Considering a trip to Philmont? There is fair amount of planning in getting your crew ready for Philmont. This article focuses on the activities that we think that it takes to plan your trip and train your crew. We offer a list of activities in timeline format. See also our article on equipment. Getting your slot for Philmont is half the battle. Scouts that have gone to Philmont, consistently agree that it was their most memorable experience in scouting.
The following files are available for your reference. They have been compiled by Al Thomson of our troop and completely detail the Philmont treks of 2005. Once the treks of 2006 become available, he hopes to update the files once again.
You may also want to check out the Patriots' Path Council's Watchu Experience website. It contains a wealth of great information on getting your crew trained and is meticulously kept up to date!
Months in Advance: (click the number to advance to the appropriate section below:)
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It is a good idea to schedule a backpacking trip in your troop. This helps to wet the appetite for boys to consider going on an extended type of trip like Philmont. If you have good interest in a trip of this type, then you can consider designating the trip to Philmont as the high adventure trip for the year in question. A video on Philmont should be available from your local council. Get a copy of this and show it at a troop meeting. Show it to everyone, even those boys who won't be eligible. It gives them something to look forward to.
During this time, communicate with your local council and find out what help they may offer. Can your crew be part of a council contingent? Will you have to go through the Philmont lottery? Being part of a council contingent will greatly improve your odds of getting a slot. If this isn't an option, communicate with other councils to find out if you can get any unused slots that they may have. If all these efforts prove fruitless, then you will need to go through the Philmont lottery. We recommend that you communicate with the Philmont Scout Ranch directly to find out what this takes and determine how you want to go about taking things to the next step.
You've introduced the idea and have gotten back some positive participation. You can be part of a council contingent and have a high certainty that you'll get at least one 12 person crew slot. Now it's time to start to pitch the idea to your potential crew and leaders. Start as soon as possible. Use email, flyers, announcements during troop meetings or whatever type of communication that suits your troop. Get the word out to the scouts, adult leaders and parents that a Philmont trip in the offing and that you are actively looking to assemble a crew. Your goal is that by March, at the latest, you want to be in a position that you have deposits from everyone.
Schedule a meeting where you give the "view from 30,000 feet", discuss logistics and some particulars like dates, cost, transportation, the physical challenge, and the fact that some boys will need equipment upgrades. Remember that you are looking for leaders as well. The typical crew is 12 people composed of up to no more than 3 leaders and the remainder boys. Your local council may allow some flexibility on the number of leaders. Boys who meet the age and rank requirement and who have a registered father in the troop are prime candidates. Accept deposits from people right there. This will allow you to quickly turn around an initial payment to your council or Philmont as necessary. Encourage the crew to start equipment shopping and get any seasonal sales that stores might have. Encourage the boys to ask for things for Christmas.
Can't get a full 12-person crew? Communicate with a neighboring troop in your town or council and ask if they want to send any boys. Consider organizing a Venture Crew. There is no reason why you should lose your slot because you couldn't fill a crew.
If you have no physical limitations and feel that you can condition to the level that is necessary, then the answer is an emphatic YES! I speak from personal experience here. There is no better opportunity to make a lifestyle change and get in shape, build a lifelong relationship with your son and get some memories of your own! If your occupation has kept you at work for long hours and you would like to spend some quality time with your son, here is your chance. Grab the opportunity and don't look back! Philmont is one of the prettiest places in America, maybe even on Earth!
Let's say that the cost of Philmont is about $1500 per person. It might be a good idea to get a monthly payment plan going with the families. Consider fund raisers as well. It is always good for scouts to be able to pay for a part of their own trip especially if it will be a stretch for their families. Your scout council might even offer a "Philmont Scholarship" for a deserving family. Look into this.
Think also about asking for another $30-$50 per person as well. This will go toward paying for the food that you will take on shakedown hikes and possibly some crew gear. (See our articles on Philmont and Extended Backpacking Trips.)
Check with your local council. If they are sponsoring a contingent, check to see if they will be scheduling any Advisor's Briefings or any training weekends. At these briefings, they will discuss everything connected with Philmont like equipment, selecting your trek and more. If they will have a training weekends and advisor briefings, make sure that the dates won't conflict with anything you are doing. If you have a confirmed slot, Philmont will mail you a complete information packet at some point. Expect to receive this packet 6-7 months in advance of your trek date.
Schedule about 3 meetings with your crew as well for these types of activities and discussion points:
Plan on taking about 3 overnight shakedown hikes to get your crew working as a team. Check into some good backpacking trails in your area. Schedule your treks so that each one is more challenging than the last. Hopefully there are some up hills in your area! Strongly urge everyone in the crew to participate.
You will find also that Philmont requires that their own medical forms be filled out. Philmont's medical forms for the current year become available about the first of the year. Every person in the crew will absolutely need a physical. Strongly urge everyone to schedule their physical and get those forms filled out as soon as possible. It is also required that 1or more in the crew is CPR and First Aid certified. Check with the local chapter of the Red Cross, hospitals or EMT squads in your area to see if they offer any training at group rates. They should know of some training source. You'll need to pick someone to get trained and get this scheduled. We urge you to consider getting more than 1 person certified. If that person were to have to come off the trail for some reason at Philmont, it could be a problem.
This period goes really fast and this is where the rubber meets the road. Now it's execution time.
Try to get a list of Philmont's prior year treks from another troop or check the web. Check out the files we have provided above! Most treks don't change that much from year to year. You'll want to get a handle on what activities are available on each trek, distance and level of difficulty. At your first crew meeting, discuss what is available from Philmont and try to get an opinion. Take a vote on what activities the group wants and then pick the 3 treks that best covers them. It's our opinion that the boys should ultimately pick the trek. Philmont gives you a first, second and third choice so you can ranks the treks accordingly.
You also want to stress that now is the time for everyone to be doing some conditioning. More likely, it will be your other leaders, (not you of course!), that need the most conditioning. Recommend the crew members start walking on their own with a pack. Further, recommend that they increase the weight on the pack and try to build up to 45 lbs.
Expect to receive the Philmont trek selection package sometime in early March. The piece that you mail back will probably be nothing more than a post card. Once you get this packet, you should be able to turn it around right away because you already know what your crew wants.
Your first shakedown hike ought to happen about now. You should plan your hike so that you only end up hiking for about half a day on a Saturday, of course staying overnight. Plan to do some training on Saturday afternoon. Plan to spend a few hours showing the boys how to pitch the dining fly, do water purification and get a handle on cooking meals. This hike also serves to teach boys what works and what doesn't. If they forgot something, they will learn how to pack better!
As a leader, it is important for you to observe the boys, (or more likely, your other leaders), to see if there are any conditioning issues. If you see a boy lagging, stop the crew and advise the crew leader to consider putting that boy up front. If it's an advisor lagging, make a mental note. Hopefully the leader will know that he needs to condition more.
Philmont does give you a paper map of the whole reservation, but this one does not provide as much detail as the individual ones for the North, Central and South do. Consider getting all three. The individual maps are made of plastic, and won't be ruined by water. Don't depend on Philmont always having these things in stock when you get out there. Order them well in advance and be prepared.
Your second shakedown hike ought to happen about now. You should see some improvement in conditioning and techniques from all. You should also see an improvement in the morning routine of getting breakfast and breaking camp quickly as well.
If you notice that anyone is having a problem at this point, you might want to speak with them separately and encourage them to do a little more on weekends. One thing that worked for us, was that we would send out an email letting everyone know that one or more crew members were planning on doing a friendly day hike, (with loaded packs of course), on some local trails just in case they want to join in.
Your final shakedown hike ought to happen about now. The boys should be hiking as a crew and have the whole routine of setting up and breaking down camp, cooking meals, hanging the bear bags and packing down. This should be the most challenging hike as well. Try to get the crew to do at least 10 miles in hilly country if possible. If during this hike, you still have some out-of-condition crew members, know that you are going to have to deal with it at Philmont. A boy still has a chance of improving their condition in 2 months. Walking day after day gets a boy in condition fast, as long as you put that person toward the front and possibly redistribute the crew gear, it should be OK. If it is a crew advisor that is seriously lagging, understand that there is a chance that this person might need to be taken off the trail.
If your scout council offers any type of training, it will likely occur during this time frame.
At last, the day has finally come! Do your trek knowing that your crew is fully trained!
Yes! Consider having a family inclusive reunion barbecue where the crew can get together to swap stories and pictures.