I personally would not take the extra weight. Philmont does not have grizzlies and their brown bears are far more reclusive than the blackies in Wisconsin. As long as the group stays together and the boys do not sleep with food, you will not have a problem. Besides, for repellent to really work well, you'd have to "arm" everyone, as the length of your hiking column will easily be 100 m at times.
The National Parks are far more dangerous for bears, as the majority of family campers do not follow the bear rules. Philmont is amazingly well run. You will see very few bear bait situations du
