Re: [Philmont]: Route selection

Can't say enough good things about Cooper Wright's unofficial Philmont Guide. It accurately fills in all the gaps and was invaluable to an Advisor of a first-time crew in '04. Bob's Klein's post and crew selection procedures are right-on-track as well. A couple of other excellent sources of info are Selden's Philmont Website
 
http://www.lns.cornell.edu/~seb/philmont.html

and Dan Yoder's great site (with a Trek Planning Selector) at

http://www.danyoder.com/

We had a backpacking-experienced older crew (16+ years) of mostly Eagle Scouts. They immediately did the "maxi-macho" thing and looked at Treks 25 and above, simply based on the description "Strenuous" or "Super Strenuous." We spent a very long Sunday afternoon in my den going over all the factors they needed to consider:
- Our experience (good, but all on relatively flat East Coast) and physical condition (OK)
- Overall mileage (including any side hikes they may want)
- Elevation (in terms of altitude gain/loss as well as potential medical effects)
- Program (a very big factor...deciding which staffed camps did the guys really wanted to do)
- Peaks to be bagged (Baldy, Phillips, Black Mountain, The Tooth, etc)
- The nature and temperament of the group as a whole (a critical factor for the Advisors to assess)

In the end, they selected Trek 11 (with Trek 21 as second choice.) By mailing in our Selection Card IMMEDIATELY, we got Trek 11, our first choice. Despite the relatively low number ("Typical" 57 miles) it turned out to be a perfect first-trek. Mostly in very scenic South Country (with the most elevation by the way), an overnighter on Phillips, great programs (Fish Camp, Apache Springs, Clear Creek, Cyphers Mine, Cito), and a hike in over the Tooth. With sidehikes (like Hidden Valley) our overall end mileage was closer to 70 miles. The trek balanced program with terrain very well and worked for our very experienced, very cohesive crew...but a crew that was laid-back and wasn't necessarily in the best of shape with prior sports injuries, etc.

There are no "perfect" treks. Trek selection is what works best for any single crew. If we get to go back in '06 it will be with a co-ed Venture Crew. There will be an entirely different trek selection dynamic.

So Pete, take your time getting your facts straight first. Just by posting your question you've gotten a lot of good responses that can be of assistance to any first-time advisor. Present the factors to your crew so they can make some initial choices, assisted by informed guidance from you.

Jim Krempel
Sr Advisor Crew 710H '04
Severn, MD
EwokScout@comcast.net

  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Pete Swiggum
  To: Multiple recipients of list philmont
  Sent: Thursday, September 02, 2004 11:34 PM
  Subject: [Philmont]: Route selection

  First post in this forum so please excuse me if this topic has been posted ad nauseum.

  We're heading to Philmont next summer with a group of 14, 15, and 16 year olds. Most, if not all, of the boys are strong, experienced hikers, or at least athletic enough to adapt to anything thrown at them in the way of trek difficulty.

  With the 35 available treks, are there any specific treks that are considered toughest or "must-do"? We prefer to take a trek that offers challenge and gratification once it's completed. What is the best way to determine which trek to take?

  Pete Swiggum
  Green Bay, WI
  Troop 1173

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Received on Sat Sep 4 11:30:05 2004