[philmont] 30 & Burros

My crew declined the burros on our trek 21 adventure in 2004. Our crew in
2006 was told that taking the burros was no longer optional. The reason
being that enough crews were not taking the burros to the drop off points
for other crews to pick them up. The result was the crews that wanted them
could not get them. I must admit that we were all pleasantly surprised at
the amount of fun we had with the burros! First off, the boys had a blast.
Every one of them was fighting to be the one who got the hold the lead. It
was never considered a chore...not once. So the fact that they had fun with
them was more than worth the added effort. The next best thing was that the
burro was allowed to carry 50 pounds of gear! Let me tell you that was
another BIG PLUS! We had picked up over 70 bags of food on day one and
weren't scheduled to hit a commissary until day 4. We all were ecstatic to
see our personal share drop from 6-8 bags a piece to about two each. That
alone was worth the price of admission for a couple of our crew. In
hindsight I can tell you there are really only two inconveniences. 1) In
some spots you are restricted to using the roads as the trails are to steep.
In our case on 21, that meant from Ponil to Flume Canyon and then from Flume
Canyon to Pueblano. The Staff at Pueblano reminded us that we could take the
trail to Head of Dean vice the road. The roads are much hotter and harder on
the feet so that was a drawback. But once back on the trails in the shade it
was much better. 2) Burros don't like moving water, in fact they absolutely
hate it. So it is a chore to get them to cross it. They will do it, but they
will make sure that one of you cross it with them. Yep, side by side. No
taking the walkways. Since we went during the early part of August this past
summer, it had rained a lot prior to our arrival, and we were blessed with
rain daily. That meant that every single intermittent stream was a fast
flowing river! Coming out of Pueblano you get to cross one immediately and
the staff know it so they hang around just to watch the show. Believe me
when I tell you, unless you are the guy holding the lead, the show is
hilarious! We had an advisor offer to take the burro across this first time,
and the water was just below his knees for most of the thirty or so foot
crossing. The burro pitched a fit all the way across and our advisor got to
go swimming twice. I mean down on his back holding onto the lead water up to
his neck! Fortunately he had taken his pack off for this evolution or it
would have been soaked. Oh well, it helped to cool him off. We got to cross
fairly deep, fast moving another couple of time but non provided us with as
much entertainment as the first time. Believe me when I say, Thorns and
Roses was hoot that night, all that was missing was the popcorn!
 
Based upon experiences with and without burros, I will always recommend
taking them from this point on, even if optional.
 
YIS,
 
Mark
AA VC850, T850
Stafford, VA

 
  _____

From: Philmont@troop47.com [mailto:Philmont@troop47.com] On Behalf Of John
Geyster
Sent: Friday, September 29, 2006 10:46 PM
To: Philmont List Member
Subject: [Philmont] 30 & Burros

My crew did Trek 21 in 2004 and elected to forgo the burros for the Wilson
Mesa route. No one regretted it and thought the hike over the Mesa was one
of the highlights of the trip. Our ranger had a vista off trail that he
used to complete training. This was also one of the best views of the
entire trip.

If everything else is an optional activity, why make burro packing a
requirement? The whole experience is about the crew making choices, yet
they force the burros on the crew. And you can't always choose a comparable
trek without burros. Just look at how many do both Baldy and the Tooth
without burros.

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As you gather around this virtual campfire with fellow
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Received on Sun Oct 1 10:50:12 2006