Re: [Philmont]: Pre-Trek Training Agreements

The Commitment Contract would be identical whether we were doing Trek
35, or Trek 1. It has nothing to do with physical capability, and
everything to do with personal commitment towards creating a top-notch
Philmont Crew that will do Philmont "right" and enjoy themselves.

I believe it was Wally who first pointed out (many years ago) that "all
Philmont treks are tough". I have noted with some interest that through
the years, the absolute worst Crews and Advisors were not doing
Superstrenuous or Strenuous treks - rather they were on low number
treks. (It was a Ranger who first pointed this out to me, many years
ago.) In many cases, the physical size and physical abilities of the
Scouts on those Crews were "apparently" significantly better than those
on my Crews - yet we were the ones doing far better both physically and
operationally. We committed - they didn't. We hit the trail as a Crew
- they hit the trail as 12 guys walking in the same direction. In my
opinion, both the Scouts and especially the Advisors on those Crews felt
that they could bail on their personal and Crew training because they
were doing an "easy" trek. And found out by Days 3 and 4 that their
"easy" trek was anything but, and that it was way too late to do
anything about it now except quit or suck it up. So much for a
mountaintop experience. With luck they'll come together by the time
they're coming off the trail.

Or not. Ask yourself why so many brand-new Philmont Arrowheads are for
sale on ebay, going for between $10 and $20. Were the sellers
experiences that pathetic? Guess so.

During an off-line discussion early this year with some other List
members, we further explored this phenomenon. One of the comments I
made is that the picture of what Philmont "really" is, would be a lot
more accurate if the current ratings of "Typical", "Rugged",
"Strenuous", and "Superstrenuous" were renamed as: "Strenuous",
"Superstrenuous", "Damn Near Impossible", and "Where Should We Ship Your
Body?" There's something to be said for "scared straight!"

Off to the salt-mines....

- Dr. Bob

Joseph Jansen wrote:
> I can appreciate where Dr. Bob is coming from. He is correct in what he
> states -
> for the kind of Philmont adventure he describes - the super strenuous
> variety.
> It is perfectly OK to set your goal at Philmont for the strenuous trek
> experience he describes.
>
> Not every Scout or adult Scouter is going to be capable of doing a super
> strenuous Philmont experience. But everyone can benefit from a Philmont
> experience. The typical itineraries are still plenty tough and a real
> challenge.
>
> I was a relatively slow hiker and backpacker. In my Explorer Post I was
> often the one who was asked to lead the way to keep the group from
> spreading out on the trail too much. With time and an understanding
> Explorer advisor, a Marine Corps lieutenant, I toughened up
> considerably and was able to complete a typical Philmont itinerary with
> no difficulty.
>
> What I learned from my Philmont experience was that I could do
> considerably more than I had realized and that as a group we could
> accomplish more with good teamwork than we could as individuals.
>
> It is my hope that every boy in Scouting will find the encouragement to
> do his best and will learn that with hard work he can improve his
> performance over his previous best.
>
> This can't happen if a boy is excluded from Philmont because he is
> judged to be not good enough.
> A boy in this "category" is precisely the one who needs and should have
> a Philmont experience.
>
> Joe Jansen
> JAJansenJr@gmail.com
> Philmont 1965; 1978
>

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Received on Tue Sep 13 05:45:47 2005