Philmont 2016: June 27 - Day 1


Waiting for Breakfast

We started the day with breakfast. Again we were just about the last group to be called in but at least it was cool this morning.

After breakfast our first order of business was to meet our rangers at the welcome center. Today is the first day our contingent will break into two crews. The crew leader for crew 1 is Jared and for crew 2, Jacob. I'm with crew 2 so the rest of the story will focus on crew 2; however, crew 1 is a sister crew on the same trek and we will follow and cross paths each day. The ranger assigned to crew 1 was David. Crew 2 was assigned Alex.

Alex is from Philadelphia but has recently moved to California. He loves music and wants to be part of a church music ministry. This is Alex's first year and only his second time leading a trek crew as a ranger. He has also done a Mountain Trek which put him and another ranger in charge of family members of Philmont Training Center participants.

Alex's job today was to make sure everything on Jacob's crew leader copy gets addressed. Most task were for Jacob and I led by Alex but some task involved the crew.

We first stopped by registration where we payed the remaining balance for the crews.

Logistics was our next step. At logistics they showed us a board where they had projected the presence of each crew through the next two weeks at each of the camps. They showed us the board for the water status for each camp. Some camps are dry and extra planning will be needed for those. Finally they took us to a small conference room where the logistics manager and crew leader detailed the trek. The crew leaders drew notes on their maps about staff camps, trail camps, water issues and commissary pickups along the way. As a note to me, the crew advisor, I was told to sit back and let the crew leader lead this adventure.

The classic Philmont photo was next. The photo was at the southern end of the camp with the tooth of time in the background. This classic photo has been taken this way for decades.

Next at the far north end of camp we had to meet at medical. Here they took your BP and heart rate. I expected a more thorough exam but it was quick and we cycled through the crew quickly.

Nearby was the Tooth of Time trading post. It was our first visit but not our last. We regrouped and headed for lunch. Once again we were nearly last and left exposed to the sun. By now Jacob, who is gluten intolerant, discovered that the dinning hall catered to those with special diet needs. Now he was eating close to the same meals as we were.

After lunch we headed back to the Tooth of Time to get our fishing licenses. The boys, for $2, got theirs for their entire visit at Philmont. The adults not so lucky. Adults had to buy a one or five day license at a staggering cost of 17 and 29 respectfully through the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. Some of the boys made a few purchases and we agreed to meet at our tents.

Jacob and I then paid a visit to the post office. I had shipped some crew gear such as stoves, bottles, ropes, first aid kits and a few other miscellaneous items.


Anthony and Brandon Shakedown

Alex also met us at the tents. He wanted to do a crew shakedown to ensure we had the gear we needed for the back-country. We pulled out our bunks and dumped all of our gear out. He went through each item asking the boys to prove they had what they needed.

We then headed to the quartermaster area to pick up some crew gear. Anthony partnered with Brandon, and Curtis partnered with Jacob. They planned to use the Philmont tents and checked those out. We also needed other gear such as pots, bear ropes, bear bags, garbage and ziplock bags, scrapper and drain, and a cleaning kit and checked those out as well.

The food distribution point was just next door and we took food for about five and a half days. Each meal was labeled breakfast, lunch or dinner and had a number 1-10 on the bag. Our first day on trail was the 28th so we had bags 8, 9, 10, 1, 2 and maybe some 3. Each bag contained food for 2 crew members. There was a little confusion and we took meals for 8 instead of 6. Jacob was not getting food because of his allergies and was bringing his own. Later we returned a set of food. To confuse the matter further I think Alex was counting on us having the extra portion so later he had to get his own food which for rangers could be acquired in single crew portions. These food bags were huge and maybe added another 30-40 percent of weight and volume to our bags. This stressed many of us out as our bags were already near full. This was something we weren't fully prepared for. First the food bags were much larger than we expected. I also think we sort of assumed the food pickups were fairly balance like 4-3-3 or 3-4-3 but in reality we were more like 4.5 - 4.5 - .5 Yes our last pickup was for just two meals a supper and breakfast.

Jacob and I then needed to visit logistics again. We had to bring his gluten free food so they could have them delivered to the commissaries along the trail. Several other scouts were ahead of us and it took some time. Because the last pickup was only two meals, logistics recommended we send all of his meals to the Phillips Junction commissary. They tagged it and completed a couple of forms. We crossed our fingers that it would get there.

We headed back to the tents then over to the lockers to put some gear away that we would not need on the trail.

I then visited the outfitters where I was able to buy some white gas fuel. I went back to the tents and we headed off to supper.

After supper we headed to some special meetings. I went with Scott to the crew advisor meeting. Jacob went to the crew leader meeting. Carter to the chaplain aids meeting. Curtis to the wilderness guia meeting. Each of these meetings covered the duties that our roles were responsible for.

Our next stop was the chapel service. We went to the protestant service which was at the northwest corner of the camp. It was a amphitheater setup with a spectacular view. During the service several deer passed nearby and the pastor encouraged us to take photos. He was a good pastor and had a very nice service.

After grabbing our jackets, hats, and lights we met at the welcome center to prepare for the opening campfire. Once everyone had gathered we crossed the main road and headed as a large group to the opening campfire amphitheater.


Opening Campfire

It was very large so that it could support 40 crews. The performance was spectacular and gave a preview to the characters we would meet along the way. Later in the trip I would coin the phrase that Philmont was the "Disney World of Boy Scouts".

I went to bed both eager and anxious but either way ready to leave HQ.

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