Philmont
A Review by Christopher J Bloedow
Matthew
Our journey started at Ponil trailhead, after a long bus ride. The first order of business was an introductory briefing from our Ranger, Matthew. We met Matthew at Base Camp, as each crew was assigned a Ranger for the first few days of their journey. Before setting out, Matthew taught us how to read a map and shoot a bearing, hike at the same pace as each other, proper trail bathroom etiquette, and more. He took his instruction very seriously and ensured any Scouts not listening took it as seriously as he did. Then, we started our trek.
Ponil
Our first destination was Bluestem, a trail camp. At Philmont, there are two options for camping, a trail camp or a staff camp. Trail camps are only the essentials, space for tents, bear lines, a sump, and a pit toilet. I will explain more of those later. On our way to Bluestem, we stopped at a staff camp, Ponil. Staff camps are much larger than trail camps, as they have accommodations for staffers and activities for Scouts. This specific camp, Ponil, was the largest staff camp, and we would be staying there on Day 9. After having lunch, we set back out on the trail. Soon, our hiking conditions got worse.
Rain
It began to rain on the trail, and as instructed, we all put on our rain gear and pack covers. This procedure would soon become second nature in the days to come. After some trouble ending up at our part of the campsite, we got to Bluestem. It was a hard hike for me, emotionally. However, I remember feeling much more rejuvenated after I was able to take my pack off. That, combined with the view from our campsite made the trip seem much more achievable. Before we could set up camp, we were interrupted by lightning. We had seen the storm from far off, but after lightning that was heard after 8 seconds (5 seconds = 1 mile away), our crew got into lightning position. This meant spacing far away from one another, sitting on your pack with your heels together and your hands over your ears. Thankfully, none of us were struck by lightning.
Bear Bags
After camp was set up and dinner was made–mac and cheese, I signed myself up with another Scout to clean the dishes. This was a pretty gross job and I distinctly remember my hands smelling like mac and cheese and there being nothing I could do about it. The last important job for the day was to hang up the bear bags. Bears are a real risk at Philmont, so extensive measures are taken to make sure they stay away from your camp. This means putting anything that has a smell, (literally, anything and everything), in burlap sacks and hanging them about 15-20 feet in the air on bear lines. This took a good amount of strength and proficiency with knots, to say the least. I would like to say that doing this got easier the more we did it, but it really didn’t.
Roses, Thorns, and Buds
After we did everything we had to do, before we could go to bed, it was time for me to fulfill one of my main responsibilities. I have not mentioned it yet, but I had a special role as a part of the crew, as did a couple of my crew members. There are three roles that must be filled within a Philmont crew: Crew Leader, Chaplain’s Aide, and Wilderness Pledge Guia. The first of which was the most important, and required the Scout to be responsible for organizing the crew, assigning duties, making decisions, and recognizing the capabilities of each crew member. Our Crew Leader was Andrew Bush, who did a fantastic job throughout the whole trip, especially for someone so young. The Wilderness Pledge Guia makes sure the crew follows the principles of Leave No Trace and conducts themselves respectfully in the outdoors. Our Guia was Jack Martin, who did a great job keeping us on track.
I had the position of Chaplain’s Aide, and apart from uplifting the spirits of my crew members and keeping them motivated, my official job every night was conducting Roses, Thorns, and Buds. Right before going to bed, each member of the crew would say their favorite part of the day (Rose), the worst part of the day (Thorn), and something they were looking forward to in the future (Bud). Since Philmont, I have really appreciated this exercise as a group bonding activity and introduced it to other groups, with great success. Once we finished with that, I felt like there was still one more thing I needed to do. I asked my crew to join hands for prayer, and I prayed over the day, and the rest of the journey. This became our crew’s nightly tradition. That was day one.
Day 2 – Donkeys
On our second day, we woke up a little early per the request of Matthew, so that we could see the sunrise, and he could share some wisdom with us. After packing up camp, we were off to Pueblano Ruins, a trail camp next to a staff camp, Pueblano. I have little recollection of the hiking, except for it being dry. Once we stopped at Pueblano, we had our first activity, Spark-Pole climbing. This consisted of two people, a climber and a “donkey” where the objective was to climb to the top of a telephone pole. The climber would strap what were basically big knives to each foot, then a harness with a leather loop around the pole and rope that fed through a pulley to the donkey. The donkey would back up as the climber progressed and anchor them. It was complicated for me to get right at first, but satisfying once I got to the top. Sadly, things soon started to go downhill.
More Rain
We returned to the main building at Pueblano for Andrew to check in for our campsite. At that time, it began pouring down rain. After yesterday’s rain, it was demoralizing for the group to think about going back out to hike in the rain once more. Thankfully, our campsite was not far, but the rain on the way there only got worse. As we set up camp, we saw that the trail we hiked in on, which was also the one we were hiking out on, was becoming a stream. Concerns of flash flooding arose quickly but stayed only a possibility. What was a greater concern was getting water for dinner. There was a creek along our campsite, but the rain had caused it to flow with brown-colored water. Still, we had no other options. An attempt was made to strain the water with a bandana, but we put most of our trust in boiling the water to kill any germs. All this time I was very cold and wet from the rain, not to mention some stomach pain I was feeling. The rain gear I packed was not enough to keep me dry in the slightest.
Nowhere To Go
Dinner only made things worse. It’s hard to remember what it was exactly, but I mostly remember it being cold, and the pasta portion being undercooked and hard. This made most people apprehensive about eating it, but again, there were no other options. One scout did decide they could not eat any of it, that it would make them vomit. This might have been understandable if we were at a normal campout. Unfortunately for them, there is nowhere for food to go at Philmont besides someone’s stomach. If any food is left over, that would mean it would have to be packed up and taken with us. That is not an option. Not eating your dinner means there is only more that other people need to eat. As someone who is not as apprehensive about unsavory food, I signed up to eat more than I planned. I soon would have to pay for that decision.
Forgetting to Pray
Emotionally, I was having a very bad time. While already struggling through the cold, I was very hungry. This resulted in me eating immediately once dinner was ready, forgetting to pray for the group. While only an honest mistake on its own, this really affected me. I felt as if I had completely failed, and everything hit me really hard. Matthew seemed to notice this and asked to talk with me after dinner. While not a Christian, he made some very good points about forgiveness, which at that point I really needed to hear. This was our crew’s last night with Matthew, and knowing this I asked him to leave me a note before he left. He was a pretty reserved guy but seemed wise beyond his years. He was very tough, funny when he wanted to be, and a good example for our crew. I began to get better control of my emotions, but there was still more to suffer through.
More Pain
The food we had for dinner was causing me horrible stomach pain. This pain, which felt like extreme pressure in my stomach, was not alleviated by anything. I would later describe it as if my stomach was a rock tumbler. The only thing I could do was stare off at the stream that was our trail. There is not much more I can remember from that night, but we put up bear bags, did Roses, Thorns, and Buds, and once again joined hands in prayer. From this point on, assume all three of those things happen each night unless I specify otherwise. That completes day two, which I would probably say was my worst night at camp.
Day 3 – Washout
On day three we woke up seeing that our trail was still a stream. Things got much tougher from there, as we started making our journey to Baldy Town. The four-mile trek was an endless stream-crossing nightmare. Our crew, along with multiple others we met along the way, spent upwards of three hours, trying to figure out how to keep progressing around the water. This meant bush-whacking, climbing up parallel hills, and jumping across gaps. Every time we thought we had made it through to the dry part, there was more water across the trail. After an impossible amount of streams crossed, we made it through to the trail. After taking a break for lunch, we set out again and the rain joined us. This made all of us very cold, but to our luck, Baldy Town had just what we needed. Baldy Town, another large staff camp, had a room with a wood-burning heater, along with hot water for hot cocoa. Our whole crew huddled into that room and made sure to get as much hot cocoa as they would give us. After being so cold, it was pretty hard to leave the room mentally, knowing that there would just be more cold and wet outside. I was pretty demoralized still from the hike up, but the heat and hot cocoa brought me back to baseline.
Trading Post
What did lift my spirits was the trading post at Baldy Town. I was able to buy a rain jacket and rain pants that worked, though having to pay a total of $80. This was crucial, as now I was much less affected by the rain, physically and mentally. Also, my journal says I “had a fun chat w/ trading post ppl”. At this point, I don’t remember much of that conversation, but I think it proves that my mood got better quickly. Eventually, knowing we would have to hike to our campsite, our crew left to set up camp, much later than we probably should have. This meant that we had less daylight for dinner, tents, and everything else. I distinctly remember having to put bear bags up by the headlamp light and it not being fun.
Remembering to Pray
This was one of those nights where I think most people would rather have skipped Roses, Thorns, and Buds and gone to bed, myself included, but I fulfilled my responsibility along with group prayer. Before bed, Andrew–who was my tentmate– was feeling down on himself, so I felt led to read the Bible to him, as I brought to bed with me, along with my journal. I read Matthew 6:25-34, The Cure for Anxiety. That was a very special moment for me and I hope it was for him as well. I actually just brought that memory up at my Eagle Board of Review. I think it will stick with me for a long time. I also read the note from Matthew. He had some good tips and included an excerpt from a Walt Whitman poem. I think he was a fan of his work, as he included a different piece of Whitman’s poetry in a separate note to our crew that he left. The excerpt he left to me reads:
“Trust no future, how ere pleasant
Let the dead Past bury its dead
Act—act in the living Present
Heart within and God over head” -Walt Whitman
That concludes day three.
Day 4 – Socks and Billy Goats
Day four takes us right to the climax of the journey. Well, elevation-wise. Today was the day our crew would summit Mt. Baldy. This mountain is the highest point at Philmont at 12,441 ft high, making it many crews’ main obstacle in their journey, including our own. The day before our crew had talked with staffers and other crews about which route would be best to take up the mountain. There were many options discussed, but it boiled down to two options. Either we take the short way up– the “Billy Goat” trail– or the long way up along a ridgeline. The Billy Goat trail was four miles shorter, being only about three miles in total, but extremely steep with 3,640 ft of elevation. I remember a Scout from another crew telling us that going up that trail was basically impossible, but the staffers only described it as very steep. Our crew agreed that we would rather take the steep trail up and the long trail down, mostly influenced by the amount of time it would take to summit the long way. This meant waking up at 3:30am, far before sunrise. I distinctly remember having only one pair of dry socks left and choosing to preserve them and put on socks that were soaked through. I would be fine never doing that ever again.
Grinding
The hike started off fine but really became a challenge once we hit the steep portion. I stayed back with one of the slower members of our crew, to make sure they were still progressing. In hindsight, I think I could have made the hike easier on myself if I had stayed near the front of the crew. It was a real challenge with the frequent stops even with much of the weight left out of my pack. It is hard to communicate how steep the trail became but imagine the grade of a staircase but instead of there being stairs the ground is just rocks. It really felt like it went on forever. Eventually, once we got to the top, our lead advisor, Mr. Martin, stopped us before reaching the top. He gave us the opportunity to run to the top, less than fifty yards away. All of us Scouts took that opportunity, making it to the top.
Lord of the Views
We were gifted with a beautiful view in between the clouds, where I could see impossibly far. The ground thousands of feet down looked smaller than I had ever seen before, at a completely new scale. Amidst the breathtaking view, we were very exposed to the elements. After taking lots of pictures we decided the cold wind had got the better of us and we started our descent. We hiked across a beautiful ridgeline on our way down Mt. Baldy. I haven’t read Lord of the Rings but it felt like I was in that (I assume), being able to look down at the forest on either side for miles. Once we made our way off the mountain after a long hike, the crew was having a hard time deciding what our plan was.
French Henry
The plan was to go all the way to French Henry, the mining staff camp, and take a tour of one of the old mines. Once we got there, almost everyone was against staying at French Henry, having no interest in sticking around. However, one Scout was fully set on staying there. It’s hard for me to remember exactly why, but it caused probably the biggest argument of the trip. Lots of us, including myself were tired and in pain, as the way to French Henry was down steep rocks so the collective mood was at an all-time low. Eventually, we all got on the same page and made our way back to Baldy Town, in complete silence, as far as I remember.
Morale
The rain let up once we got back to camp and things seemed to be going a lot better. I remember on our way down from Mt. Baldy I was talking to one of our adult advisors, Mr. Said about the crew’s morale. On the shirts that we had as a crew, an elevation chart of our trek was displayed on the back. What stood out on that chart was the peak, achieved on day four on Mt. Baldy. Mr. Said said to me that it seemed like everyone was cheering up after our last few days of rainy suffering. He attributed this to the fact that pretty much everyone knew what our elevation chart looked like and that they knew after today, the hiking got a lot easier. His assessment of our group and optimistic outlook proved to be very truthful, as from here on the conditions improved drastically and did not return to the rainy misery from the days prior. After hiking many miles and a satisfying summit, day four ended up being a good day.
Day 5 – Tomahawks
On day five, our destination was a trail camp, Ringtail, after passing through a staff camp, Miranda. After a rain-free hike, Miranda had fun stuff to offer. The main thing our crew did was tomahawk throwing. I had a good time going against the other people in our crew, and the nice weather was a huge bonus. Along with Tomahawks, Adam and I had another competition. I don’t remember when it started but we had a competition of who could kill the most flies, and it ramped up at Miranda in a big way. We got so good at it that I think we just stopped counting. The last thing we did at Miranda was again not a scheduled activity, but I did enjoy it. One thing present at all staff camps is swap boxes.
Swap-boxes
These allow crews to let go of any extra snacks and hungry scouts to get their hands on free calories. Yet, these boxes are often disappointing, with loads of peanuts and chickpeas enveloping any precious Pop-Tarts or fruit chews. My conclusion was, with my enjoyment for organizing and sorting, to sort the entire swap box to see what I could come away with. One of the other Scouts, Max, felt like joining me in doing this. This proved useful, as we were able to gain a few valuable snacks, and for our efforts, the staffers rewarded us each with some butterscotch pudding. Altogether, I would say it was well worth it. After hiking in full-on sunshine, which was a first for the trek, we arrived at Ringtail.
Ringtail
It would be easy for me to say this was the most picturesque campsite we stayed at. Previously visible from Miranda, Ringtail was a large open meadow dropped in the forest, with a direct view of Mt. Baldy. This meadow also contained a variety of wildlife, allowing us to see wild turkeys and watch mule deer prance into the trees. After a tasty dinner and a calm evening, a pleasant day five was complete.
Day 6 – More Lightning
On day six we woke up a bit early to see the sunrise over Mt. Baldy. This is a special memory for me, as we were able to look far off into the distance and see where we had made it up just two days ago. We had two destinations today, with the first being Head of Dean, a staff camp with our day’s activity. After a short hike, we arrived for the challenge course. These were team-building activities consisting of a balance board, rope swing, and a cave crossing with poles. Those were a lot of fun for the crew and my journal says I almost wished the challenges were harder, which probably would have been fun too. The drama did ramp up after leaving Head of Dean, due to our second lightning scare. This ended up making our crew move fast, as the location we were in was not good for lightning and our next destination was not far enough.
Santa Claus
After that adrenaline rush, we arrived at our second and final destination for the day, Santa Claus, a staff camp. This camp had our second activity, reloading shotgun shells. This was a very cool and definitely rare opportunity for us to operate the machines for this process. Our instructor for this process, Tom, had a good conversation with us before we got the chance to actually shoot the shells we had reloaded. Tom also had a very deep voice. Out at their range, we saw a bear strolling about, which thankfully was pretty calm. After setting up camp and having dinner, that was day six.
Day 7 – Navigator
On day seven, I had the responsibility of being our group’s navigator. This was a position that rotated between the Scouts and meant that you had the responsibility of being in charge of the map. Given that the map was our only source of navigation, this was an important job. Some Scouts were better at this job than others, usually being the ones who were better listeners. We had a pretty calm hike, so my job was relatively easy. Still, the route we had to take was very challenging. The only way up to our campsite was hiking up a service road (that was out of service), which was as steep as it was uneven. Oh, and it was also the heat of the day, with the sun right above us. It was a real challenge for the whole crew, and I tried to make it all the way up without stopping, but one good break was necessary. After making it to the top, we were treated to a spectacular view.
Hero’s Journey
We had a panoramic view of all of Philmont, being able to point out multiple places we had stayed in the distance. The most notable place we could look down at was Bluestem, the first campsite of of our trek. Adam pointed out the symbolism of us now being above where we had started, in a hero’s journey kind of way. That was cool to think about, I wouldn’t have picked up on that on my own. Following our reminiscing we hiked a bit further and arrived at our campsite, Dean Skyline. The great view continued, with our campsite being a top a ridge that descended on both sides.
Lighting 3.0
Before we could really settle in, we had our third lightning scare. This one was a special one, as atop the ridge we were badly protected. We walked down the ridge a ways into a space with more trees, generously spaced ourselves apart, and sat in lightning position. Apparently, from reading my journal I took my notebook with me and journaled while waiting out the lightning. When the lightning had finished, we set up camp, and passed the time. I spent some time reading my Bible, preparing for a potential devotional. While waiting for dinner, I got our crew working on a crossword I had brought. Adam and I had found that crosswords were great to bring to campouts to pass the time, especially multi-day ones. Before going to sleep we walked to where we could see a lightning storm far off in the mountains, with some of us trying to get pictures of the lightning. Even without attempting to capture it, it was cool to look at. Lots of good views of Creation on day seven.
Day 8 – Shoot
Day eight was a very busy day, with lots of challenges and very little hiking. We made our way back to Ponil, with lots to do. The first activity was Cowboy Action Shooting, one of the most popular activities at Philmont. This allowed participants to shoot Colt Single Action Army replica revolvers, Winchester Model 1892 replicas, and double-barrel shotguns. Lots of our crew wanted to do this, but we ran into some logistical issues very quickly. Basically, some of us would have to stay back at camp and put up the bear bags with the smellables, while the rest of the crew went to go shoot. I went on this trek before I got into guns and realized how cool of an opportunity I had, so I decided to stay back and help with the bear bags. Altogether it was Adam, Max, and I to hoist seven full bear bags. That proved to pretty rough to try to pull off, but I’m pretty sure we did, somehow. Beforehand, we as a crew expected the time it took to put the bags to still allow for those people to come back and shoot. Unfortunately, after our struggle with the bags we walked to where Cowboy Action was, but were turned away as we had missed the time slot. In hindsight, it would have been so cool to shoot those guns, but I can’t change that now.
Creamy or Crunchy?
On our first visit to Ponil we heard they had a root beer cantina, so we changed plans to find more about that. Adam bought a root beer for $1.50 and the older staffer who was the bartender generously split it into “thirds”. The idea of having root beer out in the middle of nowhere is obviously a spectacular idea, but it was a little more complicated than I expected. The root beer cantina had two options, creamy or crunchy. We heard discourse between the Ponil staffers about which one was better, most of them said crunchy, one said getting half and half is good. I decided to do a fifty-fifty, but I was skeptical there was any real difference between the two. I’m still not fully sure they are different but people seemed to have opinions. When we finished our root beer and had a nice conversation with our “bartender” about how he came to work at Philmont, we met up with our crew for the next activity, our conservation project.
“Shaking for another whole day”
The conservation staffers at Philmont are special kind of people. They are the people responsible for taking care of the trails at Philmont. This requires carrying massive amount of gear for miles of trails. Sometimes this included carrying 35-pound chainsaws and other gear necessary for either fixing a trail or making an entirely new one. To me, it already required a special type of person to come work at Philmont for the summer, but the cons were even more special, it seemed. One of the guys helping us apparently completed an entire 64-mile itinerary in one day. He said was shaking for another whole day after that. Next-next level dudes. Our project was making a new trail, but the tools we were using started aggravating my back, so Adam and I were given a separate task of cleaning and sharpening the tools.
Finally Real Food
As a product of us helping out Philmont we were given what they called a chuckwagon dinner. This meant we were provided a whole dinner of chili, muffins, oranges, and fruit punch. This was super nice to have after only trail meals so far, so almost our whole crew was very excited and grateful to eat that special dinner. There was one Scout, however, who did not feel the same. They did not want to have any of the chili we were given, as they did not like chili. This baffled all of us, as turning down a gift like this purely based on preference seemed really stupid. Again, the conditions were the same; there was nowhere for the food to go, and again, I decided I could eat some more. I ended up eating more than double I was comfortable with, as that was what I felt I had to do. Even though I had done the same thing earlier in the trip, with large consequences for my stomach, I thought I might have a different outcome, due to the quality of the food.
Not Funny
I was very, very wrong. My stomach pain started soon after dinner, with the same intensity as last time, if not worse. I felt terrible and only got worse. What really sucked was that we were going to see the cantina skit show put on by the staffers, but I had to step away to deal with my stomach pain. I didn’t have much to do but wait it out, like last time. In my journal I described what I felt as “like my stomach would explode indefinitely”. Over time, I felt good enough to go back to the show. It was a cool show, as the actors played characters in a fake history of Ponil, then performed various classic country songs. That night was also a rough one, with my stomach pain keeping me awake. I got out of my tent after trying to get to sleep, but I remember being scared of being alone in the dark out there, so I got back in the tent. After some time, I fell asleep, day eight.
Day 9 – Petroglyphs & Atlatls
On day nine, we climbed Hart Peak on our way to the campsite. I remember it not being a hard hike, and giving us a good view of Mt. Baldy. The rest of the way to our campsite was hot hike down a rocky canyon. Our campsite was next to a staff camp, Indian Writings, so once we ate lunch, we went on a walking tour of the Native Petroglyphs. These were cravings made by Native Americans by pecking the stone with rocks. Some of them were cool to look at, hard to think how old they were. The other thing we could at that camp was Atlatl throwing. This was using a special holder to throw very long arrows. The motion was hard to get down at first, but after that, I was able to stick my first dart at one of the targets. Following some more practice, I had a competition with Mr. Bachmeier for distance and accuracy. Altogether it was pretty fun.
T-Rex Tracks
We had dinner at our campsite, Anasazi, my journal says I made some jokes, and that was day nine. On day nine, my journal says we started off by climbing a steep service road. It’s hard for me to remember this, but apparently it was a good accomplishment and had nice views. So that’s cool. Our first stop was a very unique landmark, the only one of which in the world. Right by our campsite, we stopped at the only documented T-Rex track in the world. Now thinking about it, that was actually pretty cool to visit, but I did not realize its significance at the time. Our final destination of the trek was Chase Cow, a staff camp.
Rock Stars
I had been looking forward to this camp since since I heard that they had rock climbing. As it turned out, we were the only crew at that staff camp. The only downside to our campsite was that it was up a large hill. After setting our stuff down, we went to go rock climb. That was the first time I had ever done that, both climbing a real rock wall and rappelling down. Also in my journal I said I was killing it, very important. Next, we did bouldering, on real boulders, which was even more fun. I had never done bouldering before but I was immediately hooked on the problem-solving element of it. After the other Scouts moved on to another boulder with one of the staffers, Mr. Martin and I got into a competition on the super-hard part of the first boulder. I got so close many times and felt truly challenged. Then, Mr. Martin figured it out and soon after I did as well. That experience and more made Chase Cow my favorite camp we stayed at. The staffers were super chill as well and having the place to ourselves definitely helped with that. Most of the Scouts went down with the saffers after dinner to play something called cow-ball, I think. They had a lot of fun but a few of us stayed at camp. After going to bed, our pen-ultimate day, day ten, was complete. I had something special planned for the morning of our last day.
Final Day – Reveille
I woke up a little earlier than everyone, then used my phone to play the theme from Rocky and announce: “Everybody wake up! It’s the last day of Philmont!”. That was really fun for me and the rest of our crew, and I think it created a special memory for everyone. Our hike of Philmont was via a service road which was very flat, but also hot. At the front of the pack, Jack and I led at the same pace. Something unexpected was who we ended up hiking alongside. The namesake of our previous campsite, Chase Cow, is the Chase Ranch, a cattle ranch within Philmont. We had to hike through a portion of the Chase Ranch, which meant I led the crew to hike past 10+ cows staring right at us. That was very unique. Once we made it past that portion of the hike, the only destination was the trailhead, the end of our journey. I think we all hiked just a bit faster knowing we would be home the next day. After over eighty miles and eleven days on the trail, we all made it to the trailhead. We had a long wait for the bus amidst lots of flies but being able to look out at the horizon having done what we just did was a spectacular feeling. Since then, I tell everyone Philmont was the most formative experience of my life.
Reflections
I remember years ago I was talking to an older Scout about going on some high adventure campouts that I was unsure about. I was trying to decide if I should go on a kayak trip with my troop, and said I was uncertain. I added that I didn’t think I wanted to do Philmont then. He said that I would be missing out if I skipped the kayak trip but that I “had to do” Philmont. I would say the same. Philmont will challenge you, it will be tough, and there will be points you won’t enjoy it and want to go home. While that is not all of it, I would say that is the most important part. It can be really scary being out in the wilderness, 70 miles from the closest hospital, relying largely on your own knowledge of first aid and your courage. Yet, that is what makes men.
My dad often teaches me that men bond through suffering. I found this to be 100% true and all those who have served in the military agree as well. I share priceless memories with all the Scouts and adults from my time at Philmont. Those memories are not created through everything going exactly to plan. God created this world perfect, and the Bible tells us we messed it up. That means things go wrong, but what makes life is responding to those failures and making it through. It would be hard to leave Philmont without getting to the end of yourself in some capacity. It is largely recognized as a spiritual experience by those who go and I think that is largely why. I am a Christian and I think it would have been much harder for me to get through Philmont without Christ at my back.
On my trek we saw beautiful views and looking at those views knowing God had created them for me to look upon was very entirely worth it. Some of my fondest memories are relaxing at our campsites without a care in the world. However, those moments would not be as valuable if we had not started our journey with four days of unrelenting rain. It felt earned. Philmont allowed for a peace that I wish I could go back to. So many times when I am at home I would be bogged down with responsibilities or part of something unnecessary my mind would tell me: “I wanna go back to Philmont”. I still have that feeling to this day. I was told of that feeling before we set out and in those first days I thought, I’ll never want to come back here. Little did I know those hard times allowed for me to be formed as a man in ways I am still uncovering. Scouts, go to Philmont. Fathers, send your sons to Philmont. I hope this sheds some light on what the Philmont experience is like, and motivates more Scouts to face the challenge it brings head on.