Philmont
Where: Philmont Scout Ranch, NM
When: Summer 1972
With: Boy Scouts
I first learned of this trip the previous summer, while attending the Boy Scout summer camp at Stratton Mt. in Vermont. Philmont was the ultimate hiking goal for any Scout and I set my sights on participating. I don't recall all of the details, but there was significant expense involved and we probably had a variety of fundraisers, etc. throughout the intervening year. Ultimately my maternal grandmother contributed a large portion of the necessary funds.
The contingent travelling to Philmont consisted of Scouts from a number of Troops in the area. There were only one or two others from my Troop...everyone else was a stranger. To get to New Mexico the organizers chartered two motorcoaches and planned a route that would take us past some of the more significant sights in America. Each night we'd stay at a high school, Armory or something to
keep the expenses down. All told, the entire trip probably lasted about a month, and the ride there and back was just as much of an adventure as the time at Philmont.
Unfortunately, though the trip was indeed memorable in many ways, the oft-mentioned "mists of time" have obscured or erased many of the memories of the trip. Some recollections do remain however:
* To keep some semblance of order on the long rides between scenic spots, the leaders established a series of petty rules for the group. For example, the vehicles we rode in were motorcoaches, not buses. Anyone who referred to them as "buses" had to pay a fine (probably a quarter). Anyone who swore had to pay a fine. Spending money was held by the leaders and handed out to the boys as needed.
* Boys being boys, we all played tricks on each other, putting things in the open mouths of sleeping kids, etc. At some point on the trip someone got hold of a copy of Playboy and held the centerfold up against the window for passing cars. This stopped when the participants realized the car they had just flashed had been full of nuns!
* I experienced some motion sickness early on, but must have gotten over it because I don't recall it being a whole-trip occurrence.
* Our route out took us west and north to the Dakotas, then south along the Rockies to New Mexico. Some of the places we visited (in no particular order): the Corn Palace, the Grand Canyon, Mt. Rushmore, the Badlands, Salt Lake City, Yellowstone, the Tetons, Devil's Tower, Indian reservations. Some areas we'd just drive though, others we'd stop and spend a few hours sightseeing before moving on.
After about a week of this journey we arrived at Philmont, where we split into a number of smaller groups. I was one of the youngest members of my group (if not THE youngest). Each group was assigned a guide for the first part of our 10-day stay and we happened to get one of the few female guides. The Explorers run Philmont and they had only recently begun to admit women to their ranks.
We received some instruction and spent some time reviewing the contents of our packs to see what could be left behind. I must have acquired a new backpack because I can't imagine lugging the old Army surplus setup around the mountains of the southern Rockies. It was probably my red external frame pack, to which I sewed a small American flag. This pack was eventually given to my friend Seth and it's since disappeared.
We were cautioned about the bears and there were rumors that some other Scouts had attacked within the past few weeks, allegedly because of the smell of shampoo in their hair. At last we packed up and set out on the trail. Our guide would only stay with us for the first few days, starting us on our way and making sure we were okay to continue on by ourselves. I don't remember our guide's name but I remember one time along the trail when she asked me if I wanted some water. I said I did and she proceeded to pour most of a bottle-full down my back.
Eventually she left us and we were on our own. I recall spending one day on horseback, and another day we climbed Mt. Baldy, 12,000+ feet high. Otherwise I don't have any specific memories of the hike, except for the coffeepot. It was this old battered thing that the leaders used each day, and it grew blacker and blacker with each campfire. The leaders said that the task of cleaning it at the journey's end would fall to some particularly unlucky member of the group, as punishment for something. In the end someone else was chosen but I wound up with the duty, though I don't recall why. Something about being sent to get something and not getting it, I think.
Finally our stay at Philmont came to an end. We reassembled our travelling group, piled back into the motorcoaches, and headed home. Our route back pretty much beelined through Texas and northeast, with no significant stops along the way.
More pictures
When: Summer 1972
With: Boy Scouts
The contingent travelling to Philmont consisted of Scouts from a number of Troops in the area. There were only one or two others from my Troop...everyone else was a stranger. To get to New Mexico the organizers chartered two motorcoaches and planned a route that would take us past some of the more significant sights in America. Each night we'd stay at a high school, Armory or something to
keep the expenses down. All told, the entire trip probably lasted about a month, and the ride there and back was just as much of an adventure as the time at Philmont.
Unfortunately, though the trip was indeed memorable in many ways, the oft-mentioned "mists of time" have obscured or erased many of the memories of the trip. Some recollections do remain however:
* To keep some semblance of order on the long rides between scenic spots, the leaders established a series of petty rules for the group. For example, the vehicles we rode in were motorcoaches, not buses. Anyone who referred to them as "buses" had to pay a fine (probably a quarter). Anyone who swore had to pay a fine. Spending money was held by the leaders and handed out to the boys as needed.
* Boys being boys, we all played tricks on each other, putting things in the open mouths of sleeping kids, etc. At some point on the trip someone got hold of a copy of Playboy and held the centerfold up against the window for passing cars. This stopped when the participants realized the car they had just flashed had been full of nuns!
* I experienced some motion sickness early on, but must have gotten over it because I don't recall it being a whole-trip occurrence.
* Our route out took us west and north to the Dakotas, then south along the Rockies to New Mexico. Some of the places we visited (in no particular order): the Corn Palace, the Grand Canyon, Mt. Rushmore, the Badlands, Salt Lake City, Yellowstone, the Tetons, Devil's Tower, Indian reservations. Some areas we'd just drive though, others we'd stop and spend a few hours sightseeing before moving on.
After about a week of this journey we arrived at Philmont, where we split into a number of smaller groups. I was one of the youngest members of my group (if not THE youngest). Each group was assigned a guide for the first part of our 10-day stay and we happened to get one of the few female guides. The Explorers run Philmont and they had only recently begun to admit women to their ranks.
We received some instruction and spent some time reviewing the contents of our packs to see what could be left behind. I must have acquired a new backpack because I can't imagine lugging the old Army surplus setup around the mountains of the southern Rockies. It was probably my red external frame pack, to which I sewed a small American flag. This pack was eventually given to my friend Seth and it's since disappeared.
We were cautioned about the bears and there were rumors that some other Scouts had attacked within the past few weeks, allegedly because of the smell of shampoo in their hair. At last we packed up and set out on the trail. Our guide would only stay with us for the first few days, starting us on our way and making sure we were okay to continue on by ourselves. I don't remember our guide's name but I remember one time along the trail when she asked me if I wanted some water. I said I did and she proceeded to pour most of a bottle-full down my back.
Eventually she left us and we were on our own. I recall spending one day on horseback, and another day we climbed Mt. Baldy, 12,000+ feet high. Otherwise I don't have any specific memories of the hike, except for the coffeepot. It was this old battered thing that the leaders used each day, and it grew blacker and blacker with each campfire. The leaders said that the task of cleaning it at the journey's end would fall to some particularly unlucky member of the group, as punishment for something. In the end someone else was chosen but I wound up with the duty, though I don't recall why. Something about being sent to get something and not getting it, I think.
Finally our stay at Philmont came to an end. We reassembled our travelling group, piled back into the motorcoaches, and headed home. Our route back pretty much beelined through Texas and northeast, with no significant stops along the way.
More pictures
