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Philmont Announcement - March 27


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Could this be it:

2018 Itinerary Selection

Update! ALL Itinerary Selection Dates Postponed

We have given some thought to the recent events surrounding the release of itinerary information and have decided to move ALL itinerary selection dates to Tuesday, March 27 and Wednesday, March 28. This change is reflected in the Camping Gateway.Please see the Itinerary Selection Times Chartto determine your selection time.

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Saw this and wondered what could be the big announcement

Hopefully they are not watering down treks or adding family back country camping foolishness to the ranches offering.  That would be really disappointing.

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53 minutes ago, Tampa Turtle said:

I keep hearing on the grapevine they have lots and lots of empty slots this year. The Philmont operation seems to depend on a bigger flow of participants than years pass to make the numbers work perhaps? 

You can look on their site and there are many many slots throughout 2018, waaaay more than I have seen in years past

Many literally any day this summer

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Meanwhile other outdoor teen adventure groups, e.g. AMC, Outward Bound fill their summer trek slots with waiting lists. Why? IMO, because those groups provide adult supervision as needed and even allow solo experiences.

Back in the day, each patrol needed only one adult who could take off 2-3 weeks for a bus trip to Philmont. We had a bus with 3 patrols and 4 adult leaders (one was a backup). We have been hard pressed to get 3 adults per patrol to take a quick week off for a plane trip to Philmont and when we do ...What I have to pay to volunteer!

And now family Philmont treks? 

My $0.02

 

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5 minutes ago, Tampa Turtle said:

IMHO it has gotten two expensive and too complicated to go. We have had plenty of scouts go but more and more they are planning and going on their own adventures (in and out of scouting) for the same or less money.

My experience in our troop is that the adults many times get more excited with a Philmont trek than the scouts. Not that the scouts aren't excited, but the adults drive it like it's a bucket list item. So, they tend to pull the crew to the trek. These adults were problematic because they struggle to stand back and let the scouts lead.

Our troop likes to plan our own treks so we can customize them more toward our crew needs. I enjoy wilderness treks a lot, but I usually have my fill by six days. Several BSA camps offer trek guides for custom treks as well. The Scout camp in New Mexico used to offer great backpacking treks in the Pecos Wilderness. I don't know if they do anymore.

Unit planned treks don't have the Philmont programs, but they don't have the high cost either. And if a less experienced unit is a little nervous about marching into the wilderness, Venturing Crews in your area are usually excited to help. A member might even volunteer  as a guide.

Barry

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13 minutes ago, Jameson76 said:

In case you missed it...Scouting is ALL about FAMILIES!!

To be fair, this is one of a number of programs at Philmont.  The "core" program (treks) is still about the Scouts themselves. And hopefully always will be.

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