Life right now, though I
think I could make a pretty good case for temporary insanity). Need I
say more???
That's it for tonight. Hope you all found at least some of this to be
useful.
- Dr. Bob Klein, SM-111, Arlington, VA
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