[philmont] The mean old bull

Dans memories are priceless and very similar to mine. Inflation had taken it's toll because in 1959 that same molded plywood backpack that rented for $2.00 in 1970 had rented for $0.50 in 1959.
   
  They wree in fact military surplus being made to carry three mortar rounds in tubes attached to the plywood, what exact designation, I am not certain.
   
  As a child born right at the end of WWII, I can tell you there were literally mounds of surplus material available then.
   
  Production of normal civilian goods was suspended, not even automobiles were produced, much less civilian backpacks or pack frames.
   
  The BSA in the 1950's received a lot of surplus material of which some was well suited for use by young boys and some was not. The heavy tents aer the one thing I am thinking of.
   
  Our own council Scout camp owned a military surplus Dodge Powerwagon heavy duty ex Army ambulance that they used at the camp. This behemoth would do almost anything and everything it was recruited to do.
   
  The camp rangers pickup truck had U S AMRY stenciled on the door and painted over.
   
  That's just the way it was.
   
  Then along came the backpacking craze of the 1970's and demand was met by supply and the advent of lighter weight camping/backpacking equipment took place.
   
  And we are all better off for it.
   
  And speaking of cowboys, of which I am not. The group I went with to Philmont were pretty savy kids. Most had experience with livestock at grandpas farm or some other entity, so when we hiked through Bonito on the way to Trail Peak, we were not looking for cows to rope, but all has already spotted a place of refuge in the event those cows resented our intrusion into their home. We'd all had some sort of experience with that before. That's what growing up in rural Texas had taught us.
   
  The cowboy hat fit right nicely upon ones head where wearing the plywood packboard as it did not extend above the shoulders like they do now, so we made it through the trek without having to trim the brim.
   
  John LeBlanc
   

 
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Received on Mon Nov 27 14:56:56 2006