Some Philmont How-Do-They-Do-It Questions

[kenk]

Last night I was looking at Troop 679's photos of a their 2008 Philmont trek.

 

http://www.overthehills.com/Travel/Philmont-Scout-Ranch-Cimarron

 

(I'm not associated with that troop, nor do I know them)

 

First, though I'm an avid photographer, I am sooo impressed by Bruce's (one of the adult leaders) ongoing attention to take enough photos to tell the story of their trip and for adding caption to every pic. I felt like I was there. When I'm out with the troop (ASM) I often find I get caught up in the moment and forget to take pictures, but wish I had taken them.

 

Second, while I was at Philmont's summer camp-like activity as a kid (under 14 visiting with my parents) I never have done the backpacking trip. My son's troop put in for a trip in 2010, but lost the lottery.

 

Anyway, looking at the album brought up some silly questions:

 

1. Are there many bugs (mosquitos) at Philmont? I can't remember from my trip.

 

2. What are typical meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner)? Is there cooking to be done for breakfast? I assume lunches are not cooked and that dinners are cooked.

 

3. How are dinners made? I assume they are primarily dehydrated, but I'm wondering if there is one pouch for the whole crew and you just add water to the pouch, or do you add the pouch contents into a pot and then add water? Hopefully you understand my question.

 

4. How do they wash dishes? I'm kind of looking for some details here. Their one picture of that activity shows them using what looks like one of the water pots to wash dishes. Is that what they do? How do they wash the pot first? How do they rinse soapy pots/dishes?

 

5. Do crews usually filter water, as opposed to using chemical sanitation (Aquamira ...)? Are specific brands of filters recommended by Philmont? It looks like some base camps have running water that I assume is potable.

 

6. The captions indicate that rainy days are kind of a pain. They said that during real heavy rains the water runs over the ground under the dining tarps - which are too low to stand up in. For those who have been there, what kind of rain gear is recommended?

 

7. Is there enough soil for tent stakes to hold?

 

Thanks,

 

Ken

 

 

[Ohio_Scouter]

Ken,

 

1. Are there many bugs (mosquitos) at Philmont? I can't remember from my trip.

 

Our troop went to Philmont in early June of 2007. I'm sure there were mosquitos there, but I don't seem to recall that they bothered us very much. Mosquitos were more of a problem at Northern Tier.

 

2. What are typical meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner)? Is there cooking to be done for breakfast? I assume lunches are not cooked and that dinners are cooked.

 

Check out typical meals below. Most cooking is done at dinnertime.

 

http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/HighAdventure/Philmont/Camping/menus.aspx

 

3. How are dinners made? I assume they are primarily dehydrated, but I'm wondering if there is one pouch for the whole crew and you just add water to the pouch, or do you add the pouch contents into a pot and then add water? Hopefully you understand my question.

 

Correct. Most cooking is one-pot meals where you add pouch contents to a pot of boiling water.

 

4. How do they wash dishes? I'm kind of looking for some details here. Their one picture of that activity shows them using what looks like one of the water pots to wash dishes. Is that what they do? How do they wash the pot first? How do they rinse soapy pots/dishes?

 

Dishes are usually washed in crew cooking pots with boiled water and a few drops of camp suds. Most/all campsites have sumps where the crews wash their dishes and eliminate their dishwater after eating as much of the meals as possible.

 

5. Do crews usually filter water, as opposed to using chemical sanitation (Aquamira ...)? Are specific brands of filters recommended by Philmont? It looks like some base camps have running water that I assume is potable.

 

Some crews prefer to filter water with water filters. Others use chemical sanitation (Katadyn purification tablets issued by Philmont). Specific filters are not recommended by Philmont since they have now gone to water purification tablets as more efficient/effective than filters. Some staffed camps have potable water. Others are located near rivers/streams where water can be obtained.

 

6. The captions indicate that rainy days are kind of a pain. They said that during real heavy rains the water runs over the ground under the dining tarps - which are too low to stand up in. For those who have been there, what kind of rain gear is recommended?

 

Recommend a full set of raingear, i.e., rain pants and rain jacket. There are many good lightweight rainsuits available on the market.

 

7. Is there enough soil for tent stakes to hold?

 

In some camps there is enough soil for tent stakes to hold, but where not available, free-standing tents work best. Good luck and make sure to check out Philmont's Council and Unit Planning Guides and other preparation documents available on the web.

 

(This message has been edited by Ohio_Scouter)

[kenk]

Thanks OS!

 

I just found this site: http://www.e-scoutcraft.com/activities/philmont_way.pdf

 

It answered many of my questions too.

 

Ken

[Ohio_Scouter]

Ken,

 

That's the Philmont way, and it's still excellent advice and well worth following, too. Enjoy, and make sure your crews take their cameras and spare batteries because they may never see such beauty again, and you'll want to remember it well.