Troop 53
2008 Philmont Expedition

Wrapup:

5 Scouts and 2 adults had the adventure of a lifetime. Pikes Peak, the Air Force Academy, Garden of the Gods, Royal Gorge, 107° high temperature, 40-something degree low temperature, lots and lots and lots of rain. What a great trip! More information below:

• Pictures and videos of our adventure
• Planning materials — stuff I always intended to put here but ran out of time prior to the trip to do it...
• Advisor thoughts and recommendations for future trips

University of Scouting Philmont Course Materials:

I was the instructor for the 2009 University of Scouting Philmont Course (505). I promised the participants that all of the course materials would be available here. So ... here they are.

Updates:

• Update 4, 3/19/08 — Well, it's official, I suppose: We are definitely going! :) We've sent our final payment to Philmont and in response Philmont recently sent a huge package of material including the Itinerary book, individual Guidebook to Adventure books (which are being passed on as I see you), and a variety of other information. We have had a couple of training hikes, but still need to do more. Most importantly right now is that we need a meeting to discuss itineraries in which we may be interested. Our choices must be sent to Philmont by May. Expect an e-mail or phone call soon.
• Update 3, 9/5/07 — Reminder of the September 25 deadline for our second payment. There seems to be some confusion as to how much is owed. If you have been keeping track of how much you have paid into your "Philmont account" you may or may not have enough to make this next payment. You need to have paid at least $305.00 into that account by September 25 to keep your spot. You can also look at this page for more information about payments.
  Speaking of spots, we recently had 2 cancellations, so there are 2 spots open — either 2 youth or 1 youth and 1 adult.
• Update 2, 3/31/07 — We now have an "official" Expedition Number: 806-O. This number will be used on all correspondence with Philmont, will be on your medical form, will be how we are referred to when there and much more.
• Update 1, 12/18/07 — Registration fees, payment schedule, more participant requirements

General info:

Dates, cost:

• Date of arrival at Philmont: Wednesday, August 6, 2008
• Date of departure from Philmont: Monday, August 18, 2008
• Expected total cost will be around $1000 and will include the cost of Philmont itself ($560), transportation, lodging enroute to and from, and spending money (participants' responsibility). This cost could go up depending on transportation options, cost of gasoline, etc.

Youth age requirements:

You may participate as a youth in this expedition if your 21^st birthday is on or after August 7, 2008 and one of the following applies to you:

• your 14^th birthday is on or before December 31, 2007
• you complete the 8^th grade before August, 2008, and your 13^th birthday is August 5, 2008 or before.

Our expedition must have a majority of youth participants.

Adult requirements:

We must have at least 2, but not more than 4, adult participants (Philmont calls adults "advisors"). Adults are 21 years old or older (21^st birthday on or before August 6, 2008). All adults must be registered members of the BSA and must have completed Youth Protection Training. You can take this training online at the BSA Online Learning Center.

Other crew requirements:

Philmont requires that at least one person, preferably two, (either an advisor or a youth participant) in each crew be currently certified in American Red Cross Wilderness First Aid or the equivalent and CPR from the American Heart Association, the American Red Cross or the equivalent.

Random notes & thoughts:

• Trip dates
• Participants' physical condition
• My thoughts on youth age/size/experience

Philmont links:

• Philmont Scout Ranch — The "official" web site.
• Selden's Philmont Web Pages — a huge repository of information about Philmont from actual participants.
• PBS biography of Kit Carson — Kit Carson lived for a while in the Rayado area of what is now the southeast part of Philmont Scout Ranch. Philmont has a museum there that represents what his home and outbuildings may have looked like.