What is up to 12,000 feet high, takes 212,500 steps, is all the way across the United States in New Mexico, is about learning to work together while you avoid bears and snakes, is about star-lit skies, lots and lots of dried food (just add water!), cold mornings in the mountains, and is one of the best times and greatest adventures you will ever have!!? It is Philmont 2009, a magical Boy Scout high adventure 85 mile backpacking hike through some of the most beautiful high country these native Floridians have ever seen.
If you have never done it, it is almost impossible to explain what a great experience it is, and it is why men in their late seventies still remember Philmont and love to talk to you about what a great experience it was. The planning and preparation for our expedition number 7-23G began a year in advance of the July 2009 hike with practice hikes, hiking over bridges in Vero Beach and through soft sand on the beach carrying a 35-40 pound pack, breaking in boots, figuring out what gear to buy and what to leave behind, talking to scouts and leaders who have been to Philmont before, and leaving Florida to fly to an unknown world of adventure.
Chartered to Our Savior Lutheran Church in Vero Beach, Troop 567 was chosen by lottery to send a whole expedition just from our troop. Led by Mrs. Judy Davis, Mr. Dave Osgood and Mr. Collin Davis, with Adam Turner as the Senior Patrol Leader, ten scouts spent a year preparing for, raising the money to pay for, and hiking for 12 days and more than 85 miles up and down hills, through rocky mountainous terrain, carrying all of life's necessities on our backs. Thanks to Scripps Publishing Company for a $1,000 scholarship, fundraisers, and the help of parents and other sponsors, we were able to pay for the trip even during the nationwide economic hardship of 2008/2009. The pre-trip included white water rafting, a trip to the top of Sandia Peak by the world's longest aerial cable car, hiking through Indian ruins and climbing into cliff dwellings in Frijoles canyon, which was only just the beginning!
From the pre-trip, we were taken to base camp, the place where scouts get ready to take off on the trail, and where they get ready to come home when they get back. You spend a night there before the real hiking part of the trip starts the next day when the bus drops your crew off at the starting point. Then it's 85 miles hiking through rain and hail, over mountains, through canyons, and over rivers to the other side. Along the way though, we have a lot of fun, like shooting black powder rifles, throwing axes, completing conservation projects, seeing the views, going through obstacle courses, celebrating Christmas in July, and playing a whole lot of cards and frisbee! And that's hardly even scratching the surface. But before you know it, we're back on the bus heading to base camp for a shower and some good food. Then the next day we are on the plane ride back to Florida.
An 85 mile hike in high altitudes teaches you a world of new survival skills. In the end, after all of the fun and frustration, the blisters and the heavy packs, what Philmont gives you is the confidence to know that if you can accomplish a high adventure back packing trip through the mountains of New Mexico, you should be in pretty good shape both mentally and physically to tackle high school, college and life beyond.
Sam McCoy Eagle Scout, Troop 567 Scribe, Expedition No. 723-G