Calvin Gray wrote:
"This indicates to me that Northern Tier is having trouble, especially
during the first month of their season. Probably due to competition from
the commercial outfitters which operate in Ely and provide an excellent
alternative to Northern Tier. Hopefully, the situation will improve as
"competition" tends to do that over time."
**************
I don't claim to have insider information, but I don't think Northern Tier
is having troubles. They're just trying to fill their schedule in the
earlier part of the summer. If you look at commercial outfitters in the
Boundary Waters and Quetico, as well as any regular family resort, July and
August are always the most filled. You'll occasionally see family resorts
offering discounts during certain slower times of the year, too. Schools
don't get out until sometime in June (usually) and it takes a while to get
things set to go. Hence, July and August always look good for planning
purposes. I'm sure Philmont isn't too much different.
Along the lines of competition for Boy Scout Troops outfitting through
private outfitters instead of going through Northern Tier, I've always
wondered why Troops do that, especially when it comes to taking younger
Scouts on their first or second trips. Is there a significant cost factor?
Granted, there are several adult leaders (myself included) who are capable
of leading a group of Scouts into the BW or Q, but the experience of having
staff interpreters on each crew as well as the format of canoe tripping
through a national Boy Scout base is priceless, in my humble opinion.
Our Troop's experience was so positive at Northern Tier, I couldn't imagine
leading boys through a private outfitter, no matter how much they say they
cater to the Scouts. If anyone has any information to share from the
opposite point of view, I'd love to hear it.
My apologies for steering the conversation off of the topic at hand -
Philmont.
Pete Swiggum
Troop 1173
Green Bay, WI
Peter.Swiggum@sbcglobal.net
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Received on Wed Sep 29 10:46:39 2004
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