eisely

I am with those who generally like the current uniforms. The three changes I would go for are larger cargo pockets and shorts cut a little bit looser. The third thing relates to the insignia. I always liked the little strips that we used to wear on the shoulder before the council patches came out. These little strips gave the town and the state where you came from. Most people can relate to that better than they can relate to council patches.

Having taken two Philmont treks, and having just returned Thursday evening from my second, I can tell you that Philmont provides the safest environment for backpacking that I have ever seen. Of course there are hazards, just as there are hazards in every day life. Philmont provides challenges, but these challenges are tailored to the abilities of boys. There is no challenge that cannot be overcome there. It is true that Philmont cannot provide much in the way of additional information until you get there. We were scheduled for a trek in what became the fire area for the Ponil Complex Fire. When we got there we got most of our original itinerary and more. The ability of the Philmont organization to adapt to changing situations is amazing. Few businesses or organizations with which I have been involved could have responded to the situation the Philmont staff faced. Let's talk about the hazards. The base camp is over 6000 ft above sea level. It is entirely likely that your son, like many people, will experience some symptoms of altitude sickness early in his stay at Philmont. The most likely symptoms are headache and/or nausea. We had a fourteen year old boy in our crew. He felt this way in base camp. Twenty four hours later we were on the trail at 7000 ft and he felt fine. If your son feels some of these symptoms, it is up to him to bring these to the attention of the adults in charge. While the highest elevation in Philmont is over 12,000 ft, you work into these higher elevations gradually. And, as Philmont people will tell you, drink more water. Fires. I don't know if the drought is officially over, but we got rained on five days out of ten on the trail. Other than converting inches of dust into mud, we were not distracted from our goals or inhibited from enjoying ourselves. Philmont has a fire evacuation plan for every camp site, and is prepared to notify and evacuate campers on very short notice. This information is provided to trek leaders. Tornadoes can happen anywhere in the US anytime, but the season is largely past. Tornadoes also are not a mountain phenomenon. I wouldn't worry about it. Flashfloods are a reality, but Philmont is adapting. The recent flash flood on July 14 on Ponil Creek was a direct result of the fire in June. We were in the area, but not affected. I was surprised to learn the next day that the staff at Ponil had been up in shifts all night on flash flood watch. While activities will still occur at Ponil, Philmont will not allow crews to stay there overnight because of concerns about flash flood potential. Our itinerary for the second day was changed to take this into account. What more can they do? Bears. Bears are a hazard. Philmont places great emphasis on counter measures and indoctrinates all visitors heavily. If your son listens to what he is told, and your son's crew adheres to the methods and measures prescribed, he should have no problem. We had a bear in our camp on our third night, but he did no harm because we were smart. Some trails are rough and difficult. Most of these trails have been used for decades and it shows. Wearing proper boots, not running, taking shorter steps up and down steep grades, are all things one can do to travel these trails safely. I am 61 years old with a bad foot and arthritis. If I can handle it, a fit fourteen year old can handle it. I do suggest taking along a hiking stick or trekking pole. If you do not have time to get a trekking pole, they sell them in the trading post at Philmont. These are very valuable for difficult terrain. One thing that has improved since I was last there is trail signage and the maps. It is very difficult to get lost at Philmont. In closing, you are never that far from help at Philmont. The presence of numerous staffed camps in the back country is one of the things that makes it so safe. Any other place in the US, if you take a 10 day trek, you may be lucky if you have a ranger to file your plan with. They won't start looking for you until day 11 at the earliest. At Philmont you have a planned itinerary that will take you to many staffed camps. If you do not show up as scheduled they will start a search. All Philmont staff are trained in search and rescue. The only variable Philmont cannot influence is the quality of the crew leadership and the adult crew advisors. If you are confident in the abilities of the adults going on the trek, there is no reason to hold back. It can't get any safer. It is very difficult for Philmont to respond to inquiries from crews scheduled to arrive. They receive about 25 crews each day, and have them on the trail by the end of the next day. They are shifting arriving crews back into some of the previously closed fire areas, based on safety and water availability. In fact it is probably safer in the fire area since so much of the fuel has already been burned. We did not know our itinerary until we showed up, and we did great. Do not hold your son back. This will be the experience of a lifetime for him. I understand parental anxiety, but your son will never backpack in a safer environment.

I think part of the answer may lie in that magic word, "bylaws". Presumably national has certain minimum requirements, but state laws governing non profit corporations also play a role. If you view the annual chartering process as setting a maximum legal term of one year, then that is the answer. What happens in many non profits is that people simply become entrenched with informal power networks that render formal terms in office almost meaningless.

We have found a few strategic joint actitivities with Webelos to be great ways to recruit. If you are trying to reach out to boys who have never been in scouting at any level, that is probably more difficult. Perhaps putting together an outing with parental participation would be effective. While scout outings are generally restricted to registered members, it is legitimate for boys who are considering joining to participate in some outings. As the prior posts suggest, contact your unit commissioner for help and advice.

I agree with the other posts. The problem is less with the boys than it is with the dad. Find things to keep dad occupied elsewhere.

While the Ponil fire is now officially out, there will still be flare ups. On July 14, as we were hiking up the canyon of South Ponil Creek we smelled and saw smoke. This came from a part of the canyon already burned out. A tree that had been burning underground finally had fallen over after its roots had weakened and started to burn again for real. Fortunately this was quickly extinguished by alert Philmont staff. Not nearly as exciting as the bear that raided our camp site one night later.

There is media bias against scouts, but the overall lack of coverage also indicates a lack of resources on the part of local media, as noted in earlier posts. I don't know what BSA policy or local council policy on such matters may be, but what would be wrong with writing your own press releases? This could be a great vehicle for getting scouts through Communications Merit Badge. Even the most cynical editors and reporters appreciate having their work done for them. My inclination would be to have the scouts create releases about their activities and circulate them to local media, along with photographs. I would not ask permission of the scouting hierarchy, I would just do it.

Good for you and good for your scout. An extended outing away from other pressures can work wonders. BP was right.

If your itinerary calls for you to stop or lay over at Ute Springs, try to use camp site 12. There is a special surprise for you there that should be available years into the future. This made our last full day on the trail truly memorable.

We returned from our expedition last night, July 25. It was quite different from my experience seven years ago. The drought may now be broken. We got rain five days out of ten. I have never been so dirty in my life. Dust first, then mud. And that includes a lot of slogging around with Sam's army. We were among the second group of crews allowed back into the North country after the fire. Not all of the North is yet open, and presumably will not be re opened until next season. One result of the fires is a new risk of flash floods. One of these passed down Ponil Creek about an hour and a half after we crossed it. Additional suggestions: Pack everything in zip locks as if you were going canoe camping. Take extra zip locks. My son and I were among the few with dry clothing available to change into. Three water bottles should be sufficient. Even with reduced water supply, there is still enough for drinking and cooking. Some springs and creeks have gone dry, but, with careful planning, we had no problem. The best group water containers are the expensive dromedaries manufactured by MSR. We had two of these and they met our needs for a group of eleven. They now have back country trading posts and post offices that I was not aware of. This came in handy for purchasing additional film and tent stakes.

We are getting ready to leave for Philmont in an hour and a half. How did they do with the itineraries after the fire? Any problems with water supply?

This use of acronymns in American English really got a big push during WWII (World War II), often with humorous results. My favorite is acronymn that was almost adopted for the US forces advising and training the new South Vietnamese military in the mid and late 50's. Some humorist suggested calling the new headquarters "Supreme Headquarters Interallied Training Command." It almost got adopted before somebody actually wrote it down on a piece of paper and looked at it. Acronymns do have their uses.

It is good that they care. We all have seen situations where nobody cared about a kid. The kid seldom said much but it showed in a variety of ways, generally not good.

Hopefully it does not come to a parting of the ways for you. This kind of thing happens in all kinds of organizations, most notably family owned and run businesses. It takes a lot of maturity to let a successor lead an organization in which you have made a major personal investment. I suspect if the issue is fairly aired in your committee the right conclusion will be reached. This succession issue is something most people can relate to.

ditto

A very successful troop in our area limits their size by limiting the number of Webelos they take in. One could be nasty and say they are being too exclusive, but it is hard to argue with success. If you are going to limit your intake you need clear priorities for your intake. In the troop I just mentioned, they have two priorities, (1) youth whose families belong to the church that is the CO, and (2) siblings of boys who are already members. Beyond that, it is pretty much first come first served, until the recruiting quota is met. There is nothing inherently wrong with limiting your growth. Our troop will be facing that decision next year. Personally, I would put the optimal size closer to 50. One important reason for limiting membership is the limitation placed on the number of participants who can go on an outing. Here in California we have many accessible places for significant expeditions in the mountains, and the permitting authorities typically limit the size of the group to minimize impacts on the wilderness. If you have a troop of over 50 really active members, it could become difficult to accomodate everybody on an outing who may be interested in participating.

sctmom, thanx

Patrol camp boxes are kind of neat if you plan to do a lot of car camping at undeveloped sites. Our troop does not have any, and I would resist the idea of making them if the idea came up. We have limited storage space and need to use the space for those things we use regularly. When we do a car camping event, there are always picnic tables available. For storage, we prefer the plastic bins that are commonly available these days. You really need to think about this before you commit to the idea.

We have three sons. I always let my wife (30 years married to the same person today) do the worrying for both of us. When our youngest became old enough to go to camp, we breathed a sigh of relief, and stopped worrying.

You do need to put your son's interests first, and the first step is to have a conversation with him. Visiting other troops is probably a good idea, and essential if a change is to be made. It may turn out that your son will see that the grass may not be all that greener in other troops.

Sounds like your effort deserves a sincere "well done."

Repeating basic training every three years, IMHO, is probably not the best use of scarce time. When I first joined up as an adult, I tried to attend some kind of training event at least once a year, without repeating anything. This way I was able to learn new things. In October, I did participate in the new "position specific training" precisely because I knew there were going to be changes. To me, trying to do something training wise on an annual basis makes more sense than repeating the same course every three years.

A great idea. Sounds like a good one for next year's Fourth of July celebration.

A good resolution. Sounds like the dad deserves more credit than we were giving him.

One further thought. You have a perfect right to ask who is the custodial parent. I have done this more than once to assure myself that medical treatment authorizations are signed by the right person. You can give this as a reason for asking. Only the custodial parent should have signed the youth application to join. The custodial parent should have some say in all this.