[philmont] Philmont Dates

> From: Troop 681 scouter (Kim)
> YES, you are correct.
> Heading EAST you have to arrive one day early and pay for the
> extra night and one extra breakfast.

In 2005 the night was $8 and breakfast $6. We stayed in the same
CHQ tents we stayed in the following night. It sure beat unpacking
and repacking. The philbus was $25. That is all per person.

> AFter you get picked up at the Raton Train station around
> 5--6 pm or so,

Assuming the train is on time. Check the actual arrival times each day on
the Amtrak web site to get an idea of what to expect. We found it arrived
pretty close. The bus waits next to the station and the driver will quickly
direct you exactly what to do. This phase is a no sweat phase.

> Philmont bus driver will stop for you to purchase dinner in
> Raton someplace.

We had 3 crews on the bus, and the driver did not ask for choices or offer
recommendations. She took us to a small cluster of fast food places which
included (as I recall) an A&W and a MacDonalds. I decided to go whereever
the bus driver went on the theory she would know which of those were best.
She chose A&W. They had a giant ice cream cone in their parking lot, and my
son took a picture of me "eating" the cone :-)

Our 2003 crew elected to skip breakfast. Our 2005 crew had breakfast. We
then (2005) checked in at 8am and it took until about 3pm to finish the
checkin. I can't imagine what happens on the shorter checkins that get
there later in the day.
>
> Heading back WEST to California, you DO leave on your
> assigned check out date. Just be ready to go right after breakfast.

I seem to recall the bus pickup was about 9:30, so there was plenty of time
after breaky.
>
> Are there any special deals on Amtrak right now?? We got 2
> for 1 both times we went, 1 free child (under age 16) ticket for each
Adult
> ticket purchased.

In 2003, they had a 2 for 1 deal on adult tickets only and used it
for our youth as it worked out less than youth fares. In 2005,
they had under 16 rides free with adult. You could get 2 under
16 tickets for each adult. We had a young crew in 05, with no
one over 15, but only 2 adults. Our total train cost in 2005
was actually less than our cost in 2003. Both times the tickets
were also discounted with a AAA discount. 2005 worked out to an
average of $107 per person from Fullerton to Raton and back.

> Amtrak is used to the scouts going to Raton, last time they
> put all the scouts going from LA in the same train car, gear was all
> placed on the lower level of the same car

In 2005 we were very late in the season (809) and there were only 2
other crews on the train. They put us all over the place.
Gear was in the baggage car both ways. One of the other crews
was from San Diego. They apparently weren't to cautious about
their train tickets. They took the web page default of train to
LA then from LA to Raton. They could have taken a later train to
Fullerton and taken the train from Fullerton to Raton, since the
LA train goes back through Fullerton where it heads in a different
direction.
>
Tips on the train:
1) it gets a little cool when you sleep since you aren't
moving around. Bring a light blanket, the train doesn't
supply one.
2) The pillows are typical airline type pillows, not very
adequate. Bring something a bit better for supporting your
head and/or neck
3) the Dining car is a bit expensive but not real bad. Our
crews in 03 and 05 both opted for the snack bar instead
(pizza, some sandwiches, etc.)
4) you have a long stop in Albequerque both ways for refueling
and maintenance at about lunch time. It can be as short as 20
minutes or as long as 1.5 hours. On the way home, we ordered
pizzas to be delivered to the train station. Could have done
that on the way to Philmont as well. We found a pizza place
willing to deliver to the station. Worked out, with tip, to
$20/pizza. Timing is everything. We got the conductor to
tell us when we were about 20 minutes out of Albuquerque then
called on the cell phone (a great reason to bring a Cell on
a philmont trek :-). We were required to eat it at our seats,
the snack car wouldn't let us bring our own food down. Got a
lot of envious stares from the other passengers :-)
5) bring some games to keep the guys busy. It is a long ride.
6) There is an ice cream shop just outside the train station
in Albuquerque. If you go there immediately, you should have
no problem getting ice cream during the stop.
7) There are vendors selling various things at the train station
in Albuquerque. Several lads bought "Indian" blankets for
$5 to use to keep warm on the ride home.
>
> >From: Lou Schwing <lou@troop288.org>
> >Our trek leaders are getting near the time that they need to
> make train
> >reservations. I'm hoping to confirm our calculations on the
> appropriate dates. Our Expedition # is: 723-204.

So, Train on evening of July 21 from LA. Arrive sometime after 5pm
on July 22. July 23 is your expedition date, but you don't hit
the trail until July 24. You spend 10 nights on the trail, then
one more night in CHQ. So, Night of August 3 at CHQ. Aug 4
breaky and Philbus back to the train. You got it right.
> >
> >Thanks!
> >
Any time, Lou. I don't recall the name of the pizza place we used,
it was something New York Pizza. There were three listed in information
for ALB and the second one I called said they would deliver to the station.
THe big trick on the pizza is timing your call. You need some cooperation
from the conductor to find out just when you can expect to be in ALB. We
bribed him with some of the pizza :-)

Don Roberts
809-J 2005
Fullerton, CA

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Received on Wed Jul 19 16:11:02 2006