Philmont Training Center

[adamsdwa]

Hello all -

 

I recently received an invite to Philmont for the leader training conference. I am excited to have been approved by council because I have only been in cubs for 3 years. Started out as tiger and now in Bears. I was recently asked to take over an ailing pack by the district and my wife and I accepted the challenge together. We have been so blessed by the families and church we serve.

 

I am also a commissioner of a pack and 2 troops. So now, to my question.

 

As a new cubmaster and a unit commissioner can you give me some advice from your experiences at Philmont on conferences and such. I am definitely going to go! In fact, I am extremely excited!

 

My son will be a WEBELO and we are going to make the trip together for some extra father/son bonding. He also can not wait!

 

So, please share your advice on conference topics, how to get the most out of the training, how to best enjoy with my son, etc. I've looked at the what to expect and what to pack. Is there anything you didn't take you wished later that you had.

 

I guess I'm just looking to make this a special trip for both of us and appreciate anything you can provide that will enhance our expereience.(This message has been edited by adamsdwa)

[John-in-KC]

First, PTC Tent City is a tremendous place You'll have a great time.

 

DO bring camp chairs for both of you

 

DO bring sleeping gear that'll take you into the 40s, even in late July/early August

 

DO bring good shoes and hiking socks for him; some of the off-site stuff they do means they should have proper gear.

 

DO buy a couple Philmont Nalgene bottles on site; great souvenirs.

 

DO buy him at least one pair of Philmont shorts on site, even if he'll outgrow them.

 

DO go prepared to learn and assimilate knowledge; the time you spend in class is more than worth it.

 

I don't know where you live, but if you're anywhere near the historic Santa Fe railway from Chicago to LA, do consier taking Amtrak to Raton vice the fly or the drive.

 

Oh... DO take a good camera, and...

 

PTC is one tremendous "dude ranch" experience that is incredibly cheap compared to commercial operations: DO consider taking your bride (should you have one)!

[Narraticong]

Good advice from my friend John! He passed the same advice on to me at this time last year as my then 11 year old son and I prepared for our first trip to Philmont. It was a pleasure to actually meet John as we were in the same conference!

 

Bring some of your local council patches to either share with fellow participants or for trading. Be prepared to come home with much more luggage than you went with. Between program materials and souvenirs, it could become an issue with luggage restrictions. I did not take advantage of it, but I believe there is a shipping facility at Philmont to send things home.

 

There were many great opportunities for father / son bonding during our week. Be ready to loosen up a little and participate in evening sing alongs! They were great fun (as was the cobbler and ice cream). Take time for a tour of the Villa. Go into town and check out the bullet holes at the St. James Hotel. If you geocache, there are some opportunities in the area.

 

I never had the opportunity as a youth to go to Philmont, so for me the trip to PTC fulfilled a dream. For Drew, it was a case of planting seeds. His age group did an overnight backcountry trip. He is now sold on Philmont and more than ever on Scouts.

 

Our trip to PTC brought my son and I just a little bit closer. We share something that others don't. That alone is worth the cost of the trip. We can't wait to go back again!

[adamsdwa]

Thanks for the great replies - but I know there's more of you guys out there that can add more.

 

Please - keep the advice coming....

[click23]

I went last summer as a UC. I don't know about the cub program at PTC, but as a UC, if you have been fully trained, don't expect some super secret training that is only available at Philmont. What we had was basically Commissioner Basics. I am not saying that I did not learn anything while I was there, but it was mostly from the other class members, how and what they do in other councils.

 

(This message has been edited by click23)

[cheffy]

We went a few years back and had a blast. I went for the Scoutmaster conf. the boys went off with thier groups and the wife went to "handiland" and touring.

 

If you get to town try the "burrito banquet" the place is just interesting in my eyes.

 

We flew into Albaquerque rented a car, did a 1 1/2 days in Santa Fe. took the high road to Taos, Stop at Rancho De Chimaya for lunch on the way to Philmont. On your day oof you will have a car to get around. Crazy as it sounds we bougth some of those "space bags" before we left. We packed all our extra cloths/uniforms souveners in them and went into town to the carwash. used the vacuum to compress. then on the way back stopped in Taos at a shipping place and had it all shipped back. no carrying extra bags.

Definently take stuff for cooler nights. ours were into the 40's and the next week it was 75 at night. Camper village headquarters has extra blankets and pillows just in case. We bought fans at Walmart in Taos but took them back on the way out.

Bring the checkbook for the Trading post!!

Enjoy

[Narraticong]

Didn't get a chance to eat at Burrito Banquet, but it is one of the most interesting pictures I took. What a quirky looking place! How was the food. We did eat at St. james Hotel. Food is just OK, but it's aninteresting place to visit.

 

Take a digital camera with lots of memory. I took hundreds of pictures over the course of the week.

 

We also flew into Albarquerque and drove up to Philmont. A beautiful ride. On return trip we visited a Natural History Museum in Albaquerue. It's a nice city. I wish we had more time to visit.

[adamsdwa]

Well - we live in VA and we've decided to drive! Yep - drive! 26 hrs and 1700 miles one way. We both like to see different things and visit different places. We did the same thing out west a couple years ago and had a blast.

 

So, we'll be leaving early and getting home late but taking our time and stopping along the way.

 

I keep thinking of that movie with "Al Bundy" in it driving his step kid home for christmas. Can't recall the name but hopefully our trip will be better than his!

 

I've signed up for Strictly Cubmaster the week on June 7th. Anyone else going then?

[rjscout]

I got my invite today for PTC. It is excited to get the opportunity. Unfortunately, my summer vacation time looks like it is tied up... 4 days for Cub Scout Adventure Camp, 1 week for family vacation, and 1 week for Wood Badge. I am hoping that I will be invited again next year so I can plan ahead. With all that I have read about PTC on this forum, I really want to get out there. My son will be a 2nd year Webelos by then, so he will have a blast. I still have to convince my wife.

 

Is there good way to make sure that an invite comes in a subsequent year?

[Narraticong]

My impression is that BSA wants volunteers to improve our training. And especially in current economic times, I'll bet the PTC is not overflowing .

 

I had been invited one year and could not attend a session for Commisioners. A couple years later I found a differnet course I thought might be useful. I let our Scout Executive know I was interested and within a couple of days he had cleared the way.

 

At that time I was not even well known to our SE. But he was very enthusiastic about a volunteer wanting to attend PTC. So my advice to you would be to just let it be known you want to go, and ask!

[John-in-KC]

I can pay $1,000+ for a week at a "dude ranch", and about the only thing different from Philmont Training Center would be the quality of the cuisine. I'm not saying PTC is bad, it's a notch or two above a good cafeteria in your hometown ... but it's not gourmet!

 

The spouses program is excellent, if your wife even likes God's open air. They do fun stuff, and they do some of the ultimate "shop til you drop" trips I've ever seen... after all, Santa Fe is Beverly Hills with mountains instead of traffic.