Introduction

Philmont! Known to all scouts and scouters as "Scouting Paradise". This is the dream destination of every boy scout in our troop, the ultimate high-adventure trip, or simply put, the best place on planet earth. Here's just some of the info off of the Philmont website:

"Born in 1938 as Philturn Rockymountain Scoutcamp, today's Philmont Scout Ranch is a bustling center for high adventure and training. Youth and adults take advantage of the ranch's camping, training, and work programs. Most activity takes place during the summer, but Philmont also offers its Fall Adventure and Kanik winter program.

More than 860,000 Scouts, Venturers, and leaders have experienced the adventure of Philmont since the first camping season in 1939. Throughout its existence, conscientious attention to low-impact camping techniques have helped maintain the ranch's wilderness flavor.

Philmont Scout Ranch is the Boy Scouts of America's oldest national high-adventure base. It covers 137,000 acres - about 214 square miles - of rugged mountain wilderness in the Sangre de Cristo (Blood of Christ) range of the Rocky Mountains in northern New Mexico. Thirty-four staffed camps and 55 trail camps are operated by the ranch. Philmont has high mountains dominating rough terrain with elevations ranging from 6,500 to 12,441 feet."

This description should be enough to excite any outdoor enthusiast, but fresh off the trail, I can tell you that ain't even half of it. Then again, there is no way to truly express to any who have not been through the "Philmont Experience" just how awesome and wonderful it really is.

My name is Josh; I'm a 17 year old Life Scout from Troop 520 in Cedar Hill, Texas. Our troop (which is the best, by the way) has been to Philmont many, many times, and we try our hardest to go back every two or three years. Ever since I joined when I was 14 I've been super-interested in Philmont. I missed my first chance to go 'cuz I'd missed all of the deadlines, but the next time around wouldn't pass me by.

We started planning for our 2010 Philmont Trek back in early '09. First was a general announcement to the troop that we'd be able to send a contingent, and before long we were putting down deposits. Over time, we formed our four crews (mine was expedition# 626-K2), began checking gear, decided on our itineraries, and were meeting up for practice hikes. With every bit of preparation, I honestly couldn't help but think, "How cool... I'm getting ready for Philmont!" Sometimes, I really didn't look forward to those practice hikes... Fifty pounds of weight on your back over four or more miles wasn't always fun (and I've been told I should have done more!), and I wasn't always excited about the several hundred dollar payments (though that was kinda neat in it's own way, too...), but I knew that it was all going to be so worth it!

When I finished packing my frame pack with all of the gear I'd be taking, I was a little surprised at how little it was, and at the same time trying to figure out what else I could do without. "An ounce in the morning is a pound at night", or so our guidebooks said. As we loaded the trailer, passed out our trek t-shirts, and had a final briefing at the last troop meeting before we left, I found myself thinking, "We're really going! This is sooo cool!" That awesome thing that I'd spent more than a year preparing for was less than a week away! Yeehaw!

In the posts to come, I'll be sharing my journal that I kept throughout our trip to Philmont Scout Ranch. I'll also be adding some comments and stuff to make it more understandable to those who haven't been, and to spice it up some, too. Don't worry, I'll make sure to keep them seperate from the actual journal entries so that everyone can view my record raw and unaltered. I won't keep ya waiting too long! Check back soon,

~~JOSH