[Philmont]: RE: Trek variability

>From our Crew's Top 10 Lessons Learned at Philmont:

#2: Philmont doesn't "Give" you anything:
Every day on the trail you will be challenged in some way shape or form.
Any day that looks easy on the map, won't be. So many factors can arise
to challenge you, and you cannot predict them. A short day of hiking
turns long because storms have swelled the "creek" until it's too wide
to jump, too deep to cross without filling your boots, too little stuff
around to build a bridge, etc., , etc. Suddenly, your 2 hour hike has
turned into 4 hours and you missed your program, got to camp just in
time to get pounded by rain. That long gradual climb you saw on the map
that didn't look so tough turns out to be pretty tough and then just
before getting to camp it runs straight up hill for a kilometer before
dropping into camp. You didn't see that on the map? Neither did I, but
it happened. Oh, that is the morning you picked up 4 days worth of food
so your packs were at their heaviest of the trek. You see what I mean?
There are NO EASY DAYS at Philmont. Some will be easier than others
yes, more fun than others, yes, but every day you have to wake up with
the mindset that you are going to go out and throw a lariat around the
galloping bull known as Philmont, then grab it by the horns and drag it
down and tie it up. Then get up and do it again the next day

#10: Don't compare your trek to anyone else's.
There is an unfortunate tendency for Philmont Vets to try to play the
old "up-manship" game, where we try to see that our experience sucked
worse than anyone else's on the Ranch.. It's like asking "Which is
better: An apple or an orange?" The question is ridiculous because
there is no better or worse: They are simply different. One crew hikes
in over the Tooth and tells crews that bus in that they haven't REALLY
done Philmont unless you come in on foot. Another crew sneers at kids
who didn't go up Baldy. Another group says that "typical" treks are for
wussies. Or "We got out of camp an hour before that crew...they must
suck!" You might even hear guys in your own crew either saying these
things, or worse, listening to other people say them. STOP! Each crew,
each trek, is a unique experience. They are all roughly the same as far
as when challenging things happen, (or else the "Eagles Soaring High"
booklet devotionals wouldn't make sense for the 40+-treks like they do
for the single digit treks.) You will have plenty of company along the
trail and in camp each night. They are having a unique experience, just
as you are. The adventure our crew experienced in their team-effort to
get to the 8:00 am bus for our Day-11 pick-up was just as memorable to
us, probably, as the experience of the crew that hiked in over the
Tooth. In any case, that was our adventure, and theirs was their own.

Our crew LOVED our typical trek! We enjoyed the whole Philmont
experience. I respect SS trekkers, same as I respect Rayado, and ROCS
and all that. But that wasn't what we chose to do.

Dave Parmly
Knoxville, TN

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Received on Wed Sep 14 09:58:55 2005