Philmont - cost vs. value

[local1400]

Yah, Gern send me an application from your employer. My vacation, two weeks from now, will include moving a storage unit to my house, a lawn mowing, a dinner with friends, a Scout meeting, and a council camping event. And hopefully, Red Sox playoff wins!

[GernBlansten]

Hey, you work hard, you play hard. Self employed. Made some good choices early in life.

 

I posted that as a dream vacation for most. Something you might do once in a lifetime. Something your kids might remember. And the costs align with the typical cost for a national HA.

 

My point is, if you get the opportunity, and can swing the costs, do it.

[Oak Tree]

That cost would represent very different things to different people. If it''s a full month''s pay, as moxieman relates, then I agree that it will indeed be hard to convince a lot of people that it''s worth the cost. In our town the median family income is around $80,000, and I suspect that our troop median would be higher. So that makes the cost closer to a week''s pay, and sounds much more reasonable. But regardless of what your average is, there will be families making more and families making less. Unless you do a lot of fundraising, there will some families at the lower end of the scale who won''t be willing to devote that many resources to the trip.

 

For me, yes, I''d recommend doing it. It''s a Scouting place really unlike any other.

 

[Aquila]

Thanks for all the input. Sounds like a worthwhile experience. Now if I could just have Gern''s job to swing them all... No way the boys could earn that on their own here.

[dzierzak]

Council contingent from West Virginia -

2008 trek - $1350 total.

Breakdown

Phil fee - $560

Airfare - $450 (est)

Hotel, food, bus, etc. make up the rest.

 

We try to get out west 2 days early to get a bit acclimated to altitude, we''re at about 600'' asl here!

[dzierzak]

That should be 600 FEET asl. Dunno why single quote showed up as double quote...

[Mrw1]

Our troop has looked at Philmont and backed off because of the close to $2000 price tag from the Cleveland area - especially for the families that have two boys in the troop along with the active adult who would likely provide leadership.

 

They have taken two week-long canoe trips in the past few years. They looked at Tinnerman and settled on a trip in Algonquin National Park and a trip down the Au Sable river in MI for far less than that. Tinnerman runs about $400 per person, I think, from our area.

 

Our troop trips cost about $125 each person, including gas, meals on the trip there, etc.

 

Tinnerman may be well worth the cost, but it is out of our troop''s normal budget and fund-raising realm.

[Ohio_Scouter]

Hi scoutldr,

 

We took 2 crews to Philmont in June of 2007. We live in the greater Dayton, Ohio area, and it cost each crew member $1,000 to make the trip which included expenses for transportation via AMTRAK and Philmont bus, meals and incidentals enroute, expedition costs, crew gear, and crew souvenir T-Shirts and 50-miler and Duty to God patches.

 

Before we left, we thought the price was pretty steep, but after the treks, every one of our guys believes that it was worth every penny! Philmont is truly an awesome place, and our guys will never forget the experience (we also have over 1,000 photographs and 2 crew journals to remember the trip). Find a way to do Philmont; you won''t be disappointed.

[GernBlansten]

$1000 is pretty good, especially from Ohio.

We live 3 hours driving and our contingent cost was $650/scout which included the trek, 3 shirts, gas and patches. Crew gear was not included but most of us already had the stuff.

[Ohio_Scouter]

Yeah, Gern,

 

After all I''ve read here, I think $1,000 per crew member from Dayton was pretty good, too. Since we had a group of more than 20 scouts and scouters, AMTRAK gave us a group discount rate. I think the round-trip train ticket was only about $232.00 per person. We traveled from Indianapolis, IN to Raton, NM and back.

[ASM857]

Aquila I would recomend doing Philmont, I did not go as a young scout with my troop because of cost. Listening to the descriptions of the views and treks it was truly worth the cost, this is an experiance they will never forget.

 

YIS

Doug Buth

[John-in-KC]

Give a call to Ranch Headquarters, now that it''s off-season, and talk with the PD.

 

There is rental equipment available, I''m not sure how much.

 

As far as cost, set the goal for a 2-year fundraising cycle, and talk to area troops (even in neighboring councils) which have done it. Beyond that, talk to Greyhound about transportation. It''s not an airline and it''s not Amtrak, but if you have to be budget minded, so be it.

 

Also take a look at Northern Tier HA base...

 

I guess what I''m saying is "Is the goal a solid HA for your youth, or the Philmont experience?

 

I''d make this a youth decision for certain, with parents near the table. Visions, goals, ways and means... gee, sounds like a ticket item...

[Philmont0406]

I''ve gone twice, hence the avatar. I''m going again with both of my sons next year. I went with them individually the previous times.

I''m hardly a rich man, they are going to have to pay for part of it this time. We''re in New Jersey and next year it will run $1545 for each of us. This includes airfare, per diem, lodging before Philmont, tours and transportation. It is not just a backpacking trip through the woods. Our troop has sent probably 25 boys over the last 8 years going every other year. They always want to go back.

Is it worth it? Absolutely, the independence and confidence that they come back with is surprising.

How many people will spend $300 for a Nintendo or whatever is the current toy? If someone goes to Philmont they''ll be telling stories to their grandchildren. I doubt the boy who got the Nintendo will have much memory of it.

It is absolutely worth it.

[eisely]

One of the nicest things anybody has said to me in recent years revolves around Philmont. The last time I went in 2002 my son and I were part of a three crew council contingent, which by the way held the transporation cost down quite a bit. Anyway, we had people from four different units in our crew. The youngest guy was a pretty skinny fourteen year old and the only scout from his troop, but he was a great scout. Apparently he had some confidence issues going in, but grew a great deal during the trek. A few years later I ran into his dad who commented that his son had come back a "changed kid" and he really appreciated the opportunity to go to Philmont.

[packsaddle]

I''ll offer a slightly different perspective - that of one of my college students. I take groups to tropical paradise and island adventure for two to three weeks.

 

The total cost is about $2000 and varies according to the length of stay and time of year. That includes airfare, ground transport, housing, meals, and three hours of college credit AND tuition. It does NOT include laundry, souvenirs, snacks, alcohol, or getting that sleek beauty to tell your fortune.

To me, it is the deal of the century.