Philmont - 703-P-1

Below is an essay I wrote for my local Council's newsletter about my experience spending 12 days on the trail at Philmont with my son Logan this past summer. 

It's hard to believe that our journey to Philmont is over -- in fact it's been nearly a week and a half since our boots left the trail. Adjusting to the real world where you don't need to worry about whose backpack has the TP, or that the log you're sitting on doesn't have any poking stumps sticking out, has taken a little bit to get back into, although nothing ever felt better than a hot shower and a warm bed.

 Philmont is a true Gem of Scouting and our nation. A more beautiful setting to see the backcountry would be hard to find. One thing I was constantly amazed by was how the biomes changed almost instantly -- from a forest dense with Ponderosa Pines to a grassy plain or tall aspens, and then desert-like conditions. Philmont is 140,000 acres nestled in northern New Mexico and was given to the Boy Scouts of America nearly 90 years ago. Waite Phillips dedicated Philmont to the BSA in 1941, giving it for the purpose of "perpetuating faith, self-reliance, integrity and freedom - principles used to build this great country by the American pioneer. So that these future citizens may, through thoughtful adult guidance and by the inspiration of nature, visualize and form a code of living to diligently maintain these high standards and our proper destiny.”

Preparation for a Philmont trek typically begins at least a year in advance with multiple hikes and shakedowns, but Logan and I were sort of late additions to the Vermont contingent, so we had about six months to assemble gear and get conditioned for the trail. I had to lose at least 30 pounds to meet the strict height/weight requirements. I am proud to say that I entered Philmont just under the line, and left another ten pounds in sweat and energy on the trail. 

You may be asking how or why I ended up joining a Vermont contingent for this experience. I grew up in Colchester, VT and crossed over to Burlington Troop 50 in 1988 which was just transitioning from its first Scoutmaster Bill Hauke to its current Scoutmaster Steve Dow. In 1993, then 15-year-old Anthony was selected to be the Crew Leader for Mr. Dow’s first Philmont trek, “714-L”. So to be asked nearly 30 years later to join him on what would be his last Philmont trek and be able to bring my own son, was truly something special. Technically he asked if Logan was interested in joining the trek first and that I could come along, but details. 😊 Crew 703-P-1 started our trek on July 3, 2023 and crossed under the “We Made It” gateway on July 14, 30 years to the day when I arrived at Philmont for my first trek. The stars truly aligned. It was so much fun being a Crew advisor along with Mr. Dow and Mrs. Helen McKivergan, his co-leader. 

Philmont is a truly beautiful, majestic and spiritual place. Every day was filled with wilderness views, mountain vistas and sky’s so full of stars that you just can’t find anywhere around here. Our crew saw wildlife including lots of mini-bears though thankfully no black bears, they went on a horseback trail ride, learned to make authentic adobe bricks, went fly fishing – though unfortunately not catching, rock climbing and rappelling, practiced marksmanship skills with action archery, and enjoyed a delicious chuckwagon dinner. Philmont is also a spiritual place and you certainly gain an appreciation for the beauty of our world with every step. I tried each day to just quietly take in the surroundings as much as possible. 

 A Philmont trek is about more than just the natural beauty and memrable experiences though – it’s about putting every skill you’ve learned in Scouting to the test, and that includes leadership and team dynamics. Luckily we had an incredible, remarkable and high-functioning crew of eight boys led by Crew Leader Duncan who all worked together from day one. They cared for each other, made sure everyone was taking their share of the load of food and crew equipment, and truly made sure that everyone had a great experience. During one of our toughest hikes when one Scout overheated and another had a minor accident, four Scouts volunteered to hike ahead to see how far we were from our campsite, two others cared for our overheated Scout dunking a shirt in a nearby stream and sharing fresh water. Another Scout volunteered to help lighten his backpack so he could continue on. Eventually, two of the forward crew left their backpacks at the campsite, came down the hill and happily carried Mr. Dow and Mrs. McKivergan’s backpacks all the way back up the hill to the campsite. That afternoon, after our long hike up to the campsite, our Scouts still wanted to extend our day with a 2+ mile hike to summit Mt. Phillips, Philmont’s second highest peak. It turned out to be a perfect day all-around – 50,000 steps on my fitbit too! 

We used every skill we’ve learned over our time in Scouting – meal preparation and clean-up, water conservation and purification, navigation, knots for the bear bags each night, first aid for the blisters and twisted ankles, daily campsite set-up and take down, etc. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.  

I’m afraid that we may have left part of the “a Scout is clean” Law at basecamp though as just about everyone in the crew was going for the unofficial 12-day no-shower challenge. But maybe the patina of sweat and dust on our skin helped keep the sunburns away? 

 So many memories that it’s hard to piece them all together. I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have been invited on this trek to Philmont. I was able to once again have this shared experience with my Scoutmaster, and this time share it with my son, and join nine other remarkable Scouts and leaders. 

Philmont, here’s to thee, Scouting Paradise. 

Hike on!