[philmont] Reinventing The Wheel

John, I remember my first Philmont trek in 1970 when one of the Scouts
in our crew had feet so sore and blistered from his J.C. Penney
leather boots that he decided to hike in sneakers one day. Well, we
had all been told how you had to hike in boots at Philmont to survive.
We just knew that this Scout was risking being sent home in a pine box
if he hiked in sneakers - it was unheard of. Sneakers, for those of
you too young to remember, were not the same as athletic shoes, they
were a bit of canvas and rubber. He survived the day without injury.
Not only did he survive but his feet healed enough to wear his boots
for the rest of the trek.

My point is that it is a good idea to challenge common wisdom from time
to time. Using Crocs as a camp shoe won't land a Scout back in Base
Camp. Just like my friend hiking in his sneakers 37 years ago, hiking
in Crocs as an emergency measure is probably also O.K.

Dan Preston
Philmont '70, '72, '02, '06
On May 16, 2007, at 6:25 AM, John LeBlanc wrote:

> Here we go again, reinventing the wheel.
>  
> If you want to go spend your time in a big base camp, why not attend a
> Jamboree instead of Philmont?
>  
> Those or Crocs should keep the home fires burning.  Meaning that they
> will be responsible for many Scouts taken off the trail to spend the
> rest of their trek or what's left of it near the home fires.  That is
> base camp.  That's where the unhikable Scouts spend the remainder of
> their time at Philmont lounging around in hot wall tents while their
> crew without foot injuries enjoys the cool back country.
>  
> The medical department will just love these things.  Or is  it hate?
>  
> Get my point?
>  
> John LeBlanc
Received on Fri May 18 16:19:38 2007