[philmont] Shake Down Report

Sounds like a successful shakedown, and lots of fun!
 
Advisor to Advisor, Two things would concern me.
 
First, 45 minutes to wait for the tail end of the crew to catch up isn't
sticking together. They need to be close enough to converse and have line of
sight throughout the crew, not front to back, but along the crew string. On
the trail when "stuff" happens, it happens very fast and (pardon the pun) can
go down hill very fast. The crew MUST be together to provide the fast
reaction and support needed in an emergency. There is also a lot of value in the
comradery experience while hiking close enough to converse. Coach the boys in
caterpillaring. It forces the crew to stay together, and prepares them for
those steep slopes at elevation.
 
Secondly, don't rely on your GPS. It should be plan B; map and compass are
still plan A. We went through the Valle Vidal and never had to use the GPS.
Didn't always take the shortest route, but that was part of the adventure.
Mine was the only GPS in the crew. It was programmed with all the waypoints
we could possibly encounter, including all the alternates for wilderness
evacuation. The end of each day I would let the boys know how far and how fast,
but they never knew where they were on the trail except for map and compass.
The GPS stayed in my pack on track mode for a great electronic memory of the
trek. Part of the success with map and compass is having the crew involved
with the navigator. When they are separated you don't have the crew dynamics
that lead to successful decision making.
 
Yours in Scouting,
 
Wade Dickens
...and a good 'ol Bob White...SR-582

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Received on Thu Mar 27 21:34:01 2008