[Philmont] Some Kindred PhilThoughts

John LeBlanc wrote:
>
> It's the same thing at Philmont. A Scout will get a lot more out of
> it when they remember how tough it was to clean the burned food from
> the pot rather than using the turkey bags as "disposable pot
> diapers". Cleaning the tent another will use will be a lot more
> meaningful to him than pizza at Simple Simons in the long run. Maybe
> not in the short of it, but in the long run YES!
>
> <SNIP>
> Believe you me, I enjoyed the Grays pancake breakfast at AA, but the
> only thing it was missing was a can of Spam.
>
> I don't want to sound like I'm against the PhilProgram in place today
> because I am not, but there was some values in some of the things we
> did back in the good old days that have been lost over time. ONe of
> them is our leaders back then made us do it thje old fashioned way, we
> earned it. Today, some leaders do all they can to make it wasier for
> the Scouts. That's wrong!
<snip>
> Please advisors, don't take away ingenuity from the Scouts on their
> treks. That's the thing they will need to be a success in todays
> world. Let them solve the problems as they come up instead of canning
> their activities and making them little robots.
>
> <snip>
>
> I shared the trail at AA with a man who went to Philmont in 1957.
> Having gone in 1959, I asked him what he remembered most. It was the
> fire building and cooking meals but other than that he cannot recall
> much of it or what camps they visited. I don't want this to sound
> like I'm bragging but the reason he can't is he took no photographs
> and did not take notes or mark up a map.

###########################################

Not a big differing view but enough that it is worth getting on the
record.

I was not at Philmont in 1959. Never even made it to summer camp
until 1978. Got something to do with a defect in my birth certificate.

I have burned a lot of food, seen my son do the same a few times already
and he will not be 11 for another 2 weeks. We do a lot of
backpacking. We try not to make a mess cooking for one and only one
reason. We want to spend as little time as possible cleaning up and as
much time as we can playing cards, looking at the sunset, reading or
otherwise getting ready for the next day. The last couple of hours
after the hike and before bed are the best in the day anything that
helps that relaxation time is good.

If I am invited back I will add SPAM to my list of things to bring on
the next AA trip. Frankly Linda and Susan did as good a job with those
pancakes as any luxury meal I have ever had. I will trust that the food
was better in 1959, but I was not fixing anything that good when I was
14 at summer camp in 1980.

One of the biggest things I learned this year at the AA trip was the
trick of stringing my spook and fork for easier cleaning. Should I not
pass that on to the boys? Should I send them off to fend for
themselves and not see what or how I prepare my gear differently? Get
my stuff hung using the great carabiner system and let them suffer with
pure ropes? I agree that there is no rush to get to a "perfect" trek
with every step mapped out in advance. On the other hand there is a ton
to see and do. The more training that takes place in advance the more
fun you will have. Yep, that falls under the category of "Be
Prepared" know I saw that written somewhere, need to figure out where I
last saw it.

After sharing two AA trips with the Gentleman from the class of 57 I
offer a very different perspective. He spends a lot of time sitting on
the porch reflecting on his past. You can get him into a good
conversation about a ton of subjects but if the rest of the world were
to leave him on the porch at Miranda, Beubien, or Poniel for a week or
so he would be perfectly OK. I really do think he remembers a lot more
than he admits. Or maybe he likes to talk to John and was just being
quite around me. I do know I enjoyed sitting by him on those porches
and hope to do so for many years to come.

As I said, not a huge difference but a slightly different view from the
"Jr" trail member on that crew.

Mark

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As you gather around this virtual campfire with fellow
Scouts and Scouters, do your best to be trustworthy,
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Received on Mon Oct 15 22:30:50 2007