[Philmont]: Cut To The Chase Advise Part 3

Do the crew a favor.

Start right now doing physical training so you can ALMOST keep up with them. Age is on their side, not yours.

Start right now doing some team building with the crew. If you don't know how to do that, find someone who does. Many work places have professional trainers that teach team building.

That is what you need to be thinking about, not what do I do if I get eaten by a bear.

And speaking of bears.

Smellables. That needs to be taught and taught a lot. Some of you advisors who have posted some of these posts need some "bear education" and "smellable recognition".

Dr. Bob's troop website has a most comprehensive section on bear safety and smallables. Study it.

One comment to the post about dividing the food up and putting it in individual mugs for rehydration. My thought on this is that is bear bait just waiting for an idiot to do it.

Go to Philmont. Do it the Philmont way. They don't do junk and they don't hire junky people. they have been "doing it" for over seventy years. Take advantage of this experience and let them share it with your crew.

One of the girls from our crew last year will be working at CHQ this year. My old college friend Floyd will be running the post office and his wife will be in the registrars office. A husband wife team who are friends who were at Hunting Lodge last year will be at Fish Camp. Anyone goign there has a treat in store for them. And I'm told another friend will be at Hunting Lodge. When you see them, tell them I said hello for me and ask them to lay some PhiLore on your crew. They will and the crew will have a better time because of it.

I hope the Sasafrass Tea is available at Fish Camp this summer. That is "Southern boy" for hospitality. Try some.

And just let the crew lead themselves and do it the Philmont way. Stand back and marvel at how they do it much better on the last day than on the first day. There is no wrong way to do it so long as it is the crew's way and not yours.

If and when an emergency comes up, let the crew handle it under your watchful eye. They are capable. They will grow leap years from the experience. And just remember it probably will be your overweight happy butt they cart off the mountain to Raton or Taos hospitals anyway. Statistically, it won't be them.

If the need or occasion arises for the use of a cell phone, then whip out yours and hand it to the crew leader and let them do it.

And now a word for our sponsor. I'm lieing about that sponsor stuff, but take this advise. R-E-A-D Cooper and Wally's Advisor's Guide. It's decades of experience all packed into a few hours. But don't wait until you are on the way to Philmont to read it. Only an idiot would do that. <grin!>

And that's all I have to say about that.

John LeBlanc

Eagle Class of 1959

Phirst PhilTrek 1959

Last PhilTrek 2003

My latest adventure was yesterday,

Today is not over yet

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Received on Sat May 3 01:43:13 2003