RE: [Philmont]: 2006 questions

Coop's right on here, and he isn't off the mark about the Advisor's Guide,
either. Although, he did leave out the part about $10 per Advisor that gets
a copy of the guide. It is STILL worth more than you pay for it even if you
buy one for each and every Advisor.
 
Just remember though, be very careful when boiling water near the last day
or two. A dumped pot can result in not enough fuel to boil more for dinner
(or worse, for morning coffee!!). Practice cooking, practice purifying
water, practice hiking, and practice all these some more before you go.
Instill good habits.
 
Joe Tavares
Troop 728
Richardson, TX

   _____

From: owner-philmont@troop47.com [mailto:owner-philmont@troop47.com] On
Behalf Of CoopWright@aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2005 6:01 PM
To: Multiple recipients of list philmont
Subject: Re: [Philmont]: 2006 questions

Wow, lots of good questions. I'm sure you are going to get a range of
different responses. Everybody's trek at Philmont varies and everyone has
different opinions and experiences on the basic backcountry skills.
 
Water Purification - Thanks to this list we found out that we received word
that Philmont will be issuing Katadyn MP1 Emergency Drinking Water Tablets
this summer instead of Polar Pure. This is part of Philmont’s ongoing
assessment of backcountry protocols. To find out more information about the
Katadyn MP1 tablets, visit their website at www.katadyn.net/micropur.html.
We believe that Philmont will issue these tablets, just like they did Polar
Pure, even if you bring your own filters.
 
Tents - Some Philmont campsites are pretty small, so it helps if you use two
man tents, and only enough for your entire crew. It is really up to the
father and son, whether or not they want to be tent mates. Since I have
never taken a son to Philmont, I really can't comment. Ten days can be a
long time and perhaps a father and son would like a little distance. It
just depends. I have always tented with another advisor. It means we get
to share the weight of the tent and we set up one tent, instead of two. It
is just my way and yours may differ.
 
One Pot Meals - Again you are going to get a range of responses. Some folks
like our crews use the pots to prepare the complete meals, veggies and all.
Like another poster, when they have mashed potatoes, we did use two pots. I
haven't used the oven bag cooking because cleaning one pot was not a big
deal. Others just open the food bags and add hot water. Again, it will be
up to your crew to decide how they want to handle meals.
 
Your Ranger is going to show you the "Philmont way" as part of Ranger
training on the trail. Listen to what he says and do what he says while he
or she is with you. Should you decide to use oven bags or the actual food
bags after your Ranger leaves is up to you. One other resource that you may
want to use is the Philmont Advisor's Guide. This unofficial document was
developed by Wally Feurtado and myself after we returned from our first
Philmont treks and said "I wish I had known that". It is available as a MS
Word email attachment for a $10 donation to Venturing Crew 1519. Good luck
and let me know if you would like a copy of the Guide.

Think about doing a high adventure trek this summer at one of the many
council sponsored programs. Too many units come to Philmont with no high
adventure experience. High adventure activities should be an integral part
of every unit that wants to keep its older youth active and advancing. It
can't be a one time shot.
 
Cooper Wright
Associate Advisor, Crew 1519
Co-author of the Philmont Advisor's Guide

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