RE: [Philmont]: Philmont Tour Guides

We fly into Colorado Springs and plan our own tour.
 
We've rented vans with 4 crews. Expensive, hard to make work, and
involved lots of pack/unpack and stress.
 
With 3 crews we rented a bus. No tour guide, but gave them our
itinerary and they made it happen. Gear is much easier, stow backpacks
in the bus bay, carry-ons in the cab. Movies occupy the longer drives
(bring some of your own). Drivers helped with getting the right
restaurant which are quicker and cheaper than fast food (which isn't for
40). The whole approach works very well.
 
We've seen different prices and levels of service. Had one break down,
but replaced it quickly. It can be tough getting the best bus company
for your time slot. We usually do a day in CO Springs, a day west WW
rafting, overnight at Koshare, then on to Philmont. Same bus picks us
up for a run to the airport. Our schedule is so packed, it's tough to
see what a tour guide could add. The years that Colorado was too dry to
raft, we were able to find other activities to do and still fill our
time.
 
DON'T, DON'T, DON'T mountain bike down Pikes Peak though. Stupidest
thing I ever signed up for as an advisor:-( I have movies of the road
rash warriors. Very surprised I didn't send someone home with broken
bones. Starting a 10-day trek with chunks of gravel buried in your
elbow, knees, and palms is NOT a good thing.
 
Budget a tip for the DRIVER. We give them crew t-shirts. I don't worry
about meals, the restaurants should comp them.
 
YIS
 
Kirk Barley
Virginia Beach

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-philmont@troop47.com [mailto:owner-philmont@troop47.com] On
Behalf Of buffalobrian@juno.com
Sent: Sunday, October 09, 2005 11:56 PM
To: Multiple recipients of list philmont
Subject: [Philmont]: Philmont Tour Guides

I hoping that I can get some help from the Philmont list.

So far the only Tour guide that has returned our request for information
is Blue Sky Adventures.

 Does anyone have any knowledge of Leading the Way Tours? They haven't
returned any of our emails or phone calls and it would be nice to know
if they are still in business.

Does anyone of the list know of any Tour Operators that are still
specializing in Boy Scout Philmont Treks, other then the above two?

I have read about crews coming on trains, renting vans and the advisors
driving them and so far in my opinion it's best if an someone else is
taking care of the logistics so the Advisors are spending quality time
with their crew.

I would appreciate any word on the subject.

Brian Gorman

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Received on Mon Oct 10 02:09:39 2005