[Philmont]: Bear Bags and Rope

I know Philmont distributes bear bags to the crews. I didn't know that some
crews brought their own. What are the advantages/disadvantages to both sides
of this equation?

Also, does Philmont provide ropes? If not, what should we consider bringing?
If so, what kind, how long and how heavy?

BeaverBob

> From: "Dr. Bob Klein" <drbob@troop111.org>
> Reply-To: philmont@troop47.com
> Date: Tue, 10 Jun 2003 18:04:26 -0400
> To: Multiple recipients of list philmont <philmont@troop47.com>
> Subject: Re: [Philmont]: wait list question
>
> Since I don't think anyone else has answered, I will make some comments:
>
> First, at #135, and 2004 *not* being a Jambo year, you are really on the
> knife-edge of being able to make it off the waiting list. Past comments
> on this list suggest a cutoff around #125. But 2004 is still a long
> ways off, and "things can change".
>
> Second, having four Crews probably exacerbates the situation. But FWIW,
> the only personal experience I have been involved in with this sort of
> scenario was two Crews, and when Philmont came calling, they were
> looking for both (this was a neighboring Troop I was counselling, not
> mine). If memory serves, they were #112 or #122, and yes, they were
> called late/late, like in early April. They were given a couple of
> dates to choose from, and had one week to make up their minds.
>
> If you are serious about going, then you have to plan, train, and prep
> like you ARE going - otherwise, your trek will be a disaster. This is
> what makes your situation really hairy. Unless you're millionaires, you
> have to buy airfares, arrange housing and meals, transportation to the
> Ranch, etc., much earlier than you will know whether you can go. But
> the Ranch can't guarantee your preferred date, and if you never get off
> the waiting list, you have lost a fortune - and aggravated the hell out
> of 40 sets of parents. The only way to try and compensate for this
> <likelihood> is to co-arrange an alternate trek in e.g., the Rocky
> Mountain State Park, that you can do if Philmont falls through. You can
> also try reserving Packard or one of the other Scout camps in Colorado
> that offer low and high Alpine treks, and see how much it would cost you
> to bail out if Philmont comes through. All this is a heck of a lot of
> contingency planning (especially for 4 Crews), but if you've done things
> like this before you can manage two plans at once, especially if you
> start *now*. I sure wouldn't recommend it for novices, however. Going
> independent is a metric butt-load of work.
>
> It goes without saying that you really need to pay attention to the wait
> list numbers. The big drops occur about a month after the big
> pre-payments are due (I believe the Ranch gives wavering Crews a month
> to get their acts together, after which they are dropped). My personal
> WAG would be if the wait list hasn't passed #100 by January 1st, it
> ain't gonna happen, and you're wasting your time - and I'd personally be
> a lot happier about my chances if it was at 110 or 115 by January 1st
> (note, however, that my guarantee on this opinion expired when I hit the
> "send" button).
>
> Lord only knows why, but Philmont does not publish the wait-list number
> here or (to my knowledge) anywhere else. Dumb. But (like everyone
> else) you can keep tabs on the wait list by calling Philmont every few
> months and asking to talk to Betty or Frances. And I do mean 2 or 3
> months between calls - they are both very patient ladies, but don't wear
> out your welcome.
>
> Your next biggest problem will be keeping your four Crews intact in the
> face of all this uncertainty. People don't like making plans or
> shelling out big bucks on "maybes". Just be aware that you will face
> constant (and accelerating) attrition as 2003 wears on.
>
> Good luck and I hope this helps.
>
> - Dr. Bob
>
>
>
> Craig Maes wrote:
>> Our troop is wait-listed for 4 crews in 2004, about #135 on the list. Can
>> some of you share your experience's with being on the wait-list, having been
>> contacted, etc?
>>
>> Did you have space for your entire group, or was only one crew accepted at a
>> time?
>> How far down the list was your group?
>> How early were you initially contacted to see if you wanted to go?
>> How much time were you allowed to decide if you wanted to accept?
>> Did you already have a training schedule setup "just in case"?
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>> Craig Maes
>> maes@comcast.net
>>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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>
>
>
>

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-------------------------------------------------------
As you gather around this virtual campfire with fellow
Scouts and Scouters, do your best to be trustworthy,
loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient,
cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
-------------------------------------------------------

 
Received on Tue Jun 10 17:42:29 2003