Hiking Philmont is often the pinnacle of a Boy Scout’s adventure in scouting. Philmont Scout Ranch located near Cimarron, New Mexico is BSA’s premier National High Adventure Base. It covers over 140,000 acres of wilderness in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and is the perfect location for Scouts to truly experience an extended outdoor experience. Because it is a physically challenging adventure, participants must be 14 years of age or older.
The members of Crew 628-M-03 came from Troop 581 as well as Troop 582 and one Lone Scout. Its trek covered 68 miles in 12 days in June and July. For the first few days of their trek, they had to deal with an “abnormal” amount of rain and mud. Most of the crew members also had to contend with summer colds. But they also got to experience activities such as skeet shooting, pole climbing, working with pack animals, cowboy shooting and summiting Mount Baldy.
A Philmont trek will test a crew both physically and mentally and it takes great teamwork and attitude to overcome the challenges that it meets on the trail. But when its all said and done, each crew member knows that he or she has accomplished something special.