[Philmont] What I'd do, if anything, different!

Kevin,

We went to Philmont last year so my memory is still fresh.

I would second your comments. We did take a filter. We used it, but
did not really need it.

I am concerned about the experience you had with the Ranger's
recommendations. I would suggest that you let Philmont know of your
experience. Based on what you have reported, I would not want this
individual as my ranger.

Jimmy

kevinaldrich@insightbb.com wrote:

> Hello Scouters,
>
> We just got back on Friday night from our trek. It was fantastic. Here
> are some thoughts on what, if anything, I would do different if . . .
>
> *Trail Shoes* - I took Crocs Off-Road shoes. Loved them. Wouldn't take
> anything else.
>
> *Trekking Poles* - Just started using these this year, Christmas
> present. I lost count of how many times my poles kept be from falling
> as I tripped and stumbled on rough trails. Your nuts if you don't have
> a nice lightweight pair of trekking poles.
>
> *Boots - EEEEEK!* My lightweight Dunham Waffle Stompers blew out about
> 60 days before our trek. I freaked. The only boot in my market that I
> could find to fit my wide feet were heavier Asolo boots. Much heavier
> & stiffer. What a blessing. After we got on the trail I was so
> grateful to have a heavier and stiffer pair of boots. I can't imagine
> hiking in lightweight "sneaker" like boots.
>
> *Tent -* My son and I tented together because we were with a council
> contingent crew and he didn't care much for the other Scouts . . . we
> took my Go-Lite Hex 3, a ultralight 3-man tent. Total weight was 6
> pounds with stakes and ground cloth. Loved having the extra room in
> the tent to read, write post cards, play cards & getting dressed and
> undressed. Glad we didn't take our smaller lighter backpacking tent.
>
> *Spices & Eating Gear* - We did not take enough soy sauce, salt or
> pepper. We did take some fast food packets of mayonaisse and pickle
> relish for tuna fish and ham. Fantastic. Some of the backcountry
> commissaries had packets of mayo and pickle relish. Some did not. We
> also took a couple throw-a-way plastic forks to mix and eat the tuna
> and ham. Great idea.
>
> *Clothing* - At some time during our trek I wore all the clothing I
> took except the long underwear.
>
> *Camp Chair* - Didn't plan to take one but at Tooth of Time Trading
> Post they had Crazy Creek chairs discounted to $14 because "Mexico"
> was miss-spelled in "New Mexico." The best 20oz I carried. What a
> wonderful luxury.
>
> *Camp Suds* - at our ranger's recommendation we left camp suds in
> basecamp and them purchased more on the trail. Didn't take enough to
> wash hands before meals and clothing.
>
> *Cup* - at our ranger's recommendations all the adults left their cups
> at base camp on the premise that the staffed camps would provide cups
> for the 7pm advisor's coffee. Bad call. Many staff camps did not have
> cups and we ended up purchasing cups at the general stores. Take your
> cup if you want to have a cup of coffee, hot chocolate or hot apple
> cider at the advisors coffee. Fun fellowship.
>
> *Pocketknife* - Our ranger recommended we take only one or two
> pocketknives in our crew. Everyone ignored him on this and we were all
> glad later. Take you knife.
>
> *Handwashing Before Cooking *- Our ranger taught our Scouts that they
> didn't need to wash their filthy dirt crusted hands before handling
> food. They just used some hand sanitizer. My opinion, this was stupid
> and disgusting, but our Scouts followed their ranger training.
>
> *One Pot Cooking *- Worked great. However our ranger didn't have a
> clue how to cook and advised our Scouts to use too little water thus
> we ended up almost every night with this thick goo that you couldn't
> shake off your spoon. Play around with the the receipes. My son and I
> added water to our bowl everynight.
>
> *Dish Cleaning - *Our ranger taught our Scouts not to wash dishes
> after eating and to sterilize the next night by dipping dirty dishes
> into boiling water for 5-10 seconds. Personally I think this was
> stupid. We were lucky we got through our trek without anyone getting
> sick. Some of us washed our dishes & spoon and then made sure our
> spoon and bowl were sterilized for 2-3 minutes in boiling water.
>
> *Water *- We didn't carry pump/filters and didn't need them. We did
> carry 4-litres of water most days and abut 75% of our crew drank 3+
> litres on the trail. Personally I liked having the extra litre but
> never drank out of it . . .
>
> Good Luck,
>
> Kevin
>

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Received on Mon Jul 2 10:08:50 2007