From: Sid Covington (sid_c@swbell.net)
Date: Tue Jun 11 2002 - 13:32:13 CDT
Just wanted to give everyone an update on conditions up here.
I got my 12 Capitol Area Council contingent crews on the trail yesterday and
then came to my house west of Eagle Nest. Their expedition numbers were
609-E-1 to 12 and were the first out for the summer.
The 12 crews had originally been given itineraries across the ranch. The
logistics staff did an absolutely excellent job of assigning new itineraries
to those who had been scheduled in the Valle Vidal and North Country. Some
of the South and Central itineraries were slightly modified to accommodate
the additional load there. The switched itineraries included some existing
itineraries and some that have been created to accommodate the situation
this year. Everyone seemed to be happy with their new assignments --
logistics really worked hard to try to mimic the difficulty and program mix
of the original itinerary. They should be given a large thanks.
A few points: 1. every crew will have a "sister" crew this summer -- use
this as an opportunity to make new friends; 2. staff from the Valle Vidal &
North Country have been moved to the camps in the South and Central
countries -- this should prevent problems with "overcrowding" in programs;
3. water is extremely scarce--springs that normally run until August never
started; 4. detail maps for South and Central countries were still in short
supply although they were trying to pick them up at the printer yesterday
(Monday) -- all crews should remember to bring their wall map they received.
I recommend the following: 1. don't call logistics or Philmont with
questions about your itinerary -- they are really busy now and things may
change before you arrive anyway, 2. have confidence that Philmont will
work diligently and successfully to make everyone's trek a success; 3. tell
your crew members that this is an act of nature and you have to be flexible
and roll with the punches; 4. prepare for lack of water and to have to carry
water long distances (everyone should carry at least 3 quarts of water and
you should have bladders/milk jugs, etc. to carry water); 5. your "new"
itinerary may have a long day in it -- some appeared to be significantly
longer than on the standard itineraries; 6. Philmont is closely monitoring
the fire situation and will take necessary steps to insure the safety of
trek participants and the staff if conditions change; and 7. just plan to
enjoy yourself and have fun -- it will work.
Philmont has significantly reworked the menu's this year -- they are now
packaged in multiples of two people and they have re-examined and adjusted
the calorie count to correct some of the ones that were short.
At basecamp, participants are almost unaware of the fire. You can look
north and see the smoke plumes on the other side of Cimarron but that is
about the only physical indication they are there. The prevailing winds are
blowing the smoke north and east away from Philmont. There is a lot of dust
in basecamp and people were complaining about the strong winds blowing all
night keeping them from sleeping although that didn't bother me! It looks
more like late August than what should be late spring up here--all the grass
is brown and there are no wildflowers. The firefighter camp at the Cimarron
rodeo grounds is impressive -- several hundred tents. The fire now has its
own website at http://www.pnw-team2.com/ponilcomplex/index.html. From
Cimarron to Ute Park, there are numerous helicopters dumping fire retardant.
If anything significant happens between now and the time I go back over to
Philmont to meet my crews when they come off the trail on the 20th, I'll
pass it on.
Sid Covington
Tour Director, Capitol Area Council Philmont Contingent 2001-2003
----- Original Message -----
From: <philmont-request@troop47.com>
To: "Philmont" <philmont@troop47.com>
Sent: Monday, June 10, 2002 11:00 PM
Subject: [Philmont] - philmont Digest - V01 #254
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