[philmont] Keeping together on the trail

I did not think the Hawaiian Chicken was that bad when mixed with Ramen and vegetables, but that is not why I am writing tonight.

I am a real stickler for keeping the crew on the trail together. For the most part, we kept together. Two strategies helped.

First, the leader was always someone who hiked at a pace that the entire crew could follow. The leader did not need to be the slowest, but he needed to hike at a pace that the slowest hiker could maintain.

Second, we hiked best when we took regular rest stops. Another advisor suggested a strategy at the Cyphers Mine advisors' coffee, and we found that it worked. You hike for 30 minutes, and then take a 5 minute pack on break. You follow that break with 30 additional minutes of hiking, with a 20 minute pack off break at the end. Then, you repeat the process.

We used these two strategies instead of the caterpillar, which we used only once - climbing Mt. Phillips.

--
David K. Palmer
Scoutmaster & Advisor
2006 Crew 806-C Trek #22
Olympia, WA
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