[philmont] What would you do??

Kim,

I definitely think you need to be up front and honest with both the scout and the parents. You owe it to them and the rest of the crew since they may end up carrying all his gear on the trail. At the beginning of our 06 Philmont prep, the other adult and I told our crew and parents up front that we reserved the right to make the decision whether a scout was ready for Philmont or not. A hiking problem with one of your crew on a weekend tune-up is easily dealt with. However, add another eight days with being in the back country, and it quickly becomes a big deal. Telling them now gives the scout a chance to work on improving his stamina and strength if he is serious about going, and avoids a bigger disappointment later if the decision is made to cut him and he hasn't mentally prepared himself. Secrets aren't a good thing.

We actually cut two scouts for other reasons but the decisions were done early. It caused some hard feelings but they dissipated and it saved our crew from a probable crash & burn at Philmont. Good luck.

Pat Kennedy
Troop 35
O'Fallon, IL
Philmont '06, '07
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Troop 681 scouter
  To: philmont List Member
  Sent: Sunday, March 25, 2007 6:37 PM
  Subject: [philmont] What would you do??

   
  We have one scout who, though small, we thought would be able able to make it backpacking Philmont for 10 days. He backpacked in the High Sierras of northern Califorina last summer with a school group, 5-6 days. He is small, completing the 8th grade this year........he is also the SPL right now and doing a great job.
   
  BUT, after completing our 2nd tune up this weekend, the other advisor and my self are starting to have doubts. On the over night tune ups, by the end of the hike he is taking steps and turning his feet in (pigeon toed). You can also tell by his body language he is struggling, though he doesn't complain. Our tune ups have only been 10 to 12 miles total so far, at elevations of 5200+ ft in San Diego county. We're backpacking the Grand Canyon (Havasupai Indian Reservation) in April, and he's going too.
   
  MY QUESTION --- should we tell his parents now about our doubts??? OR wait until after we see how he does on the Grand Canyon hike??

  Kim Pigorsch
  Philmont '99, '03, '07 (724-T)
  Troop 681 Outdoor Chairmun (sic)

  www.troop681.com - troop website
  www.sdicbsa.org - Council Website

  San Diego, CA

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Received on Sun Mar 25 19:12:15 2007