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Early arrival at Philmont


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To any crews attending Philmont in 2018 I highly recommend taking advantage of Philmont's early arrival program. We learned at PASS training that for a fee Philmont will let you arrive a day early at basecamp. We flew from BWI to Denver and then drove to Philmont in rental vans. We then checked in and where assigned tents. This allowed us to be assigned our Ranger early on day 1 and quickly move through the outbound process. We even had time to tour the Phillips Sumer Home. Other crews who arrived on day 1 seemed rushed especially those arriving after lunch.  

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Yes, just one day. We arrived sometime in the late afternoon. After checking in and moving into our tents it was time for dinner. After dinner a trip tp the Tooth of Time Traders. Since our crew met at BWI at 0530 eastern time it was an early night for us.

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Not if you do your home work. Great camping near Angel Fire.

 

Well considering Philmont which supplies our trek  tents and cooking gear is 60+ miles away.... :)

 

It would be far more economical for us to transport and camp at Philmont directly two days early, but that does not seem to be an available option.

Edited by RememberSchiff
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Well considering Philmont which supplies our trek  tents and cooking gear is 60+ miles away.... :)

 

It would be far more economical for us to transport and camp at Philmont two days early, but that does not seem to be an available option.

Two crews. Two 15 passenger vans. Bring 12 two man tents. Eat at local restaurants or bring MREs. More than enough room for that gear and then some. Took two days to get there and two days back. One armory, two camp grounds, one night wary and Philmont. Easy Peary.

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Did you actually rent two 15 passenger vans? How much did this cost?  Right now we are favoring a commercial shuttle service,

Two vans at unlimited miles for 12 days was $1200. Brand new vans too. Dallas to Cimarron via many fun stops.

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Thanks for info. Two vans at that price is quite a  deal.

 

Driving direct from New England would take at least 6 days out of our 9-10 (2 weekends, 5 day) vacation window. Renting a 12 or 15 passenger van at ABQ (always seems to cost more at an airport) for our trek, I think was in the $800-1000 range.  Too much $$ for us, might as well go with Council contingent.

 

I wish the other adults had the time to drive. See the USA and not the TSA.

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Thanks for info. Two vans at that price is quite a  deal.

 

Driving direct from New England would take at least 6 days out of our 9-10 (2 weekends, 5 day) vacation window. Renting a 12 or 15 passenger van at ABQ (always seems to cost more at an airport) for our trek, I think was in the $800-1000 range.  Too much $$ for us, might as well go with Council contingent.

 

I wish the other adults had the time to drive. See the USA and not the TSA.

Yup with the BSA 10 hour a day drive limit you can't get far. Some think it's ten hours per driver. Nope, ten hours per vehicle.

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Yup with the BSA 10 hour a day drive limit you can't get far. Some think it's ten hours per driver. Nope, ten hours per vehicle.

I think we had planned on getting an hour back as we crossed a time zone.  :)

Edited by RememberSchiff
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I really like this idea of an extra day in base camp for acclimatization. But I have strong memories of this incredible restlessness and overwhelming desire to hit the trail. I can't imagine restraining that for an extra day. As my son said, "I didn't come to Philmont to sit in base camp. I need to get on the trail."  We were all like race horses stopping in the gate.

 

But acclimatization is important.

 

We flew into and out of ABQ. We used Blue Sky Adventures who arranged to get us from ABQ to Philmont and from Philmont back to ABQ. Day 1 we got in late because of a 5 hour flight delay at the airport. Day 2 we went whitewater kayaking outside of ABQ. Day 3 we got up early and went straight to Philmont and checked in. On the other end, the day after we got off the trail we got up early and went straight to ABQ to fly home. Good thing we got off the trail early enough to go enjoy Cimarron the day we got off the trail.

 

When my oldest went in 2010, they did like the good Colonel and rented some large passenger vans and drove up from Houston through Abilene. A long drive, though. I did not go on the drive. One of our adults was a private pilot with his own plane and we flew up to Raton. Philmont came out and picked us up and afterward drove us out and dropped us off at the Raton airport. I was worried about acclimatization what with living at about 32', but I did not have any problems on that trip. Raton is a small airport , though, with no commercial aviation. 

Edited by Ankylus
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Yeah "acclimatize" must be fun. Can't just sit at camp.

 

Although last year my guys just wanted to "chill at base camp". Kids are so busy these days the last thing they need sometimes is more stimulation. Never underestimate the desire to relax. If they're planning the trip this will naturally happen. If they want more adventure they'll plan it.

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