z3skybolt

Out troup did a Double H trek in July of 2005 and we had a wonderful time. We were 8 adult leaders and 16 scouts organized into two seperate crews. We hiked via different routes but ended up near one another for camping each afternoon.

Double H was perfect for our troup. We are an enthusiastic group of pretty rugged rural Missourians. Our scouts and leaders enjoy trekking without a lot of restriction and pre-canned activities. Double H was perfect for us.

Over the 7 days we hiked in excess of 50 miles; 13 miles being our longest one day hike. Our guide gave us almost complete freedom. We chose our own route which was preplanned the evenings before by the scouts themselves. On more that one occassion we left our preplanned route and went directly over the top of mountians.....just so we could say that we had done it. Our guide remarked that we often took him places and via routes that he had never before experienced. At the end of our trek....he commented that we had "worn him out" at times. He returned the challenge once by tricking us into taking a very difficult, direct route over an 8,700 foot peak.

The temp. averaged in the mid 90's during the daytime with upper 50's at night. One day was 110 degrees and we experience hail midday the 6th day out. We drank lots of water averaging about 1 liter per hour when hiking. The water was often nasty, with moss and crud growing in the tanks. However our filters worked well and we drank fully. We did have problems with the filters getting clogged up but took plenty of extras.

We saw a cougar on our last evening;several rattlers some Elk and small game. The evenings were relaxing. After dinner almost everyone would head off on hikes around various peaks and bluffs nearby adding another hour or two to the day's hiking. Complete freedom which others have said is not possible at Philmont.

The food was good and plentiful with the exception of dinner, which never seemed quite enough. We only ate hot food at dinner. We chose cold breakfast and lunch.

There were a couple of brief rain showers and one marvelous afternoon of thunderstorms, shortly after arriving in camp. It stormed for a couple of hours with powerful thunderclaps, heavy rain and a lot of lightning. Everyone stayed in the tents for safety; except for myself....who chose an alternate viewing spot. Maybe not the best idea....but the highlight of the trip for me.

Our packs weighed about 50 lbs. Mine was 52 lbs. including 5 liters of water. At 58 I was the oldest of the group. However all of the adults and most of the scouts had spent months getting in shape for the trip. We trekked with ease after a day of adjusting to the altitude. One scout developed altitude sickness and had to be removed from our trek. Everyone else did fine. No blisters to speak of and only the best of spirits.

We were tired and dirty upon completion but would have turned around and done it again. It has honed my appetite for backpacking and hiking. Everyone came away happy and proud of our endevour.

As of July there remained an open question as to the Scouts being allowed to contine hiking there. It is currently limited to 1,000 scouts a year and 2006 is the end of the current contract. Hopefully the Elk Hunters will agree to allow Scouts continued access.

I could not recommend Double H more highly.

Enjoy,

Bob Ritchie

Troup 22

Warrenton, Mo.

Checking in

Will post our experience at Double H later. It was fantastic. Just joined the forum

Bob