RE: [Philmont]: Just got back

Other: Actually had an advisor recommend skipping to Tooth Camp instead of
Ponderosa. We refused. We did know of 2 or 3 crews that did it. This is a
real problem, and Philmont will have to put a Ranger/Administrator at
Shaeffers to check each crew's "Life" to stop it.

Steve - Welcome back - hope you had a great trek! In regards to the
problem you mentioned above, I raised hell last year because my crew had
hiked to Shaffers Pass from Red Hills ("Black Death") and when we finally
got there at about 6pm, the sites were long since full and we joined 3 or 4
other crews camping in a corner of the meadow. I was fit to be tied and I
made sure to make this my chief complaint on the feedback forms when we got
back to base camp the next day. Judging by some of the comments made on
this list over the past several days, it doesn't look like Philmont's done
anything about this situation. Any advisor who recommends violating
Philmont policy like this needs to be disciplined severely (loss of
Arrowhead award, not being permitted to return, letter to home council,
etc.). Several years ago (2000? - I know Dr. Bob knows about this), there
was a lightning strike that sparked a small fire along Tooth Ridge, causing
Philmont to close the entire Tooth Ridge trail. If something like this were
to happen and you weren't camped where you were supposed to be (i.e., you
were supposed to be at Ponderosa Park and you decided to head to Tooth Ridge
camp), that would be bad news. I know that everyone is anxious to get as
close to base camp as possible on that last night, but you are putting
yourselves in serious jeopardy (and others as well, if there happens to be
an emergency) if you don't camp where your itinerary says you're supposed
to. This summer, we stayed at Ponderosa Park on our last night and we did
just fine and still managed to get back into base camp before 11:00 the next
day. Any advisor who is so insistent on staying at Tooth Ridge or Shaffers
Pass on their last night needs to limit themselves to choosing an itinerary
that includes one of those camps. I hope Philmont can do something about
this escalating problem: it sounds like it's already way out of control.

Brian Gannon
628-G1

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Received on Wed Jul 27 13:05:49 2005