Re: [Philmont]: Question on a fitness test for Philmont

Some thoughts on the fitness test question.

First, why are you going? Are you going to prove who is the most fit, the
most buff? Or, are you going to give your Scouts and adult leaders a
wilderness experience in God's great outdoors?

What does a patrol mean to you? To expect every member to be 100% every day
is foolishness and to plan a trip dependant on this is folly. We had one
scout moderately sprain an ankle that allowed the rest of the patrol to
assist him by lightening his load for a day. We had a second scout get some
kind of stomach ailment that slowed us for a morning and again allowed the
rest of the patrol to give him a hand by reducing his load for a day.

And, honestly, I am opposed to leaving out the wishes of the adult leaders
as to trip length, difficulty and activities. A patrol is a patrol. You
will all need to work as a team and the abilities of all members, adults
included, need to be taken into account. The posts that have talked about
adults crashing with just a tinge of disgust bother me. Most adult leaders
will bend over backwards to give their scouts every great experience that
scouting has to give. Did the scouts on these trips insist on pushing past
the limits of the patrol? Were some of these trips not going to occur
unless these adults raised their hands and said OK, I'll go? While I fully
expect any adult be physically fit for the trip, few adult leaders I know
(myself included) could successfully complete the longest and most strenous
treks. And, unless me and my partner had said we would do the trip, our
scouts would not have been able to go. Hence my argument to take into
account the entire patrol's capabilities when selecting your trek. Do not
set yourselves up for failure before you hit base camp.

By evaluating everyone's physical abilities, keeping a "buffer" in the mix
to allow for injuries and agreeing on what our patrol's overall goal of our
Philmont trip was (to enjoy the trip, enjoy each other's company and take
advantage of what was available at Philmont) and working hard during our
year of preparation for the trip, we completed our trip with minimum
injuries, minimum exhaustion and maximum enjoyment.

While I certainly encourage a significant physical fitness process during
your prep year, the fitness test you outline feels a bit much. Relax,
prepare and enjoy the process. This is not a military exercise but an
adventure to be shared and enjoyed by your patroll.

For what it's worth.

Bill Keller
wkeller@troop47.com

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Received on Fri Sep 24 09:39:43 2004