[Philmont]: Cut To The Chase Advise Part 1

<<Philmont is meant to be experienced, not processed and
sorted and re-engineered. John LeBlanc, where the heck are you
when we need your cut to the chase advice.

Cooper Wright>>

Coop et al,

I'm right here reading it all and wondering what I need to write that would help the most.

I'm seeing the same thing on the local level with advisors. Not so much with Venturing advisors as much as Scout "advisors". Somehow they seem to cottle the younger set more.

Just remember that when a youth has reached the age they can go to Philmont, in most but not all cases, they are quite capable of takign care of themselves.

Next, Philmont isn't a wilderness. A place with a two way party line linking the hundreds of staff at camps is far from a wilderness. However, it is the closest thing to a wilderness that the BSA owns. It will be a wilderness experience for they crew if you let it be.

Consider this. It should be a stepping stone to bigger and better things and not an end in itself. Remember that. See to it that it does this for the crew you are with. Notice I said "with". I did not say crew that you lead or crew that you take to Philmont. They take you, not the other way around.

After all, you are only their advisor. The crew through the CREW SELECTED crew leader runs the trek. Remember that. They ALSO run the trek during any emergency. Let them do that, but monitor what they do. Help them, don't take over just because "it's an emergency".

Cell phones.

Anyone who says "they have no place, leave them at home" is in my opinion a little closed minded. Just my opinion.

I carried a cell phone last summer. It weighs 3.5 oz. It was used sparingly, but very effective for what it was needed for. I'll post more on that later.

Walkie talkies

There is two sides to this coin. There seems to be two sets of ideas. The pros and the cons. I say let the crew decide what they want to do. If radio communications attracts their fancy, then by all means they should use them.

One of the Scouts from the troop I was in but a little younger than me used to lug a full sized car battery to Scout camp to power up his radios. He is now vice president of an East Texas cell phone company. And he got a lot of his experience at Scout camp. What's wrong with that? Nothing. BSA provided the platform for his interests.

Again, let the CREW decide this.

---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo.

-------------------------------------------------------
Scouting E-mail Discussion Lists @ usscouts.org
Subscribe/Unsubscribe at http://usscouts.org/lists/
Listserv Commands at http://usscouts.org/lists/lc.asp
-------------------------------------------------------
Send listserv commands to: listserv@troop47.com
Send postings to: philmont@troop47.com
List FAQ found at: http://usscouts.org/lists/faq.asp
List Administrator: philmont_owner@troop47.com
-------------------------------------------------------
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 Sat May 3 01:26:15 2003